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provision on a phased basis to enable tenancies affected to be terminated over a period of time to assist in managing demands on housing services as a result of such deferred termination; and to provide for related matters. As the House knows, the level of homelessness has reached … historical high. In October, there were 16,766 people, including 5,274 children, in Department of housing-funded emergency accommodation. Of course, that is not the true level of homelessness. When we include rough sleepers, women and children in Tusla-funded domestic violence refuges and all those people

fear that the rush to label it as mica may have been influenced by the wish not to knock down all the houses and to save money, to be crude about it. I remember hearing a member of the panel on a radio station. They explained … layperson that with pyrite, the house has to come down, but with mica, the house can stay up. I remember it so well. I am a layperson. I am certainly no scientific expert or geologist, but I trusted that. I always use the example that when

scheme of things, when you look at projections of what this will cost, it will be 43 houses and roughly €22,000 per house. Given the different-sized houses, it is an average of €22,000 per house. Going by the 29 March deadline, there is a price … Government, the hike in fuel costs, transport costs, rising insulation costs and rising silicone costs. All the different oil-based materials for houses, through different budgets, have created an increase. We are asking for fairness for 43 houses. It is a pittance when looked at in the scheme

want to take the opportunity to discuss my experience from a housing perspective. As someone who has been a councillor in County Kildare for a number of years and, indeed, a town councillor before that, I have seen the different tranches. I have seen a housing boom … housing bust, and now I have seen continuing price increases in housing. We have seen that a lot of those houses have become out of reach for ordinary people. A lot of our friends and families have not been able to buy in the area and have

outdated standard. Even Engineers Ireland, through its director general, told an Oireachtas committee that IS 465 is simply not fit for purpose. The Housing Agency still instructs engineers to follow it. This is not a mistake; this is a choice to ignore the science because acknowledging it would … Government claims the appeals panel is independent but section 39(10)(b) of the Act states: the Appeal Board shall— [...] (i) direct ... the Housing Agency ... to reconsider its decision ..., or (ii) replace the decision [itself] That does not sound like independence to me. In reality, the board never

this. We need to follow very carefully the advice and analysis available to those of us in government and to those in this House about the volatile economic situation in which we find ourselves geopolitically. On the day when the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council published its latest assessment … homes if they are not built. Yesterday, in Dáil Éireann bizarrely Sinn Féin voted against a resolution that would have allowed approved housing bodies, many of which I am sure Sinn Féin Members meet, to actually benefit from that reduction. The next time they meet an approved housing

Government finally published its long overdue housing plan last week. After all the anticipation, what it delivered was nothing more than old milk in new bottles. There was nothing new on affordable homeownership, no clarity on what new powers the Land Development Agency will have and no ambition … social housing. It is just an open door for speculators and land hoarders. Worse again, the Government has abandoned annual targets for new home building. Could there be a more blatant admission of failure than that? The Government has also essentially confessed to the locked-out generation that

Government has gone. Is the cow gone or what has happened? That was badly needed. There is a lot of money there for housing, in fairness. When one reads the document, the sad part of that budget is that affordable housing was never mentioned. We all represent different … areas. I know in Roscommon if someone earns more than €35,000 they are not eligible for social housing, but what about affordable housing? If someone is working and earning €35,000 or €40,000 and multiplies that by four there is not a hope of them being

that it is outrageous. It is a transfer of wealth from the public to those who are profiteering from the housing crisis. I heard the Taoiseach say the day after the budget during Leaders' Questions that this was not a tax break for developers. His saying … help address the viability gap in apartment construction as part of a social policy to deliver more and higher-density apartments". Interestingly, the Housing Agency defines a viability gap as "where the cost of building an apartment, or a house is higher than its market sale price." There

short and narrow Bill but it will be an important one if it keeps the wheel turning for social and affordable housing. Independent Ireland will always support a measure that lets councils and housing bodies keep building but, let us be honest, this is a technical … housing plan. What is the Minister of State's plan? Today, I do not see anything different from what I have seen in the past nine years. Up to 5,000 children are now homeless and 16,000 people in total are without a home. Where

important to set out that putting it into the Constitution is not going to deliver one more house. This Government has set out that housing is a priority. This is evidenced by the fact that almost one in three euro in our national development plan is going towards … housing delivery. This is not even including the funding for grids and roads, which are all prioritised towards housing delivery as well. Spain, for example, is engaging with our Department and Government because it is in a housing crisis. Their minister for housing is looking at schemes

deliver transformational investment to safeguard our future, with €275.4 billion of public capital investment to 2035 to secure Ireland's future and unlocking housing, upgrading our water and energy infrastructure, delivering more roads and providing more public transport. This investment will deliver real impacts for rural and regional … There is also a need for the root-and-branch examination of the delivery of local government functions, particularly in the areas of housing and planning. I also welcome the continuation of the 9% reduction in the VAT rate on energy for everybody. Housing is a serious issue

