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living together, but they are stuck. They are stuck in a relationship they want to get out of. They are stuck in a house they want to be liberated from and they are stuck because there is nowhere for them to go. In the last couple of weeks … have come across several cases but two really stuck out. A couple in their mid-60s live in a housing estate in north County Dublin with one of their adult children and another one possibly on the way back. I met both the ex-husband and ex-wife

increasing life expectancy is an opportunity rather than a challenge - the Department of Children, Disability and Equality is engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, housing authorities and the HSE to explore means of responding to the need for additional capacity, which can assist forward … planning and cost-effective placements. The national housing strategy 2022 to 2027 places responsibility for the provision of housing with the Department of housing, working in conjunction with the HSE to provide supports related to individual care needs. The HSE and local authorities are working together

There is no rationale. That is why the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, is not here to take my Topical Issue. I handed a file to the Minister six to eight weeks ago in this regard. First, I thank Liam Campion, his wife and family. They are builders … been building for nearly 50 years. They built what is known as the Twin Towers estate in Cashel, which is a fine, noble housing estate. These houses are not semi-derelict. I wanted to ask the Minister – I thought I would meet him today but I will meet

people in all polling companies' polls were saying they wanted a stricter immigration system, and one political party, the smallest in Leinster House, Aontú, was the only one actually articulating that view. That is quite an incredible situation to happen. There is a political bubble where people … annual basis, you are going to create problems. Galway has a university, a university hospital, dozens of schools and tens of thousands of houses. If you do not keep up with that population increase in terms of infrastructure, you are going to create stresses and strains, albeit

opportunity to discuss the regeneration on the northside of Cork city on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne. The regeneration of social housing is a matter, in the first instance, as the Deputy knows, for local authorities. It is their responsibility to identify an opportunity to advance regeneration … report was published in 2011. The strategy outlined a departure from previous policy, with a proposal to carry out wholesale demolition of the housing stock in Knocknaheeny that had not been the subject of previous refurbishment works. To date, over €96 million has been allocated to projects that

thank the Minister for his reply. He quoted different sets of figures from the CSO. I am quoting figures from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Yes, it has to be a priority, but the Government needs to scale up the delivery of cost rental … affordable to buy for that wedge of people, workers and families, who are caught just above the threshold for social housing but below the level of income that would make getting a mortgage achievable . One of the things I would say to the Minister, and I have said

those who attended the meeting. Again, we have to have faith in our own democracy and assert our own principles here in this House. We should do this and do so collectively, but, again, it is a challenging area. The increasing fragmentation of Irish politics is a problem … opening the door for exploitation and manipulation. This is something everyone in the House should be mindful of. There will be those who will seek to exploit it and we have to resist that. All of us have to resist that type of influence, be it external

Deputy raising this question. I have been informed, and it is my understanding, that the services managed by Tusla's Liberty Street House are not being curtailed. This is the information that has been given to me. Tusla is undertaking a reform programme that will continue to meet … needs of service users of Liberty Street House. The integration of services will mean that the services provided within Liberty Street House will align under the proposed structures of the front door teams. Front door teams are a feature of the new Tusla referral and service user management

many people who are homeless in this country, and particularly far too many children. We had a meeting of the Cabinet committee on housing this week. At it, we heard directly from the CCMA, the representative group with responsibility for representing chief executives of local authorities. I specifically … referenced to them at that meeting action 5.7 of the Government's housing plan, which talks about social housing allocations needing to prioritise children in long-term homelessness. It is due back through the Department of housing early in 2026. I urge all of us - I make this

because it is an important issue in relation to the expenditure of public money and the impact of that on the delivery of housing. A well-functioning housing market, we can all agree, is crucial to supporting labour mobility, improving competitiveness and ensuring that Ireland remains an attractive … location for both domestic and foreign investment into the future. It is key for our people first and foremost. The newly released national housing plan targets the delivery of 300,000 new homes from 2025 to 2030. High-density housing, such as apartments, will form a significant portion

move: "That the Bill be read a Second Time." I am very pleased to introduce the Bill to the House. I look forward to hearing the contributions of colleagues. As Deputies will be aware, back in 2023 the Houses enacted the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act. The Bill … introducing today is an amendment to that legislation. The legislation the Houses enacted in 2023 constituted an important contribution to updating An Garda Síochána's technological capabilities by providing it with a statutory basis for the operation of recording devices. The type of recording devices that An Garda

