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public these days. When I ask people how I can assist them, they will tell me that their daughter has been on the housing list for ten years in Cork County Council, Cork City Council, Limerick City and County Council, Wexford County Council or wherever. They will … that there are two houses down the end of the street that have been vacant for the past five or seven years and that would be perfect for her. They come along to Cork City Council and ask why this stock is not being turned around. The council

town centre has had the heart ripped out of it. This is at a time when we are living through an unprecedented housing crisis. Because we are in the north county and because we are one of the fastest growing places in Ireland, if not the fastest … leave their town and local services are under severe pressure. The dereliction is not just an eyesore, it actively blocks delivery of housing, large GP services, early education facilities, school-age childcare facilities and the basic infrastructure our communities urgently need. These sites should be contributing to vibrant

acknowledge what the local teams are doing. They are doing brilliant work at Tara House, Arden House and lots of other places. I am glad to hear that the Minister of State accepts that there are no acute beds in County Wexford and that she will look

family. If they are living in private rented accommodation, that is not taken into consideration. If you are living in a fancy housing estate but are on the housing assistant payment, HAP, because you happened to get a landlord who would rent there, that is not counted. That

about the slow pace of addressing leakage, both in urban and rural Ireland, within the existing system. However, we also have over 400 housing estates that still have legacy issues arising from Celtic tiger era relating to developer-provided infrastructure, primarily in rural communities. The Government … statutory requirement on the utility to engage in a structured manner with elected representatives and local authorities, as well as with these Houses. That is something the Minister could do as a matter of urgency. There are many other issues that I will raise, but I will finish

missed opportunity in some local authorities. In Cork City Council, 70 water workers were being moved on. Only two of those went to housing in the middle of a housing crisis. That was not anywhere near good enough. It was a huge missed opportunity and a huge waste

communication skills are excruciatingly poor. The company cannot be contacted. People are left without water. Children are left without running water in their houses for days at a time. It is ridiculous. There is also the issue of public water supply to the islands. I am from Arranmore … Island where there are issues with water. A constituent of mine on Gola Island has not had a drop of water in her house since May and she depends on people bringing water to her. This is absolutely unacceptable. Residents deserve basic services and they are not getting

current legislation. That gap was exposed nearly a decade ago when the regulator became aware of unlicensed LPG networks serving housing developments and apartment complexes. Subsequent inspections showed that a fair number of these sites required immediate intervention to address pretty fundamental safety concerns. This Bill responds … look forward to engaging constructively with the Minister of State over the coming months as it makes its way through this House

landlord in rural Cork trying to keep an old apartment block heated. If we are not honest about that in this House, then we are doing a disservice to those people. The second concern is fairness. A class 2 LPG operator running a handful of residential connections … compliance impacts; a national energy security plan that includes LNG as an option; and rural-proofing of all energy legislation placed before this House. Safety is essential but so is common sense. Regulation must protect people, not punish them. If we want to genuinely secure Ireland’s energy

insert the following: "(4) The Minister shall cause a copy of any order made under subsection (1) to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and the order shall lapse 6 months after the date it is made … unless earlier revoked or expressly continued by a resolution of both Houses.". Mar gheall ar leasú a 3, this proposes to amend the Environmental Protection Agency Act in order to guarantee Oireachtas oversight. It will require that any order made for a licence in emergency circumstances be laid

Agency, EPA, Act 1992 and the Waste Management Act 1996. They both concern the laying of orders made by the Minister under both Houses, setting timelines of six months on such orders, as the Deputy outlined. Section 7 of the Act of 1992 and the new section … Waste Management Act of 1996 already provide for the laying of such orders before each House of the Oireachtas. With regard to the proposal to place a time limit of six months on the orders, we genuinely do not believe that would be appropriate. The new section

thousands of homes waited over a week before basic services were restored to them. In the wake of the storm the Department of housing and ESB Networks set out separate assessments of the State’s preparation, its response and what lessons can be learned for the next storm … approach the one year anniversary of Storm Éowyn, can the Taoiseach tell me when the electricity supply (amendment) Bill will come before this House for debate? Will he ensure that mutual aid agreements with EU electricity networks are rapidly put in place? Will he commit that the Minister

move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Appointment of Ordinary Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Public Health (Single-Use Vapes) Bill 2025 (Second Stage, resumed) (to adjourn after 2 hours and 4 minutes) Tuesday … time for the adjournment of the Dáil; 2. the proceedings on the Motion re Appointment of Ordinary Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; and 3. in relation to the resumed proceedings

start by wishing everybody in the house a happy new year. On Monday, 12 January, The Echo, a Cork local newspaper known to the Taoiseach and me, reported dozens of early childcare facilities closing across Cork. In fact, 130 facilities have closed in the past five years … parents are losing places, not just in Cork but across the country. Staff are leaving the profession and the community is left without housing. Will the Taoiseach now admit that his Government has got it wrong, its policies are actively driving the providers out of business and working

move: That Dáil Éireann, in accordance with section 8(3)(a) of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003, as amended, appoints Deputy Brian Brennan to be an ordinary member of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission in place of Deputy Frank Feighan who has resigned

appointment. We look forward to working constructively with her in the time ahead. She is very experienced and knows the operations of this House very well indeed, as well as the various personalities who make up the House and how they all have to be managed differently

dealing with this soon with a separate piece of legislation. I was shocked when I went into a local shop near my house a couple of months ago and was offered a nicotine pouch. I was asked did I want to sample a nicotine pouch for nothing … unbelievable. The company had an incident a couple of months ago when it had to dump a bin truck in a residential housing estate because of a fire. The message really needs to get out to people that they should not throw these things in the bin because