that we deliver these investments. The urgency with which we need to make progress can so clearly be seen when we look at housing. Housing, Local Government and Heritage This Government's absolute priority is to strengthen the foundations for housing delivery and build more homes … people. In 2026, I am allocating a total of €11.3 billion in funding to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Almost €2 billion of this current funding will continue to meet the social housing needs of over 100,000 households, through the housing assistance, rental accommodation

days, housing figures came out and we took them to be public housing figures. I find it actually laughable in recent years the way the housing figures encompass everything that is built in the country and the Government takes the credit. I see this as the Government … drive to reach the housing targets it missed by pumping money into private developers and construction companies in a desperate means to get the figures up. What is the total cost of all of these measures? While I have seen a figure for one of the measures

There exists a huge chasm between Government rhetoric on housing and the reality locally. I draw the Taoiseach's attention to the housing situation in Mayo. The first home scheme, introduced in 2022, has delivered, on average, just six houses each year across the county. The affordable housing … delivered just five units, which is less than one per year. The cost-rental scheme in Mayo has delivered no housing units. There were hundreds of applications for the vacant property grant but just 83 payouts. Only four houses transitioned into the mortgage-to-rent scheme. The tenant

That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to bring the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025 before the House today. Members will recall the size of the Planning and Development Bill 2024, which was enacted last year. Many of us worked extensively … that legislation, both at the joint Oireachtas committee and in both Houses. While the implementation of this Act is a key priority for the Government, it is important that the planning system remain agile and responsive to issues. This is why I am bringing this Bill forward today

moment in the life of all nations when the status quo become not just unacceptable but indefensible. This is one of the moments. Housing is not merely about economic issues; it is a question of justice, dignity and of intergenerational trust. Yet, this Government has allowed a generation … Families pay record rents while new homes remain trapped in the webs of objections, deadlock and endless consultation. Zoned lands lie idle while housing lists grow. Children grow up in temporary accommodation, which has become permanent through official and Government neglect. This motion does something successive Governments have

thank the Independent Technical Group for bringing this Private Member's motion to the House. I have to ask directly whether the Minister for Housing and this Government understand why all the Opposition parties are continually putting forward motions on housing so early in this new Dáil term … Government's amendments to those many motions on housing all say the same thing? Why do the amendments to the many housing motions always deny the fact there is a housing crisis, which is in fact a housing emergency, ignore the fact housing lists are getting longer

homelessness is key. A key strategy is to shorten the time any family experiences emergency accommodation and ensure they can receive social housing. We have built more social houses in the past four years than in the previous 40 years. The increase in building of social housing … provision of social housing through other mechanisms has increased exponentially. That is a key way of dealing with homelessness. The housing first programme is also key. It was recommended strongly a number of years ago by the homeless agencies. There are now 1,000 tenancies for homeless people

enough money to buy 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 … 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

increased bill they have to pay in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. In County Cork, according to a daft.ie report, house prices have increased by more than €75,000. That is not the fault of Cork City Council, Cork County Council, the people buying those … houses or the tenants themselves. Rather, it is failed Government housing policy that has driven house prices to sky-high or record highs. The Government has not been able to get the supply right in housing. It has driven house prices up. The market is now running unchecked

have just come in from the protest outside the gates of the House. There is a huge crowd of people outside protesting about the Government's failed policies. We have nurses, students, young people, renters and representatives from all the political parties. They have one really clear message … that the Government's housing policies are failing. Things are getting worse and not better, yet the Government is doubling down. What we hear constantly from the Government is that we have turned a corner. Honestly, it has turned so many corners now, it is going round

will be sharing time. We will each have three and a half minutes. There is a housing crisis. We need to deliver houses. I am offering my services to the Minister, as I have offered them to other Ministers, to help to deliver houses … knowledge I have that Irish Water is not providing value for money. It will not deliver the infrastructure needed to deliver houses. That is a fact. With all the millions and billions it is quoting the Government to deliver infrastructure, it has now been proved that Irish Water

current housing crisis in this country can only be described as a catastrophic failure of leadership and policy, leaving countless families in despair and homelessness while developers and landlords profit from the misery. The Government's inaction and ineffective measures have turned the dream of so many … getting a social house or owning a home into a cruel joke. In my county of Wexford, as of yesterday, there were 2,818 households on the housing list. That number is households, not individual people, and the response of the Government can only be described as ambitionless

support of the revised national planning framework. I welcome the revision. It also acknowledges the changed context of the need to accelerate housing construction. It is important to emphasise the equal importance of infrastructure and all the associated services that need to be delivered. The revised framework represents … come to this debate with a dual perspective, namely as a Member of Dáil Éireann but also, like many colleagues in the House, as a former county councillor who was involved in the formation of a county development plan. Such plans, for anyone who is new to politics

Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to encourage purpose built housing for older adults by designating it as a specific use class or housing typology, as has been done for purpose built student accommodation; and if he will make

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the progress of the new voids programme, as promised in the Programme for Government 2025, to improve the turnaround of vacant social housing units and if AHBs are now being provided with … tenant nominations prior to housing completions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56597/25

Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider incorporating ‘EnergyCloud Ready’ standards into the design and specification of new social and affordable housing developments, ensuring that heat pumps, storage heaters, batteries, and smart water tanks installed in new builds … remotely activated to make use of surplus renewable energy; the way in which new-build housing can contribute to demand-side flexibility and the reduction of energy poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56767/25

Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that local authorities are stalling applications to the social housing list by homeless individuals if they cannot provide a utility bill in their name or a sworn affidavit by people … allowing them to couch surf, though this might include tenants in social housing who may be reluctant to provide such an affidavit for fear of being found in breach of their own tenancy agreement; if he agrees that these are bureaucratic barriers unsuitable for homeless individuals

Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the full and final cost of a housing site (details supplied) including all site preparation, ancillary and constructions costs, security costs, landscaping etc; for a breakdown of these costs; the total cost per unit; the annual … cost of operating these housing units by the approved housing body; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56972/25

Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the specific measures in Budget 2026 will support the building of houses in Gaeltacht areas; when he will publish the Guidelines for Gaeltacht Housing; and if he will consider establishing a dedicated Housing Unit in Údarás

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on if the office of the planning regulator is holding back housing supply in certain local authorities; if so, to detail which local authorities; when, and the way in which, the office … planning regulators is impacting their housing supply in this way. [56322/25

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are plans for the National Housing Agency to purchase a housing estate (details supplied) where all the tenants have received eviction notices to leave between February and June of next year

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a breakdown of the revised estimate subhead A3, local government housing, by Social Housing Investment Programme, land acquisition fund, development levy waiver and any other category for the 2025 allocation

Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider engaging with management of local authorities to examine the extent of uncompleted housing estates with infrastructural deficits beyond the resources of the local authority and available bonds; if his attention has been … drawn to the fact that there are people living in unfinished housing estates with sewerage overflowing and local authorities having the on-going costs of dealing with such matters; and if so, if he will consider setting up a fund similar to the mica re-dress scheme

Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department is evaluating amendments to the housing needs and demand assessment process to assist with housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54818/25

Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average construction costs incurred by local authorities, per house, in the construction of social houses. [55234/25

Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the use of online bidding platforms and countdown clocks in house sales; his views on whether they are a positive innovation in the housing market; if he will seek to ban or regulate

Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his Department’s plans to lower housing costs in Fingal; the way in which his Department plans to ensure that the first home scheme keeps up with the housing price increases that Fingal has seen year

Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the housing schemes in Ros a Mhíl and Eanach Mheáin currently owned by an organisation (details supplied); if funding will be given from his Department to ensure that these … homes will be used for social and affordable housing for the Gaeltacht community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53457/25

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will ensure that the new housing plan makes it possible for Donegal County Council to construct affordable housing projects across the county. [53700/25

Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on plans to dramatically increase the supply of housing under the affordable housing scheme. [53566/25

Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of homes delivered and approved in County Laois under both the affordable purchase scheme and the first home scheme from 2022 to 2024 and to date in 2025; the proposed numbers … subsequent years; the measures being taken to expand affordable housing options for working households above the social housing income threshold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53590/25

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason for the delays in having housing built on the OPW site on Jamestown Road, Inchicore and on the surplus lands of the CIÉ Works in Dublin 8, despite the site being identified … housing over a decade and a half ago. [54049/25

Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are any funding plans, such as the previous Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, to support local authorities in developing amenities where there have been significant housing developments, to ensure that we are not just … about delivering housing, but communities that families can thrive (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54224/25

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any of the properties bought by the Housing Agency under the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme have been sold on to approved housing boards and have been converted to cost-rental tenancies. [52968/25

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has verified the claim by the chairperson of the Land Development Agency that 70% of income earners are priced out of the housing market in terms of both rents and house prices

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his Department's projection of new housing completions for 2025, by local authority; and the way in which these compare with the underlying annual demand identified by the ESRI and the Housing Commission. [53112/25

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing-market transactions recorded in the past 12 months; and his Department's assessment of whether transaction volumes are consistent with a healthy and functioning housing market. [53114/25

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department tracks the gap between general consumer price inflation and housing price inflation; and if so, the steps being taken to bring housing inflation in line with wider economic inflation trends. [53116/25