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Gabhaim buíochas le gach duine a labhair ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo. I commend Deputy Bacik on bringing this Bill before the House. I acknowledge those survivors and welcome them to the Chamber. They worked to raise awareness of this issue, often at considerable personal cost, long before … late 2022, this matter was referred to the Law Reform Commission. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could update the House on whether there has been any commission progress to address the legal loophole whereby unincorporated bodies are not obliged to nominate a person to accept

years since the first applications were received, four years since deeply problematic, controversial legislation for a renewed scheme was rushed through this House and three years since that scheme opened for applications. How many homes have been fully remediated in that time? According to the Department, the most … interim fire safety. It is utterly broken and needs change but this Government is not listening. However, I commend this motion to the House

made what is the biggest investment of their lives in good faith. They are not engineers. When the builder told them that the house was up to scratch, they expected that it was going to be up to scratch. For decades, thousands of them have endured their homes … have been dealing with this situation now for 20 years. They bought their homes in 2003 and, within a couple of years, those houses started to crumble. The problem is never going to end unless the Government is prepared to deal with it. Likewise, Fingal was only admitted

congratulate Deputy Charles Ward on tabling this motion in the House. I am aware of the tremendous work he has done on redress and I want to acknowledge that here today. This motion goes to the heart of trust between the State and the homeowners affected by defective … commissioning of an independent international review of the science. That is the right thing to do. I ask everybody in this House, even though Fianna Fáil has not attended the debate and only two Donegal TDs are here, to support this motion

have visited some of them in my own capacity since we last spoke about the issue in this Chamber. Some of the houses in the northern part of my constituency have faced concrete defects and other issues. I welcome the Deputy's motion, particularly in respect … often happens, was that developers and construction companies walked away, leaving areas that could not be taken in charge by the council and houses that were unreliable from a fire safety perspective to fall into degradation. After going into liquidation, such companies reopened under another name

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage has completed its consideration of the Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 and has made amendments thereto

reservations about how it might be interpreted by engineers. Reading several reports tells me I was correct. I reference one report where a house was given a group 4 classification, indicating the worst possible level of structural damage, with widespread deterioration and a clear finding of evidence … simply mean the reaction has already run its course and the sulphates have been used up. It is like arriving at a house that has been burnt out. Flames may no longer be seen and there may be little smoke remaining but the damage to the structure

will raise an issue in respect of Woodlands, a housing estate in Portlaw, County Waterford. At the moment, water is provided through developer-provided infrastructure. This is costing the residents in this housing estate a lot of money. They obviously want to be connected to the public infrastructure

County Meath our water infrastructure is that of a developing country. County Meath towns are regularly without water and new housing estates are being delayed as a result of the water infrastructure. I know of one housing estate that has to wait more than a year for Uisce

Tyndall National Institute. Prime Minister Starmer and I also met over dinner on 12 March. The summit plenary, held in Fota House, saw a wide-ranging discussion on achievements to date under United Kingdom-Ireland 2030, and on shared ambitions to see co-operation deepen and deliver … also discussed wider international issues, including the Middle East, the Gulf region and Ukraine. Additional information not given on the floor of the House We agreed a joint statement reflecting the overall theme of the summit, Shared Prosperity, Shared Seas, Shared Ties, which set out achievements over

hide something from their employer or their colleagues and it is quite perverse in that regard. It is great that in this House we have had a Taoiseach who is openly gay as well as many Members of this House who are married and very open. Maybe they

here in Ireland. Homophobia is on the rise again. Transphobia is, unfortunately, becoming more and more normalised. It has even come into this House. It has crept in, in ways. People whom I would consider totally reasonable on loads of issues have said things on the record … this House, jollied up as concerns, that are, in effect, transphobic and dehumanising

commend the Minister of State on bringing this Bill to these Houses. I want to make one point about the Oireachtas AI committee. Unfortunately, as the Minister of State knows, this was a Bill that did not go to the Oireachtas AI committee; it went to the Department … committee. This is not within the Minister of State's gift but I do not believe this is the last time in these Houses that we will be regulating or legislating in the area of artificial intelligence. I think the work we have done on the AI committee

front of you, that is what makes the difference. A lot of the time I do not come into this House with paperwork because I do not want it to be shown that it was AI-generated. What you are looking at when you look … online? They then apologise and say that it was not them and was generated through AI. When people look in at this House, they want to see real people delivering real results that they have researched themselves and that it are not AI-generated. That is my concern

welcome the Bill. Regulation in this space is perhaps more important than any other regulatory Bill we will pass in this House this year. Any new technology poses problems, difficulties, challenges and threats and, undoubtedly, that is true of artificial intelligence. It does not mean we cannot regulate … results in a search online or through an artificial intelligence app that are patently false. As a lawyer, I can tell the House that I have seen many instances of that happen in the legal world, thankfully not in this jurisdiction but certainly, if the Internet

examination of the Bill, we can see just how complex this law has been in bringing it to the floor of the House. Understandably, there has been a lot of frustration among the sector owing to the delays in bringing a Bill like this to the House

deviated 30% north and flew over Rolestown, Ballyboughal and other villages in north County Dublin which had seen big growth in housing and were not covered by noise insulation. They had done their due diligence when they bought their homes. They were told they were not going … have no recourse. These residents are airport people. They understand aviation and the airport better than the vast majority of people in this House. They do not want the airport to fail or aviation to fail, but they want a bit of fairness. They want

