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Uachtarán Zelenskyy, a Cheann Comhairle agus a dhaoine uaisle, President Zelenskyy, Ceann Comhairle and distinguished guests, on behalf of Members of both Houses and on my own behalf, I thank you for being here today at the heart of our democracy, and for the address delivered to this … Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. In 2022, when I had the privilege of giving the closing remarks to your online address to these Houses, I said that as we sat here in Dublin, missiles and bombs were descending on the innocent women, children and men of Ukraine

time it has taken. It is cruel, heartless, brutal, ruthless, cold-hearted, detached and indifferent. These are words that families who live in houses with defective blocks have used to describe to me the approach of this Government. I agree 100% with them because what the Government … cruel. There is no defence anymore in terms of the Government saying it does not know what the issues are. People's houses are crumbling down around them. The Government brought in a scheme it pretended was 100% redress. All it was was pretence, because there would

families who suffer every day. They are families who wonder every time Met Éireann issues a warning if this is the day their house comes down. Do Government Members really believe that €150,000 is enough to rebuild a home in rural Ireland, or in Clare? This … They are locked out by nothing but an arbitrary date, a date that creates inequity, division and despair. What about those in social housing who are expected to pay rent for houses crumbling down around them? People have faced barrier after barrier and all of it has been

experts, are centrally engaged in the interdepartmental Lady’s Island oversight group led by Wexford County Council, which also involves the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the local authorities waters programme, LAWPRO, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS. Wexford County Council, with the guidance … Island Lake within the framework and mechanisms of the water action plan 2024. The recent announcement of funding by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to support this work aims to support development of the Lady’s Island Lake sustainable farming and communities water quality management

landlords coming into the market and landlords leaving the market, but we are actually also seeing more tenancies than before. Nationally, approved housing bodies have seen their registered tendencies grow year on year and quarter on quarter. Private tenancies have also grown annually to 240,751. In Dublin … area where there is often particularly acute housing pressure, registered private tenancies rose by 4.3% annually to 108,174. Deputy Doherty says his position on rent and rental protections is clear. I am not sure it is because I genuinely do not know today whether or not Sinn

correct the record: we have an excellent Minister who is working very hard but housing is also a whole-of-government issue. The Minister, Deputy Browne, recently published, with me, the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, a new national housing plan that involves every part … State, realising everybody has a role to play in the housing emergency, including our local authorities and State agencies. On this specific project, I am not familiar with it but I will speak to the Minister

national planning statement. I will explain the planning context more fully in a moment. As Deputy Stanley and many Members of the House will be aware, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 wind energy guidelines, which will … present it in a manner that is more easily understood and implemented by developers and planning authorities. In this regard, the Department of housing, in conjunction with the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment, in the context of its environmental noise, climate and renewable energy policy remit

setback. We are now getting to a point where if one of these turbines fell, it would nearly hit a house because they are so high. This is causing real problems. The reason we have to get this 80% from onshore wind, and I remember arguing this with … technology available now would be better. The issue of solar regulations came up at a meeting of the Joint [Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage] the other day. If we are going to regulate solar farms, which are less intrusive, why are we not doing

People are still being penalised for telling the truth. As public representatives, we see every day how secrecy and bureaucracy undermine trust. Take housing in the council, for example. Some of us spend months making representations, attending meetings and fighting for families who desperately need a home. When … house is allocated, the local authority has now made a decision it will not tell us who got the house in our own constituencies. That is madness gone wrong. If we are doing the work, we should be told the outcome. That lack of transparency is the same

what has the Taoiseach got to show for the running of society? There are more than 5,000 children homeless, unaffordable rents and house prices, a creaking health service and massive under resourcing of public services like special education for children, and our Defence Forces. Those are just … needed therapist roles vacant across the country. Meanwhile, the Government will spend €750 million on agency staff this year. Is that prudent? The housing disaster is the civil rights issue for the generation of TY students with us today, yet the Government refuses to unleash the power