want to raise the issue of Erkina House, Rathdowney, which is a long established and excellent HSE facility that comes under the mental health services. By definition, the residents are vulnerable people and are entitled to peace of mind and not to be upset … their works. Three years ago, we raised this in the House, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was with us and was personally involved in the situation where the HSE announced it was going to close Erkina House three years ago. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler

fail now. Let me run through some of the problems. The first and most fundamental is once again the Government is underestimating overall housing need. It is ignoring the Housing Commission’s estimation of the housing deficit, the amount of homes that are needed to meet housing demand … factor of about 20%. That is why the Department of Finance has said that even if the Government meets these targets, the housing crisis will continue for another decade and a half. Within that, the Government is chronically under-providing new social homes by a factor of about

housing plan the Government has outlined doubles down on policies that are not working and is ultimately not going to address the affordability issue. We have policies that are adding fuel to the fire and encouraging inflation in the cost of housing. One of the most frustrating conversations … That is not to gainsay people below that level because there are huge challenges for people on social housing waiting lists but at least there is an avenue for them, even if the wait is very long and sometimes there are huge issues with that. However, for people

last week's housing committee I asked the Minister whether this Bill would lead to more homes being delivered, and he could not give me a straight answer on that or on why he was bringing these regulations forward. Is this more developer-led lobbyist-influenced policy … give the Minister a feel of things, there was an article in The Irish Times the other day by Sarah Burns about ten houses in Carrignavar that have been empty for 15 years. I have raised this in the Dáil and at the housing committee. The reason

wonderful to see uniformity brought to all of this. I have often been bemused when I hear people talking about the number of houses that need to be built. If policies were right and the climate was right and development was right, a lot of these houses would … Minister has done really good work on developer-led sewerage infrastructure recently. If policy is right, I think a lot of the housing builds itself organically without too much State intervention, so I hope all of that can happen. I concur with what others have said about developer

probably are no words to describe what families are going through when they are living with the impact of defective blocks and their house crumbling before them, the scars their young children will have to bear, the challenges in terms of relationships and mental health and the financial … case. This is what we do. Families come to us in desperation. They tell us they cannot find anywhere to live and their house has to be demolished at a certain time. We are literally phoning around people who may have a holiday home or maybe a mother

drew attention a number of weeks ago to the fact that the way in which the initial resolution was crafted essentially excluded approved housing bodies from benefiting from the measure. Notwithstanding our opposition, in the context of the debate and discourse that occurred over the past two weeks … recent years that has not ended up being purchased at one point or another towards the end of its journey by an approved housing body or local authority. They are mostly purchased by approved housing bodies. They tend to start their journey as private operators for the market

thank Deputy Séamus McGrath for taking this question on the increase in social housing availability on behalf of Deputy Willie O'Dea. Since the beginning of 2022, Government has supported the delivery of 35,163 new social homes across thousands of individual projects funded through build, acquisition … leasing programmes. Building on progress made to date, delivering homes, building communities includes a wide range of measures to accelerate new-build social housing delivery to an average of 12,000 new-build social homes a year between 2025 and 2030. To incentivise local authorities to deliver more

more sustainable and energy efficient, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and lowering energy costs for households. More specifically, in the Government’s new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, published which was last week, there is a commitment to examining policy measures to incentivise increased energy … efficiency in the private rental market. This action is aimed at improving the quality of housing stock available to rent and contributing to meeting our overall national climate targets in relation to emissions reduction. It aims to increase energy efficiency and help to alleviate fuel poverty, protect tenants

Notwithstanding other matters that may have happened today, I believe this is the most important debate to be happening in this House. It is not just about Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine but, rather, a question around the war in Europe and, indeed, a war on Europe … that President Zelenskyy is likely to come to Ireland in December. I called previously for him to be invited to address the joint Houses in person, as he previously did online. It would be welcome both to show our solidarity in these Houses and also to recognise

