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change, we learned of the eviction notices issued to 36 homes in Wexford, all owned by the same large landlord, right in the heart of the housing Minister's own constituency. My colleague Deputy Lawlor has been dealing with the families involved, in excess of 100 people including … provide any clarification to the families affected. There are two questions. If the Minister for housing cannot understand his own laws, how on earth is any renter meant to know their rights now? Second, we are all seeing a real-time surge in notices to quit. The Wexford

modern housing as opposed to their present utterly Dickensian conditions. In 2017, the European Committee of Social Rights found human rights violations regarding the substandard social housing in Ireland. Sewage, contaminated water, dampness and persistent mould raised concerns for habitability. Dolphin House residents continue to report sewage invasions

rental accommodation scheme and housing assistance payments, the State has taken responsibility off itself for housing those who should be in social housing. We all know that in the private rental sector there are thousands of would-be social tenants and thousands of would-be home owners … have called for many years. A renters' register was in the first Bill I introduced as a TD in this House in 2021, the renters' rights Bill, but we need to see more from the Taoiseach and the Government. In particular, we need to see them reintroduce

where older residents of local authority houses living in three-bedroom or, in one case in Kilkenny, a four-bedroom house, who want to downsize or right size for their own needs now, are not being given priority to do this. Among the houses coming on the market

work for sustainable community development, whether that is in Clonsilla, Ongar, Castleknock, Hollystown or Tyrellstown. As the report states, housing stock must be responsive to needs, the right type in the right location and the right volume. At the moment I am not sure if housing types

Governments. So bad were the failures that in 2014, residents from 20 council housing estates supported by the Community Action Network and others took the Irish Government to the European Committee of Social Rights. After listening to all the evidence and hearing the weasel words of Government, that … Article 16. It was failing to protect the rights of families to social, legal and economic protection, including the right to provision of adequate family housing by the State. That decision in 2017 finally meant Dublin City Council started to take action, with a report

done to address vacancy and dereliction. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. The Deputy rightly said we want less bureaucracy and more assistance. Working to end dereliction and vacancy is a key priority … implementing the programme by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Housing Agency. These measures are proving effective in reducing vacancy levels and there is real momentum developing right across the country in bringing empty properties back into use as homes. The Deputy also talked

solar. Not everyone has tens of thousands of euro for a deep retrofit. A lot of my constituents live in social and affordable housing and want to be able to have a quick €500 kit - possibly cheaper if the Government does a maximum scheme - to reduce their energy … Ireland. Rather than a four-month Civil Service discussion on where we need to look first, I will identify three places right now. The first is housing. We must cut the cost of delay and delivery and look at the consultancy speed. The seller’s legal pack, which

right, the officials in my Department, have been working night and day on this legislation. They could in no way be accused of having rushed this without real and proper consideration and thought. While I do appreciate we are bringing it through the Houses quite quickly … working with the Opposition on any aspect of this in the weeks ahead. On the protection of fundamental rights, which came up quite a bit across the House, and the enforcement regime in the Bill, I point to the fact again that the EU AI Act has direct

spending and taxing enough. The Labour Party says we are spending too much. It is clear we have got the balance just right. The Opposition is fond of selecting one item and saying that our costs are the highest compared to other countries, but by so many measures … more things that can help deliver enough houses. This budget proposes another part of solving this challenge. It is right to use targeted tax measures to help deliver housing. The Government will do everything it can and make all necessary changes to deliver housing. It will be done

date for delivery of affordable homes by our delivery partners and I note the hard work going into that delivery right across the sector. Affordable housing schemes are now operating at scale and this momentum will continue as the pipeline is developed by local authorities, approved housing bodies

term. The Deputy said it is an alternative to investment funds. We do not have too many investment funds investing in housing in the Irish economy right now, and that is a problem. We had an SSIA scheme in the past. It was roundly criticised at the time … Government is open to consideration of a range of issues. The more fundamental point is how we get 50,000 houses built. I have genuinely yet to see anything from the Opposition that answers that question. The Government has built in or around 30,000 units. There

will follow through on their words to allocate more time to people representing one of the largest groups in the House, namely, backbenchers. We have as much right to ask Priority Questions to our Ministers as anybody else in the House. I acknowledge the Tánaiste's appointment

