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obvious that some Members of this House have no right to speak in this House

option to keep a triple lock, if we get rid of that of the UN, is to require a supermajority in both Houses of the Oireachtas. I mentioned 80% at one stage, and perhaps that is too high. Perhaps it should be two thirds. We need to have … other circumstance, would be called overtime. Whatever our views on this triple lock debate, we should have common agreement in this House that the men and women who serve our State deserve fair remuneration and conditions. I am paired tonight, so I cannot get to vote on Second

fundamentally alter safeguards surrounding the deployment of Irish troops overseas should not be decided solely within the walls of an teach sin, Leinster House. If the Government believes that the Irish people want a different approach to neutrality, then it should have the courage to say that … over on St. Patrick’s Day and tell them how great they are, but the Ministers have a different plan. This House must be very careful before dismantling safeguards that have served this country well for generations. If there is to be any fundamental change to the triple

Leasú), 2026. I am very concerned over this Bill. I strongly oppose it and will be voting against it tonight. Many in this House have the same concerns. I have received so much correspondence from my constituents. Only yesterday I spoke to many constituents in Edenderry and other … country should have a say in such an important national issue. People are strongly opposed and very concerned. Like every Member of this House, I recognise that Europe faces significant security challenges. Conflict continues in multiple regions, as we know. Governments have a responsibility to assess those risks

Protocol 21 works case by case. Each measure needs to be opted in in its own right and approved by both Houses under Article 29.4.7°. Each motion is a specific EU measure. We will support these but as I have said in front of this House many times

years that the most difficult area in which to implement reform is the legal arena. There are always plenty of defenders in the House of that particular area. I believe a legal system is vital to our democracy. A criminal justice system is vital to our democracy. However … said it is all the Minister's creation. On another day, if the Minister ignored a report, others would come into the House and ask why he left that report sitting on his desk. I genuinely make the point that we need reform in this area. The Minister

homelessness. That is an outrageous assertion. I do not have the specifics of this case. I will speak to the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne. It is not Darragh O'Brien; James Browne is the Minister for housing

dereliction but he is not going to collect the derelict sites levy until June 2028. I have just come from a housing committee meeting. Most local authorities have one derelict sites officer. Most do not have an up-to-date and complete derelict sites register, and no local … joke. The thing about it is that it would be funny if it were not so serious. We have tens of thousands of houses, both derelict and vacant, blighting every community in the State, and the Government is doing nothing about it. Why is this? It is because

those who speculate in shares and derivatives, so we would have another €3 billion left over to do something else. Does the House know what we could do with the other €3 billion? We have also costed that. We could put price controls on petrol, diesel, home heating … feel it. However, it would make a huge difference to working people who are struggling to pay their bills and extortionate rents or house prices and to the many young people who are just deciding they cannot afford this and are going to leave. Some 68% of young

carer's allowance. They are at home minding a loved one and they still cannot get this funding. The same is true of housing. If you have an intellectual disability, you are left behind in this country when it comes to housing. You have to fight for everything

welcome the Minister of State and congratulate the Minister, Simon Harris, on his first budget presentation to the House. Last year, we emphasised that we were taking care of and trying to support businesses, and rightly so. A permanent change took place. There was a debate here … budget, and applies from 7 October 2026. It relates to people who sign a contract for a new house between 7 October 2026 and 31 October 2029 or draw down on a self-build mortgage between 7 October 2026 and 31 December 2029. This is hugely important assistance

families over the course of the last number of years. Many of them go unreported. Some of them have been raised in this House. Those families live in fear, and those criminal gangs and thugs thrive on fear and silence. It is very difficult for people to come … there to protect them. This is because those gangs thrive on fear and silence. There can be no fear and silence in this House and from the State. The State has to stand up in a really forceful way, and say it is going to crack down

Centre, which became support hubs to help people to deal with the shock, trauma and disbelief following this awful tragedy. We in this House must acknowledge that in the worst of circumstances, communities have rallied together to offer support, counselling, practical assistance and comfort to those who need … drugs is impacting on every village, town and city in the country. Tonight, let us be unified in sending a message from this House that we have had enough and that we are coming after the criminal thugs responsible for wreaking havoc, despair and death on communities

extend my sympathies. It truly is horrific to think that those parents and children died in a petrol bomb attack of their house. Those children deserve to be waking up. They deserve to be having a Christmas. I am sickened by it and we all should … this does not happen again. Unfortunately, in my constituency, just two days after that attack, there was a petrol bomb attack on a house in Finglas and a family managed to escape. This State is not ensuring that children can go to sleep at night knowing that they

Hearne in the context of his constituency, but also their neighbours are terrified because they are wondering if they will pick the wrong house and whether they and their children will die in their beds. I wish to give my sympathies to the English family. I really … home, but if they did want to move to have a place of safety, there is nowhere to move to because of the housing crisis in this country. They are stuck there. They are stuck in that situation. As someone who worked with young people such as those

paid off debts twice because they came back a second time. That was not in an urban area. It was an isolated house in a rural area of Tipperary. It was not in the inner city of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford or Galway. The person who was affected … campaign to denormalise drug-taking in this country and to denormalise its social acceptability. In many social settings, whether in a house, a pub or wherever else, it is okay to take cocaine and other serious drugs. It is simply not okay. However, for some reason, among

thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and providing me with an opportunity to update the House. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. The making, amendment, review or revocation of a special amenity

