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direct results that has had. We see it particularly when storms hit or when people want to be able to build housing, providing housing or be able to attract jobs to areas. The state of our infrastructure has been horrific. I have a number of questions in relation

documented challenges of lengthy development timelines, fragmented processes and rising costs. These have all been identified as major barriers to achieving Ireland’s housing, energy and climate objectives. The report is evidence-based. It is built on the research and analysis of my Department, the views received during … infrastructure nationwide. Together, these actions will ensure that the record investment under the national development plan translates into faster, more efficient delivery of housing, energy and transport infrastructure, supporting Ireland’s economic growth, climate commitments and Delivering Homes, Building Communities. This will benefit every county and region

west is being prioritised in many of the projects set out in the sectoral investment plans. There is the social and affordable housing delivery we want to ramp up in the context of the housing sectoral plan that the Minister, Deputy Browne, has published. The transport sectoral plan

documented challenges of lengthy development timelines, fragmented processes and rising costs. These have all been identified as major barriers to achieving Ireland’s housing, energy and climate objectives. The report is evidence-based. It has been built on the research and analysis of my Department, the views received … critical infrastructure nationwide. Together, these actions will ensure the record investment under the national development plan translates into faster, more efficient delivery of housing, energy and transport infrastructure, supporting Ireland’s economic growth, climate commitments and Delivering Homes, Building Communities. This will benefit every county and region

question relates to the recently published Government infrastructure plan and the steps that will be taken by Government to work more closely with housing developers and builders, big and small, on essential infrastructure for housing. What reforms will be introduced under the accelerated infrastructure delivery plan to enable

developers to deliver new, stand-alone wastewater treatment plants to bolster the service provided by Uisce Éireann to support increased levels of housing. Both of these activities are planned for completion in quarter two of 2026. It is explicitly committed to that any developer-led infrastructure will comply … with environmental and technical standards and integrate with public systems, where appropriate. The Department of housing will lead on reforms relating to water infrastructure while the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment will lead on energy-based measures. Both Departments will work closely with utilities, local authorities, regulatory

heard from the Minister, Deputy Browne, about wastewater treatment plants and the work on advancing that, which will be critical to improving overall housing supply. It will not be solely Irish Water but it will be something that will enhance wider water infrastructure across the State. Similarly, there … help. I am working with both Ministers in order that these reforms are advanced in 2026. Both will help in terms of overall housing supply but also in building greater investment in job opportunities across the State

cailleadh i rith na seachtaine. He was a former Minister for Justice - I note a flag is at half-mast over the House today - a former TD for Longford-Westmeath and a former Senator. He was a great advocate in the Dáil for the people of Longford … past number of years, particularly in relation to health and social protection for those who are the most vulnerable. He outlined to the House, and I will use the opportunity to spell out again today, the supports the Government is giving to the least well

will agree that it is important that these discussions be allowed to take place without feeling pressure from anybody, including anybody in the House. The advisory committee on small public service vehicles is an independent body, established under the taxi regulations of 2013. Its primary function … greater degree of clarity. The Minister is on Government business abroad at present, and I am sure that when he returns to the House next week, we will have greater clarity in this regard

Kerry County Council is now building no rural cottages. It is building hardly any houses at all. It was doing great work. People got houses built on their lands

Dublin Mid-West, Kildare and the greater Dublin area require for rapid and frequent public transport, but is also key to unlocking housing supply, as per the South Dublin County Council development plan and those of other local authorities across the country, to increase the capacity of that … make sure we prioritise the delivery of DART+ South West because it is long overdue and is needed to achieve our housing delivery targets and to provide people in Dublin Mid-West with the necessary transport infrastructure they need

homeless accommodation. Five of them will have been in homeless accommodation for over three years. This year, the Government will spend €21 million housing these families while there are hundreds of boarded-up council houses in Cork that could be turned around. These are places where children could

development plan budget to allow for those sites to progress, and to be identified and serviced, with facilities where necessary. The local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF, was used in the housing sector and the technological sector student accommodation programme is under way. The Deputy might be interested

Deputy on mentioning it. The question is about expanding apprenticeships and trade-focused education. He specifically mentioned north Dublin. To meet our ambitious housing delivery targets and offshore renewable energy developments over the next decade will require a skilled workforce. Apprenticeships are central to supporting these demands … supplying skilled workers for housing developments, construction and the renewable energy sectors. The programme for Government sets an ambitious target of 12,500 annual apprentice registrations by 2030, with two thirds of those in craft and construction. This reflects the vital role construction plays in infrastructure and economic

outlining the purpose of her Bill on "Morning Ireland" this morning. She has a lot of support on this side of the House. I am an avid dog lover myself. I take in rescue dogs. In the little area where I live, there are more dogs than people … before 12 noon, I will. I thank the Deputy for bringing this Bill forward; it is a very important one. I hope the House and the Government will be able to bring something forward fairly soon

