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that the hearings were held in December but the committee only launched its report this morning. What has happened since December? Rents and house prices have continued to rise, homelessness records have been broken over and over again, and the number of evictions has gone through the roof … again. Something has to give. The Tánaiste is not listening to Sinn Féin, to advocacy groups or to people who are under serious housing pressure. Perhaps it is time for him to listen to some of his backbenchers, who are saying that there is now a need

home or those in the Gallery for people to shout me down. The reality is that I speak for the Government in his House today and, as its leader, I speak for the Fine Gael Party. We will follow our policy agenda, which is clearly published, while … Deputy will come into this House and continue to oppose and object every positive measure that we bring forward. Of course, the comments that I have made in relation to no-fault evictions apply to tenancies in place since the legislation came in. How could it apply

said local authorities cannot be trusted or depended on. That is an outrageous statement. It is the centralisation of power in the Custom House that has weakened the ability of councils to build new homes, prioritise children in homelessness and tackle dereliction. The measures the Tánaiste spoke … into the legislation which allows landlords to reset rent to the market rate in between tenancies, exposing renters, the most vulnerable people in housing, to record double-digit rent increases. The Tánaiste's own backbenchers are talking about the need for a ban on evictions. What emergency measures

That is a very fair way to put it. As housing supply begins to rise in Cavan, Monaghan and across the country, should we then go back and ask, "Hang on, do the balances we had in place at a time of more constrained supply merit being looked … State, Deputy Cummins, who has been a real reformer with the Minister, Deputy Browne, in trying to find practical ways of increasing housing supply. The changes we have made in relation to Uisce Éireann, allowing developer-led water infrastructure, and the rural planning guidelines that we are bringing

quite difficult as a health spokesperson is the fact we are constantly hearing from families and individuals who have to come to Leinster House and who have to campaign to get access to medication. We are talking about people who are sick, who have deteriorating diseases … these issues. Any real reform of services and reimbursement processes would be far more beneficial than anything that is said in this House in terms of statements. That is what is crucially important to families. Last August, the new rare diseases strategy was finally published but it should

Europe. Without a specific system for orphan drugs, people with rare diseases will continue to have to protest outside the gates of Leinster House and tell their stories over and over again. This should not be necessary. People with rare diseases have enough to contend with without … deliver real change. People with rare diseases cannot wait any longer. As I was saying at the start, we find ourselves in the House making statements on the important issues,but not progressing on the reforms that are so badly needed. We should focus our time, energy

Fourteen years ago in June 2012, the first meeting was held with the then Minister for Health, James Reilly, in Farmleigh House, when a whole lot of people involved in the area of rare diseases, including parents and different lobby groups, were brought together. That was the first … must now deliver on the action. Going back to 2012, I was one of the only Oireachtas Members at the event in Farmleigh House. While a lot of progress has been made in 14 years, we need to expedite that progress in the next three to four years

have campaigned for access to givinostat. I commend them for their work, and I also acknowledge the work of colleagues in this House, such as Senators Teresa Costello and Anne Rabbitte, and Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, for their work in driving this from a parliamentary perspective. I also … acknowledge the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health for their engagement as well. Many people in the House today have already spoken about the positive news that we got regarding givinostat. However, we are still waiting for that good news when it comes to skyclarys in relation

break down silos across Government. It has developed a dashboard of indicators to complement this target and to measure child poverty across health, housing, education, early learning and other indicators. As a developed economy, poverty in Ireland is measured on a relative rather than an absolute basis … consultation on this concluded recently. Reflecting the need for a multidimensional approach, work continues right across Government in other key areas such as housing, employment, childcare, education and health to address child poverty. The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026-2030 outlines many of these actions, with

able to do it. This involves the whole of Government. It was a decision made at the Cabinet disability committee. The housing committee is the committee that meets the most, and the disability subcommittee is second. A decision was taken to put therapies back into schools, starting with … students who are going to special schools. We have to continue to monitor and work on that. I can report to the House that is being done. There was a pilot scheme in 2024. The new scheme includes 45 schools and is a permanent scheme to provide therapies