number of like-minded countries and a number of countries that may have been on the fence. From this side of the House, it seemed nothing was happening and there was no robust attempt by the Government to form alliances. That is what people find most frustrating … expected to make at the table of the European Union and its trade ambitions. In ten or 15 years' time, parliamentarians in this House will be asking how the hell did we sign up to this. The downsides to this deal are so great at this stage that

offside at the moment. Unfortunately for Fianna Fáil, one of them seems to be offside. If any Members on that side of the House decide to vote against the Government during a budget or a Bill on health, however, the big finger is out, the Whip is imposed … representing them in Europe with the EPP or other groupings to vote for this deal? It is time they get their house in order. Stand with the farmers in Athlone and the farmers of Ireland. I ask Members of the Government to stand with the rest of this

term lets. We will take on board all of those concerns. My critical concern is that we have to ensure we are bringing housing stock back into the long-term market, particularly in our large cities. As a tourism Minister, I also have to balance not only … indigenous tourism sector, which is very important, but also the societal need for housing. The challenge is getting the correct balance here. I absolutely commit that we will work the Deputy and others to try to get the right policy. We will consider the pre-legislative scrutiny report

something I have been consistently calling for as a councillor and subsequently, as a TD for Kerry. I believe this would solve the housing shortage in the medium term. This is a quick, efficient and relatively cheap and easy to install system for treating wastewater without years … believe it is discriminatory towards short-term letting and they are being held responsible for the shortage in long-term lets and the housing crisis. I believe the Airbnb sector has no intention of moving into long-term letting. The hosts have found their niche, pay their taxes

tourism product. You also have to ensure that you have competing interests in an economy. We know we have a very acute housing crisis. Our cities are of particular concern. When you look at some of the Eurostat data about the utilisation of bed nights, some of these … three nights and the property being vacant for the rest of the time, is that acceptable when society is under significant pressure for housing? Those are the types of trade-offs we have to consider in policy. We work closely with the Minister, Deputy Browne, on trying

appreciate the Deputy raising this. My information is that the services provided by Liberty Street House are not being curtailed. Indeed, the cases will continue right throughout 2026. The new model of practice is to ensure that all services are available through multidisciplinary teams at the time when … Deputy to bring to me any specific information that he might not be in a position to share on the floor of the House. I am very happy to look at that and revert to the Deputy. It is my understanding, as I have said, that the services

children aged between 6 and 18 years of age are delivered by St. John of God Services. There are two residential respite houses, one in north Kerry and one in south Kerry. Each house has four respite beds and operates seven days per week, with planned closures this

being given priority through my Department's work on the child care (amendment) Bill, which we move very rapidly through the House. I know that there will be very strong co-operation forthcoming from the Deputy and right across the House. We will continue to engage with

Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he plans to change policy in relation to differential rents for single working parents in light of the fact that there are very different rates between local authorities; and if he will make

Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider amending the planning legislation to remove the requirement for TII to have input into planning applications within the boundaries of settlements along national secondary routes; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of allocated carbon tax funding that remained unspent at year end; the amount surrendered back to the Exchequer via the Central Fund; the amount carried over via formal arrangements for deferred surrender; and whether

Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); to detail his Department's engagement with Public Jobs regarding this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25398/26

Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total pay bill for the civil service in his Department for each year from 2016 to 2025 inclusive. [25447/26

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide additional resources to local authorities to improve the processing time for vacant property refurbishing grant applications, as currently Mayo County Council are only processing grant payments for building completion works received

Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update in respect of the Fire Services Capital Programme 2026 - 2030; if he will provide a schedule of sites located to participate in the programme; and the budget allocation

Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to provide local authorities with resources to provide full-time fire services and those that he has identified to date [25484/26

Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of tenancies granted under the cost rental tenant-in-situ scheme for the past four years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25495/26

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average waiting time for a first registration of a property on the land register at Tailte Éireann for each of the years 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, by the time from first contact

Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the legislative changes allowed the transfer of public sector service (details supplied); if those who previously served are now eligible to do this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25592/26

Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage if consideration has been given to bring forward amendments to section 254 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, for overground electronic communications infrastructure and associated physical infrastructure; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are plans to have Tipperary homeowners with pyrite damage to be included in the pyrite remediation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25711/26

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which the forthcoming planning framework for short term letting will apply in County Mayo, particularly in towns with populations below 10,000; and the discretion Mayo County Council will have in setting local

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which local authorities such as Mayo County Council will be supported to enforce planning requirements relating to short term letting, including staffing, resources, and access to data from the national register. [25729/26

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which the interaction between the new national short term letting register and existing planning enforcement powers will operate in practice in counties with dispersed rural populations such as Mayo. [25730/26

Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of WTE IT specialists at the grade of HEO that are based within his Department as of 30 March 2026, in tabular form. [25733/26

Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason homeowners in County Tipperary remain excluded from the pyrite remediation scheme, while homeowners in other counties including Dublin and Wexford have access to State-funded remediation supports (details supplied); if he has received representations

Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the funding application for a homeless hub in Cork city. [25766/26

Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a list of AI pilot projects which have taken place in his Department within the past three months; the expenditure associated with those projects; and whether they are still ongoing, in tabular form. [25799/26

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that Dublin City Council is considering removing the exemption from development levies from cost rental developments funded by his Department; and if he is concerned about this proposal given as this

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25829/26

Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 671 of 4 February 2026, the date on which homeowners in County Meath will be able to apply to the defective concrete block scheme; the conditions of same

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of first home scheme applications, approvals and drawdowns for every year the scheme has been in operation and to date in 2026 with the total annual expenditure for each year included

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total expenditure by his Department and the LDA on homes delivered via croí cónaithe cities and project tosaigh; and the breakdown of this information by year, scheme and annual cost for each year since