again thank Deputy Gogarty for raising this important issue in the House, which I am taking behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. In conclusion, sections 202 and 203 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 set out a statutory process

spokesperson on local government, Deputy Gould has highlighted this issue time and again, particularly with regard to vacancy and its impact on the housing crisis. He has raised it frequently with the Minister for housing. This is something that concerns rural communities as well, regarding

building into the future. It is worthwhile and a success for the constituency. I ask the Minister to work with the Department of housing in this regard. Cork County Council has gone to the low-hanging fruit and delivered. There are complex cases of dereliction in our towns … have ownership and title issues, and other issues in dispute. Support is needed so that the council can work with the Department of housing for compulsory purchase orders. My county has not been very proactive in compulsory purchase orders, unfortunately, unlike other counties. County Limerick, my neighbouring county

made such a difference. The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, who has responsibility in this space, and the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, are committed to this. Returning to the building and land acquisition measure, we have confirmed funding of €7.2 million for this year. That will fund … derelict. If local authorities use the powers available to them, and the funding available to them from my Department and the Department of housing, as well as using the resources of the town regeneration officers and their skills, we can use the existing capital money to make bigger

This House, representing the people, has spent considerable money on the training of those nurses and midwives. They have trained in our universities and hospitals and we want to retain them. We value them and their expertise and we want them to be in the Irish health service … offered posts, of whom six have accepted. I expect that work to continue but I cannot go any further than that in the House today. The Deputy can clearly hear our intent about the professionalisation of recruitment in the system

Government’s target for housing growth in Laois is 11,200 over a period of nine years. That is a population growth of 33,000, or 33%, in a nine-year period. That creates a demand on services. One of the most pressing issues is bed capacity … respite and step-down beds. A total of six beds are currently taken up in the hospital because the day care centre is housed within it. The Government has an extra €1.9 billion earmarked for capital spending in health this year. We are not looking for three

assure the Deputy that work across all Government Departments and agencies is happening specifically about being prepared. The document sent to every house across the country was to focus on a wide range of issues including flooding and incidents like Storm Éowyn, where the impact … will also be aware that where flooding has happened, the Government has moved immediately to try to provide financial and other supports for houses, and we will not be found wanting. However, we need to try to prevent that from happening in the first instance and that

small town of Leixlip overseen by three local authorities, Dublin city, south Dublin and Kildare County Council, KCC. Like everyone in the House, I care for the people who find themselves without housing, and I know larger pressures, such as immigration, have brought a surge in emergency numbers

Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applicants who have availed of the €24,100 lump sum payment under the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme, by year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applicants who have availed of the €1,500 annual payment under the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48267/26

Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the total level of expenditure for the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme since its establishment; to provide an annual breakdown of this expenditure from its establishment to date in 2026, in tabular

Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable purchase and affordable cost rental homes delivered in each local authority area in the past five years; the projected number of affordable purchase and cost rental homes to be delivered in each

that private ECCE only childcare providers are now liable for commercial rates; and if she will raise this issue with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. [46908/26

Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her plans to have an Ireland House Model in Berlin. [46838/26

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department has ever engaged with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage regarding potential changes to planning laws to make the provision of solar canopies mandatory when planning permission is being granted

Transport to report on the delay in introducing Route 85 of the A-Spine of BusConnects; if he is concerned that new housing developments have been approved and built on the basis that the route was due to be operational in 2024; the expected commencement date

Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are plans within his Department to support local authorities who wish to support community groups taking over derelict buildings within towns and villages to combat dereliction and improve streetscapes; and if he will make

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on a project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47571/26

Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the legislative framework to address the issue of very high or overhanging trees and hedgerows, specifically leylandii, on neighbouring properties; and if there is any planned legislation on the issue given the existence of same

Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the main recommendations outlined in the Value-for-Money Report for Local Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46824/26

Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will introduce a compassionate hardship clause or legislative amendment to the enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme to accommodate families who have inherited a defective property from a relative who was diagnosed with

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of the conservation covenants in use in England and Wales under the Environment Act 2021; if he plans to introduce a similar scheme here in Ireland; and if he will make

Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he will publish 2025 derelict sites levy data. [46902/26

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that different definitions of dereliction are being used in the vacant and derelict property refurbishment grant and the derelict sites register; and if he will give a commitment to review

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current enforcement powers and legal tools, in his Department or related semi-State bodies, which can be used to tackle and seize abandoned or derelict vessels on inland waterways; his Department’s plans

Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether it is the intention of his Department to allow retained firefighters to continue to work until 65 years-of-age; if so, if he will detail the work undertaken by his Department to date

Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that the cost of doing the initial pyrite assessment for a homeowner is currently €3000 which is not refundable, if the home is not entered into the remediation scheme; his views

Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that the erection of solar panels on commercial buildings may render the surface area of those panels part of the rateable valuation of a commercial building; and if he will make

Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of vacancy officers and other such vacancy and dereliction-related staff in each of the 31 local authorities, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47090/26

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of new HAP tenancies created in 2025; the number of these that were homeless HAP tenancies; the number that were based on the 30% financial hardship ; the number on the standard rate

Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if grants are available to local authorities to assist with dereliction in towns within their areas of responsibility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47111/26

Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if local authorities can step in to improve the appearance of derelict shops and businesses in towns and villages within their administrative areas, where the owner might not be cooperating or where the owner

Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if grants are available to local authorities to assist with dereliction in towns within their areas of responsibility; if there are plans to create such funding; if so, the timeline involved; and if he will make