Ireland is at a crossroads. Dublin is bursting at the seams, housing is scarce, costs are out of control, infrastructure cannot cope and commuters spend hours of their lives on packed roads every day but two hours west of this Chamber, we have an asset of great national … economy of the entire region. What Shannon offers that Dublin cannot is space, which is vital. Physical space for companies, space in the housing market for workers who can afford homes within reach of their workplaces, and space in the planning system to move with ambition and speed

which distracts and blocks real climate action; and — the Government will further increase carbon emissions by lifting the Dublin Airport cap, promoting unsustainable housing and economic development, and by no longer prioritising public transport and active travel investment over roads construction; condemns the decision of the Government … than 2°C. Speaking of breaking records, I increasingly feel like a broken record when I bring up our climate crisis in this House. In Ireland and globally, we are seeing much more frequent and severe weather events, from droughts to floods to extreme heat. We have moved

through this. Any data centre growth must be aligned with offshore renewables. In the time I have left, I want to talk about housing because climate can and must be a critical consideration of the Government's response to the housing crisis. The Government set a target that

post. A single data centre uses as much energy as the entire city of Kilkenny. In the middle of a housing crisis, this Government has prioritised powering data centres faster than powering new homes across Carlow and Kilkenny. Homes are in urgent need but due to lack … constantly to keep people safe and ensure best practice so why does the safety of rural communities matter less than that of our houses? We have seen what happens when regulations are not kept up to date; the people and the State end up paying the price

There is one point in this motion that nobody in this House can dispute. Irish families and small businesses are being crippled by electricity costs and if anyone doubts the scale of that crisis, they only need to look at the figures. At the end of last year … fault of ordinary people. That is a failure of Government planning and delivery over many years. We hear a lot in this House about climate being blamed for flooding, and yes weather patterns are changing and we accept that. However, before we blame everything on climate, we need

their constituents that they are against section 7 of the Critical Infrastructure Bill. What would happen to the hospital in their ward, the housing development that needs a wastewater connection and the water treatment plant that every home and growing town needs? Without section 7, every … there is an ISO standard that needs to be removed. Will the Minister do a pilot scheme for new-build social and affordable housing, whereby solar plug-in can be installed by Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council, in conjunction with an inverter and battery, and save

wrong that the families had to campaign publicly simply to secure a meeting with the Minister for justice. The Minister, the House will recall, initially spurned the families' request for engagement. That caused real upset, anger and frustration. Finally, after sustained pressure, the Minister changed his mind … families are left feeling like they are in limbo. That is why they bring their campaign for truth and justice to Leinster House today. Tá freagraí tuillte ag na teaghlaigh a maraíodh agus a ngortaíodh a ndaoine muinteartha i bpléascadh an Chraoslaigh. Tá siad ag éileamh fiosrúchán poiblí

with a police authority that might have some form of negative agenda. This has now been put clearly on the record of the House. I do not want to see a situation in ten years or any future point where we have Ministers shrugging their shoulders and saying … government in what is clearly a nefarious request because we are bound to do so by a law we adopted in these Houses. Members will have an opportunity to put in place this protection, and I am encouraging and urging the Minister of State to adopt and accept

relation to the annual report, Deputy Carthy was curious as to whether it would be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. Section 20(4) provides that it would be presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas. As to what the contents of the report would

encouragement he has provided, not only to me in terms of trying to ensure the legislation could be introduced to the Houses of the Oireachtas but also in terms of the encouragement and support to other Members of the House. It is unusual to have legislation that

grants of up to €4,000 for windows, grants for new front and back doors and increased levels of support for insulation, including house wrapping. All of those measures, which were introduced in recent months, are being funded by the carbon tax. The money is being put back … people to make the change. In recognition of the huge increase in current fuel costs, which it is not always recognised in this House is something that is outside our control, a decision was made to defer the carbon tax in May this year. I also said that

total of €750 million. We are never going to agree because no matter how much we did on this side of the House, those on the other side of the House will say we should have done more and gone further. They do not even recognise that