Revenue's VAT interpretation and litigation branch of its taxes policy and legislation division to the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, stating that broiler-house chickens must be registered for VAT this year. Revenue is now saying they do not have to be registered but the Department of Finance … saying they do. A total of 83% of broiler-house chickens are on farms that are subject to zero VAT. If their owners register for VAT as another identity, that cannot be done under the one tax number. The Minister for Finance has created something mad. Now farmers

loss as to why the council cannot say in this case that the child needs prioritisation and a proper house to facilitate the treatment and life of the child. That is something on which I will go back to the Minister for housing in respect of guidelines … billion has been invested in special education as an outcome of the budget, as well as €130 million for grants to adapt the houses of older people and disabled people. There was a €10 increase per week in the disability allowance, an expansion of the wage subsidy scheme

under consideration. Subject to no legal or practical impediments being identified to our participation, I intend to recommend to the Government and the Houses that we opt in to these agreements and the necessary motions will be brought to the Houses for agreement at the appropriate time … with the Republic of Korea so that Ireland can fully participate in the negotiations as they progress. I commend this proposal to the House to consider the exercise of Ireland’s right to opt in under Article 3 of Protocol 21 and seek the approval of the motion

usual but a humanitarian situation. The bottom line for me in Mayo, right from the beginning when I first saw people's houses collapsing, was that nobody would be left behind or locked out of this scheme because they could not afford to get into it, could … regulation or there was light regulation. Indeed, I query the regulation in place right now. That is why the Minister for housing needs to look at having proper oversight of the quarries currently supplying aggregate and materials being used to build houses. We are trying to deal with

Christmas is over. They are doing everything now. She said they are watching the children in case they touch the heaters in the house yet here we have tax breaks for people who do not need them, that is, for people who are on gold-plated pensions … Where is the justification? I have people who worry about how they are going to look after their kids. I was at a housing committee meeting last week where Clúid was before us. We were talking about energy poverty and EnergyCloud. It is a great idea. The witnesses

Targeted tax incentives to encourage people to build more apartments and increased capital investment in infrastructure to support new schemes form the main housing measures of budget 2026. The root cause of viability issues in relation to apartments is structurally high costs. Accordingly, sustainable progress on improving viability … have an opportunity to be able to access those homes. Where data exists in relation to the Exchequer cost of tax relief for housing market development, its is publicly available and is included in the Department of Finance report on tax expenditures published annually in advance

that with the leader of Sinn Féin in due course. I look forward to that opportunity. In relation to the amendment before the House, I do not have a huge amount more to add other than to say that I agree on the need for spending reviews … whether it has had the desired effect or not. It is about reducing the cost of building apartments. That does have benefits for housing supply. I should say, because a lot has been said about people trying to buy homes, that we are, thankfully, this year seeing

million in 2025 for third-party costs involving the Moriarty tribunal. That is a funding requirement now that is being requested of this House, a Supplementary Estimate of €3.475 million. There is a relatively limited amount of information contained in the Minister of State's proposal. Given that … required to drill down into the facts here, given the relative quantum of the moneys that the Minister of State is asking the House to sanction. Constitutionally, it is our role, as the Legislature, to sanction expenditure based on the proposals brought to us by the Executive

transparency?". That is why Independent Ireland is calling for the creation of a Department of efficiency and transparency, something very few in this House have supported. I would like to know why. It would be a dedicated body to monitor public spending, ensure timely resolution of legal disputes … infrastructure. To put it in perspective, the €71 million already spent on the Moriarty tribunal could have funded over 350 new social housing units, given that the average cost of building a social home is approximately €200,000 per unit. Imagine the impact that would have on struggling

After all, it is his Estimate, his Vote and his money. It should be dealt with. On a number of occasions in this House, I have asked questions about NAMA as did former Deputy, Michael McGrath, in his time as finance spokesperson for the Minister of State … party. On two previous occasions in this House, I raised serious matters relating to the unauthorised use of Mr. John Fraher's personal tax number by NAMA and the Poppyfield Consortium partnership - VAT No. 9540943A - since the dissolution of the partnership on 3 December 2013. That

political will has converged with a lack of institutional knowledge. On the latter point, I, like so many others, was not in the House in 2017 when Sláintecare was agreed. The membership of both Houses of the Oireachtas has changed considerably in the years since and just five … indeed is their party’s health spokesperson. I do not say this to suggest there is not an understanding of Sláintecare in this House, but we are, as Professor Steve Thomas has warned, in "danger of mission creep". To be clear, Professor Thomas is not just some commentator

against women were in the headlines. One woman was set alight after being doused in petrol in a morning attack at a Dublin house. A woman in Leixlip was seriously injured after being assaulted by her ex-partner, who then set fire to her home before taking … fail them. Not in speeches and photocalls, but in funding, in refuge spaces, in courtrooms and in every decision we take in this House, with a full recognition that the absolute antithesis of justice is the retraumatising of victims that happens in court rooms every single