recently in his county. Intel has shown a real vote of confidence in Kildare but also in the Irish economy. Deputy Neville is right that we are investing an extraordinary amount in capital. More than a quarter of a trillion euro will be spent on infrastructure in this … communities, whether it is water, energy, wastewater, transport or social infrastructure such as schools and hospitals and, of course, housing as well. The Deputy is right to point to the fact that there are a lot of things this country does well. The national broadband plan was pretty

area in terms of union recognition. As a party, Sinn Féin has long stood in support of trade union recognition and the fundamental right of workers to be represented by their unions. I acknowledge the work of my colleague, Deputy Louise O'Reilly, in this area, as well … Gavan, with regard to the support and progression of trade unions and trade union representatives. We on this side of the House are committed to the rights of workers right across this island. Again, this speaks to the all-island economy. We need congruence of workers' rights across

build the houses 20% smaller with substandard building materials. That decision was taken. Now Knocknaheeny has been undergoing regeneration since 2000. The houses were 25 years old when they had to start that and now we are 25 years into it. All that is because bad decisions were … Opposition spokespersons on housing. The number of vacant, derelict properties with water, electricity, infrastructrure and public transport right outside is an absolute sin. I know the housing crisis cannot be solved overnight - no one is suggesting it can – but what the Minister can do is deliver housing where

conflate inward migration with international protection. I agree with Deputy Kelly that racism should have no place in this debate, this House or public commentary. The right to claim asylum is at the core of international law and Irish values. That said, we owe the public, and applicants … that is both firm and rights compliant. This Bill will not solve every challenge overnight but it is a serious step in the right direction. It creates a faster system which is fairer. It protects those who genuinely need refuge, reduces unnecessary costs, restores confidence and ensures Ireland

acknowledge the Government has indicated support for this legislation. I very much welcome that, and the support from Members right across the benches in this House. It is so important we work together to make this really essential change and that we all do the right thing

cottages in my home area. Just along the Grand Canal, as morning commuters travelled to work and school, a terrace of houses, ironically, owned by and right adjacent to the Construction Industry Federation headquarters, collapsed. It was embarrassing for the CIF, for sure, but it was lucky that … stark example of the scourge of vacancy and dereliction. Vacancy blights more than just streetscapes because whenever I raise it in this House, as I have many times, I see vacant stares on the Government side. Nobody in government seems to know the scale of the problem

today, our Taoiseach spoke about nobody in this House having the monopoly on care or empathy when it comes to housing. Do you know what? He is right. What the Government has now is a monopoly on power. What is it going to do with it? In whose

months of the coming into operation of this act the Minister shall produce a report into the establishing of a principle that the rights of a tenant shall not be affected by the size or type of the landlord and/or the date of the tenancy commencement. (4) Within … fight back. People who want something done about this housing crisis and who want to get affordable rents, secure and affordable housing and to protect tenants' rights need to begin to get organised on the streets

That goes back to when Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, sometimes with dodgy backhanders, were rezoning land on greenfield sites left, right and centre. They built houses everywhere with no facilities and infrastructure. Then, when we had a chance with strategic development zones like Clonburris, Sinn Féin, People … industrial policy. I mentioned before that in one estate in my constituency, 90% of the people who are paying top dollar for those houses are not from Ireland. They are from abroad. They are working and paying taxes and contributing here. The issue is, though, that they have

crisis is to dramatically increase supply. The most effective way to do that is through capital investment in cost rental and social housing, not through demand-side measures such as the help-to-buy scheme and the first home scheme. Instead, the response of the Government, which … homes and to grow the sector to 20% of all housing stock. We also need to see new targets before 2027. Housing is the biggest civil rights issue of an entire generation. It is younger people, in particular, who are paying the price. I hope the Minister will

going to take until 2050 before the gaps in water infrastructure, which are holding back the building of houses, are filled. We know that right now, the M50 is a car park. People are paying €200 million per year in tolls … must ensure that Departments, county councils and An Coimisiún Pleanála are properly staffed. I know of builders whose applications for hundreds of houses have been in An Coimisiún Pleanála for 18 or 20 months. Decisions are yet to be made on those applications. The organisations that are making

their own homes. We want a market that works. The Government is bringing fairness, balance and stability to our housing market. The new framework strikes the right balance for existing tenants, and helps to protect them from sharp and unpredictable rent hikes and provides certainty in order … citizens. We want to increase supply, and we have to incentivise people to come back into the rental market. This is something the Housing Agency recommended, in terms of modifying existing rent pressure zones. When we have debates in the Dáil, there is a serious contradiction