Deputy has had the vote, so he can go back and claim he has taken that position. The House has had to vote on his amendment. It was comprehensively beaten, not just by the Government Members but by other Members in the Dáil who support the model that … million for the Department of Transport for the continuation of carbon tax-funded programmes; and €5 million for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the continuation of carbon tax-funded programmes. That is how the money that was collected is being spent. We can agree

Government is failing to tackle the scourge of dereliction. Every day, people pass homes, buildings and derelict sites in their communities. Houses are left to rot while land hoarders and speculators get off scot-free. I cannot tell you how angry and demoralised people seeking a home feel … behaviour - symbols of decay. Volunteers who keep neighbourhoods clean, community groups and sporting organisations without a base all look on in anger. The housing Minister announced what he called a "war on dereliction" in October last year, and this was followed by Simon Harris announcing, and re-announcing

wastewater treatment plants through. These include the eastern and midlands project. It will be interesting to see if the House will support that very important public infrastructure. If it does not happen within a decade or so, the midlands, Dublin and other areas on the east coast will … arguable at this stage whether a referendum is really required at all in respect of this matter. There is unanimity in the House in respect of keeping it in public ownership. It will stay in public ownership. Of course, when it comes to constitutional amendments, the divil

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has assessed whether current septic tank remediation grants are sufficient to cover full remediation costs in rural Ireland. [39626/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any review is planned of the National Inspection Plan for Domestic Wastewater Treatment Systems in light of the continued septic tank inspection failure rate exceeding 50%. [39627/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage whether consideration is being given to introducing Irish-specific statutory guidance on toilet provision ratios in public buildings rather than reliance on external British Standards. [39742/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage whether building control authorities are provided with any national enforcement guidance regarding assessment of compliance with sanitary provision standards under Technical Guidance Document G [39744/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage whether any national audit has been conducted into compliance levels for sanitary provision standards in public entertainment venues. [39745/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage whether the Department maintains statistics on complaints relating to inadequate toilet provision in public buildings. [39746/26

Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); if his Department will intervene directly in this case; if his Department is aware of such issues in other local authorities; and if he will make

Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he will introduce staged payments for the derelict properties grant. [39875/26

Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether planning permission can be extended where the construction company needs a short period of extension to complete projects, where the project is underway but planning permission may be due to expire before completion

Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total amount currently outstanding nationally in unpaid derelict sites levy arrears; the amount outstanding by local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39904/26

Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of derelict sites levy imposed, collected and outstanding in each year from 2020 to 2025, broken down by local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter

Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of sites on each local authority derelict sites register in each year from 2020 to 2025; the number added and removed annually; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39906/26

Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of derelict sites levy debt written off by local authorities in each year since 2020, broken down by local authority and reason for write-off; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has assessed the accuracy and legal robustness of local authority derelict sites registers following reports of inaccurate records leading to levy write-offs; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total funding allocated to Tipperary County Council under the tenant in situ scheme in each of the years 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; the number of homes acquired by Tipperary

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of properties in County Tipperary in respect of which the vacant homes tax has been applied; the number of properties in Tipperary currently recorded as vacant or derelict by Tipperary County Council

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the progress of Ireland’s transposition of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive as the transposition date of 29 May 2026 approaches; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the rationale for restricting the vacant above-the-shop grant and the broader vacant property refurbishment grant to individual applicants only, explicitly excluding registered micro-companies; if he acknowledges that advising property owners to undertake complex

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he plans to introduce interim measures, exemptions, or a phased pilot scheme to allow micro-companies to access the vacant above-the-shop grant where planning, funding, and construction readiness are already established; the timeline

Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the first and full-cost of the social units purchased on the Glass Bottle Site on the Poolbeg west SDZ. [40008/26

Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of people in each county who are availing of the rent-a-room scheme, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40021/26

Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current status of the review of the memorandum of understanding between the NARCG and NPWS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40052/26

Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when it is proposed to reinstate the Sustainable Hunting of Wild Birds Forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40053/26

Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the North-West Quarter regeneration, in Cork, by phase status, in tabular form. [40106/26

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will examine the potential for supporting domestic reed harvesting for thatching, given that Ireland has abundant natural reed beds, yet thatchers are forced to import reed due to lack of capacity and support