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the targets for the delivery of cost rental and affordable purchase homes by local authorities, approved housing bodies and the Land Development Agency under the Government's new housing plan from 2025 to 2030. [66119/25

would like the House to note that the Minister, of course, completely avoided the question and instead gave what can only be described as an Orwellian response to a simple question. There is no new starter home programme. What the Government has done is it has taken … that affordable. Similarly, we are now seeing cost rents coming in as high as €19,000 a month for a three-bedroom house, and €17,000 a month for a two-bedroom unit. A growing number of people who are not eligible for social housing are excluded from

Following on from a review of the private rental sector published by my Department in July 2024, the Housing Agency was commissioned to undertake a comprehensive review of the current system of rent controls using RPZs. The key focus of the review was to assess the operation … available for rent and keep existing landlords in the market. The modifications to rent controls have been informed by the findings of the Housing Agency review. The policy measures announced by the Government also include significant improvements in security of tenure for renters. The Government has provided additional

Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications approved, in progress and refused under the Land Acquisition Fund, by local authority and by year from 2020 to date in 2026, in tabular form. [69095/26

Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 64954/26, the reason the relevant aspects of the Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 has not yet been commenced; to confirm when the relevant aspects

Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether consideration is being given to removing or revising local authority policies that place limits on the number of dwellings that may be constructed on family farm holdings. [69189/26

Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress that has been made in delivering the actions under Heritage Ireland 2030, particularly in relation to investment in built and archaeological heritage and supporting local communities in protecting and promoting their heritage

Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason it takes over a year for An Coimisiún Pleanála to decide on a Section 5 application once a Local Authority makes a referral to them or if the applicant submits an appeal (details supplied

Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the promised updated wind energy development guidelines; the timeframe for their completion; if he is concerned by the number of planning applications for wind farms that were refused by local authorities and later

Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the targets that have been set under the Government's objective to eradicate homelessness; the timeline for achieving those targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69322/26

Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the expected delivery time of the 10,200 new-build social homes planned for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69321/26

Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of homes the Government expects to be completed in 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 respectively under the target to deliver 300,000 homes by 2030; if he will provide breakdown in tabular form

Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of homes currently delayed due to infrastructure deficits, including water, wastewater, transport and electricity constraints; the location of the affected developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69316/26

Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department have provided advice to local authorities to limit the provision of emergency accommodation to those not in full time employment. [69317/26

Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he has been made aware of the concurrent Strategic Policy Committee membership and planning-applicant status (details supplied), during the preparation and adoption of the Naas Local Area Plan 2021–2027; whether the Department

Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question Nos. PQ61112/26 and 139 of 28 July 2026, if his attention has been drawn to Central Statistics Office data that only 15% of new dwellings completed since 2021 have been fitted with

Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the promised updated wind energy development guidelines; the timeframe for their completion; if he is concerned by the number of planning applications for wind farms that were refused by local authorities and later

Mark Wall asked the Minister for Health If there is any process that would allow the appointment of a GP to carry out house calls to a wheelchair user in Kildare who has extreme difficulty in accessing the local clinic. [69182/26

will extend a post primary school transport route to collect a student (details supplied) who is attending a special class from her house. [68975/26

Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the statutory review of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 currently being undertaken under Section 51 of the Act; the names, qualifications, and specific terms

Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the engagement has he and his Department had with Dublin City Council to find a way to facilitate the community indoor market in the eight building in Dublin 8 that was part of the planning permission

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which communities will be informed, in an emergency situation, of where to find their nearest community support centre and local centres set up to provide support in the event of extreme weather emergencies

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding that has been allocated to the Community Support Centre programme, that is local centres set up to provide support in the event of extreme weather emergencies since the publication of the Review of storm

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of the 400 planned Community Support Centres, local centres set up to provide support in the event of extreme weather emergencies, that have been fitted with generator connections. [68843/26

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason local authorities with limited resources, that serve economically disadvantaged counties, such as Donegal County Council, are expected to co-fund multi-million capital projects, funded by central Government to the same level

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a county-by-county breakdown of community support centres and local centres set up to provide support in the event of extreme weather emergencies, categorised by those planned, those under development, and those operational

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage following the review of Storm Éowyn, the coastal communities that have been identified as being at significant risk from storm surge, coastal flooding and coastal erosion. [68833/26

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the actions taken since January 2026 to implement the recommendation of the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy regarding enhanced planning and investment for coastal resilience measures; and if he will provide a progress update