Government will take more and more carbon tax and stop families from looking after their young ones and building their own houses. It will stop infrastructure in this country because of inflation, all of which has been brought on by the carbon tax, but it has no problem … just wants to extend one place. It wants to put suffering on the people of Dublin, whose families cannot come home, and build houses in this area because it is overpopulated. The rest of the country is crying out for business, including the other airports. The Government could

There are serious spatial development problems in this country. The Minister is long enough around these Houses to recognise that, and he should recognise it. A demographic change that has accelerated in recent years has been one of population moving from the west coast to the east coast … against it. While this is happening, it is not good for Dublin. Dublin is becoming more congested, with people having less access to housing and education. Transport facilities are becoming harder to access while, at the same time, schools are being closed in rural and regional Ireland, which

monopoly on violence for which we protect jurors within the State. That is a sad indictment on all of us. Every year this House renews these powers, we acknowledge inadequacy. This is no longer 1972 or the darkest year of the Troubles; it is 2026. The people … have been responsible for our judicial system the entire time are solely Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. The report laid before the House today tells us how many cases were tried in Special Criminal Courts last year and the year before. One of the things it does

thank all Deputies across the House for their contributions to the debate. I will not disagree with many of the arguments they made. While some progress has been made recently, it is absolutely fair to say that the current level of access to dental and orthodontic services … time. Along with the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, I again thank the Deputies across the House for their contributions and reiterate the Government's commitment to improving our oral healthcare services

authority will be aware of prescribed bodies that are consulted in terms of what is coming before the local authority. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has consented and confirmed that the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality will now be one of the prescribed bodies … serve the community. That is what it is there for. This will be really helpful and I am appreciative of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in this regard

early learning and childcare service providers. However, I want to acknowledge that there has been an absolute openness from the Minister for housing to seek a resolution here. There has been a particular willingness from the Attorney General to engage in this matter. Indeed, the Attorney General … want to be able to furnish at the earliest possible point information to the early learning and childcare sector and, indeed, this House on the update we receive from the Attorney General at his earliest convenience

important to confirm again that we need to take this step by step. We are currently engaging with the Department of housing, the Minister for housing and the Attorney General to see if there is any avenue to resolve this matter in the context of current legislation

route has been delayed. A judicial review is ongoing and I understand is that is coming to an end. Large numbers of new houses are being built. The Minister and I were at the opening of new estates over the past number of years. Additional bus service … places like Hollystown, Tyrrelstown and Kilmartin Grove are important in terms of dealing with the housing crisis in our country, but those areas are not seeing an increase in the level of services and capacity. There is already pressure to extend the N8 to cover areas like Hollystown

Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to examine an individual's eligibility (details supplied) for the affordable purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38918/26

Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of vacant local authority homes currently boarded up or awaiting refurbishment across all county councils; the average time such properties remain vacant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38954/26

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to list the Statutory Instruments, circulars or other guidance notes underpinning the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant since its introduction in 2022 to date; and if this Deputy will be provided with copies of each. [39046/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the ESRI population modelling underpinning the revised National Planning Framework included alternative low, medium and high net migration scenarios; and if he will provide details of each scenario. [39077/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has estimated the proportion of projected household formation to 2040 attributable to net migration under the baseline National Planning Framework population projections. [39078/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has assessed the infrastructure implications arising from projected migration-related population growth under the revised National Planning Framework, including healthcare, education, transport and water services. [39082/26

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the methodology, cost assumptions and market data used in determining the grant thresholds of €95,000 for one residential unit, €115,000 for two units, and €135,000 for three or more units under the croí

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason commercial properties held through company ownership structures are excluded from eligibility under the croí cónaithe above the shop scheme; if his Department has examined the extent to which this eligibility restriction may affect uptake

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has undertaken a review of the operation, uptake and effectiveness of the croí cónaithe above the shop scheme; if barriers to participation, including ownership structure requirements and refurbishment costs, have been identified

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of enquiries, applications, approvals, refusals and completed projects recorded by each local authority under the croí cónaithe above the shop scheme since its establishment; the total value of grants approved and paid in each

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to state the total cost of the development levy and water connection waiver for each year it has been in operation to date; and the number of homes each year for which the waiver

Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason there are currently no guidelines for industrial solar complexes; and when these guidelines will be established and implemented [39436/26

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Question No. 346 of 14 May 2026, to provide a brief description each under subhead and programme level outturns. [39474/26

Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current position in relation to the construction of a new project in County Laois (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39507/26

Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the newly established invasive species bureau, formed between the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, and the National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC), have a role in policy decisions regarding the management of invasive freshwater fish

Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason Irish freshwater catchments were never designated as 'cyprinid' under Article 2 of Council Directive 78/659/EEC, considering that his legacy department introduced S.I. No. 293/1988 - European Communities (Quality of Salmonid Waters) Regulations, under Council Directive

Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the works that will be undertaken this year and planned for 2026 on a restoration project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39574/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of septic tank inspections carried out in each local authority area in 2024 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39618/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number and percentage of septic tank inspections which failed due to risks to drinking water contamination, groundwater contamination, river pollution, structural defects, maintenance failures and desludging failures respectively, in each of the past five

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of septic tank advisory notices which remain unresolved for more than six months, one year and two years respectively, by local authority area. [39620/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department maintains a national database identifying septic tank failures located near private drinking water wells or public water catchment areas. [39621/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of enforcement proceedings initiated by local authorities arising from septic tank inspection failures in each of the past five years. [39622/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of prosecutions, fines or legal enforcement actions taken arising from unresolved septic tank inspection failures since 2020. [39623/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any public health risk assessment has been conducted regarding septic tank failures in areas dependent on private wells for drinking water. [39624/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total funding allocated and drawn down under septic tank remediation grant schemes in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [39625/26