First of all, I fundamentally disagree with the positioning of the Deputy in respect of the housing issue, which is the number one priority facing our country, particularly young people. Progress was made under Housing for All and the targets outlined in it were achieved, despite commentary … contrary. Over 137,000 houses have been built since Housing for All was published, with €14 billion in terms of capital Exchequer funding allocated. Some 59,000 households have purchased their first home through the help to buy scheme. That is people out there in the private market

much to the economy and society in which we live. When workers are able to live, make ends meet, afford childcare, afford housing and pay their electricity bills, it is a sign of a strong, functioning economy, one that works for the people who live … flagship policy in the Finance Bill is cutting tax on apartments. There are no rent freezes, increases in funding for social housing or reform of the broken planning system. Instead, there is a ridiculous policy that does nothing more than line the pockets of developers. This string

crying out for solar panels, but it costs €10,000 to put solar panels on their roofs. People are looking to get their houses deep retrofitted, but it can cost €30,000 to €40,000 to get that deep retrofit in their homes. People would love … publications and reports is astounding and the money being spent on them is absolutely massive. I want to talk about the issue of housing. I am amazed that we have had a crisis of such enormity yet there is such lack of ambition in terms of the Government

reality is that the State is handing over billions of euro every year to developers in this State in respect of Part V housing, affordable purchase houses, cost rental and acquisitions. However, yet we have no clear oversight as to whom we are engaging with or, indeed … cost because we cannot see what kind of money those to whom I refer are making. That needs to change. With regards to housing specifically, I mentioned the various ways in which the State has to deal with developers week in, week

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department conducted an assessment of the impact of family reunification arrivals on demand for social housing and emergency accommodation; and if additional housing units have been earmarked for this purpose. [45566/25

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of qualified housing applicants on the housing list in County Kerry in 2020 to 2024 and to date in 2025, by year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of qualified housing applicants in County Kerry that were allocated houses in 2020 to 2024 and to date in 2025, by year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social and affordable houses constructed or bought in County Kerry and allocated to qualified housing applicants in 2020 to 2024 and to date in 2025, by year, in tabular form

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of households not habitually resident in the State who have been allocated social housing by a local authority in the State, by local authority and year; the overall number of households allocated social … housing by local authority and by year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47510/25

Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when his Department will resolve the ongoing issues for tenants in the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme with houses owned by the Housing Agency, with tenants still paying high rents with no recourse for repairs

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will increase the provision of social housing stock and affordable cost-rental homes for vulnerable and low-income households, inclusive of new builds and vacant housing, and provide an additional investment

Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of people who do not have habitual residency in Ireland but are currently on the housing waiting list, or are in receipt of HAP, or have been allocated a local authority house. [41253/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current income bands or caps that determine eligibility for affordable housing supports under Housing for All. [41441/25

Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider an addition to the housing aid for elderly-housing adaption for those with a disability scheme for 2026 to allow those with medical need to apply for assistance with the provision

Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the percentage of students studying on English language courses who were housed in the private rented sector, who were housed in designated student accommodation, who were staying with host families and who were in other types

Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the need for additional social and affordable housing in Rathmines and the surrounding area, including by way of part V housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42537/25

Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to consider introducing emergency legislation to expedite housing developments for the general population as has been done in response to accommodation needs under IPAS given the urgency of the ongoing housing crisis. [42668/25

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the breakdown of all affordable housing that is, cost rental and affordable purchase units delivered by local authorities, approved housing bodies and the Land Development Agency with a breakdown by turnkey and construction, in tabular

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the provision, if any, that exists for people in receipt of HAP in one local authority area, and who have children attending local schools, but who are on the housing list for a different local … authority area, to transfer to the housing list of the local authority area in which they live and their children attend school without negatively affecting their access to HAP or waiting time for a home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42916/25

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social housing acquisitions that have been bought to date in 2025, with a breakdown by local authority and acquisition type tenant-in-situ, housing first, vacant homeless

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to report on progress in implementing the Housing Commission’s recommendation of holding a referendum on a right to housing. [43584/25

Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide detailed information on the annual amount spent on housing maintenance by approved housing bodies. [43595/25

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of new housing completions required annually over the next five years in order to meet the combined demand from existing housing need and projected levels of immigration; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider establishing a cross-departmental housing supply dashboard or task force to monitor real-time monthly data on housing commencements, completions, immigration trends, and residential price movements in order to improve coordination across

Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider the possibility of making more funding available to local authorities to administer the housing adaption and housing aid for the elderly schemes in all future years. [44058/25

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the vacant property grant is included in affordable housing delivery figures; if he will consider plans to reclassify the vacant property grant from being a form affordable housing to a stand alone measure

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has investigated forming a State construction company, similar to an ESB for housing, with the aim of providing secure employment for construction workers and a supply of housing; and if he will make

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has explored setting up State delivered modular housing factories to accelerate housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44276/25

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the average cost of delivery for each local authority under the auspice of the Social Housing Investment Programme, for all forms of social housing delivery – including direct delivery, Part V, turnkey and acquisitions, in tabular