Government is talking about kicking the can down the road, as it does with so many of the Bills that come before the House. We all need to recognise that we have a difficulty in Ireland when it comes to puppy farming. That said, my understanding is that … within the year, if not sooner. The sooner the better because it needs to get absolute attention. Everyone, in every corner of these Houses, has an affinity with dogs. People love their dogs and have a great sense of companionship with them. We used to always say that

those who do so would be in the minority. Sadly, we lost our Cosmo, a 12-year old husky, five weeks ago. The house feels empty without her. When I get up in the morning or I walk into the house, I do not hear the patter

Bill needs to be right once and for all but the biggest issue with introducing any Bill in the House is enforcement. The last Bill on this matter brought to the House was in 2012 and it has never been enforced properly. The resources for enforcing animal welfare

actually is a phrase to describe attempts to distract people. This is a good description of the Government and a lot of its housing policy. More broadly on this, I want to talk about the ongoing issues of animal cruelty that happen and which this Bill addresses. Dogs … together and of course we should be living together, but there is so much horrific cruelty. I want to flag the issue of housing and the situation whereby we are now seeing mass evictions. Many people are being forced out of their homes and are then having

because successive governments have failed to prioritise animal welfare. I strongly believe that improving animal welfare should have cross-party support in the House. Dog breeding in this country has been likened to the fast fashion market, with any breed of puppy readily available at the click … free from that fate. I commend those organisations and the volunteers who do fantastic work. I urge Members across the House to support this Bill. They should remember the dogs we have talked about today and put better regulations in place for them

Yesterday, campaigners from the Irish Wheelchair Association, Access for All, the Disability Federation of Ireland and others were outside Leinster House, as I am sure the Taoiseach is well aware. They were here because the recent budget has left people with disabilities up to €1,400 worse … spend their lives fighting for the basics. Why do disabled people, their carers and often their families have to protest outside Leinster House? We are facing into a difficult winter, as the Taoiseach is well aware. I request, even at this late stage, that an energy credit

Government increased it. I make the point that between July 2020 and the end of quarter 2 of this year, 50,684 social houses were added to the social housing stock. That is way ahead of anything that was ever done in the previous 20 years

important point to acknowledge. Nearly 14,000 homes were brought back into use under the voids programme. We are reaching levels of social housing building and provision now that we had not seen since the 1970s, which is good. We need to continue to do that … accept that there is a category there. When we started in 2020, we had to substantially ramp up construction and supply of social housing, which we have done, and we now have a consistent level. We will also increase that over the next number of years. Then there

Deputies who raised issues in terms of national security and the national security strategy. It reflects a growing awareness and engagement with this House, not before time, in respect of security and defence issues. There has been a wilful ignoring of these issues for far too long … House. Particular perspectives have been taken on this. Even this morning, there were references to the United Kingdom, Europe or America as being threats. The clear threats right now in this era include a Russian threat to our security and security infrastructure. We have had engagement between Iran

regulation and consenting systems, cut administrative burden and red tape and build public acceptance and a delivery culture. The reforms align with broader housing, climate and competitiveness goals. These will be achieved by streamlining approvals to allow concurrent processing, introducing statutory timelines for major project decisions, rationalising delivery … significant scale-up in funding and delivery, all of which will support us to address our infrastructure deficit and scale up housing. There will also be robust oversight of the Government’s performance in achieving these actions with regular reports on progress to the Cabinet committee on infrastructure

Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide details of the type and number of corrective actions issued to economic operators arising from inspections; and the number of economic operators that were temporarily or permanently closed due to non-compliance with relevant

Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm if the Building Standards Agency (BSA), as recommended in the June 2024 report (details supplied) has been established; if so, to provide details of its current operational status; and if he will make

Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current staffing levels of the Building Standards Agency; to detail any plans to increase staffing to align with the estimated requirement of approximately 500 personnel, as recommended in the June 2024 report

Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the drafting and progression of primary legislation required to establish the proposed Building Standards Regulatory Authority (BRSA); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27126/26

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the plans for the compensation scheme for Moanveanlagh Bog in north Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27127/26

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to appoint additional staff to Tailte Éireann to allow folios-registrations be dealt with in a timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27195/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the national policy framework governing the granting of planning permission in areas where wastewater treatment infrastructure is at or beyond capacity; and whether his Department has issued guidance to planning authorities to prevent additional loading

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the formal mechanisms in place to ensure co-ordination between planning authorities, wastewater service providers, and environmental regulators where infrastructure constraints pose a risk to environmental compliance. [27215/26

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on his Department’s plans to relocate families living in defective concrete block homes (details supplied) away from this dangerous flood plain; with clear timelines; and how those affected homeowners

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which the State can assist homeowners living in thatched cottages to continue to live in and sustain these heritage properties, considering the escalating cost of insurance; and if he will make

Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to ensure additional funding is provided for group water schemes under measure A4 water conservation, leakage reduction and prevention in view of the fact this is the key issue facing rural water schemes throughout the country

Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to list any inspections made on protected wrecks within the last ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27766/26

given to compensatory cost-of-living supports for families with children, particularly school-age children, in light of the continuing pressure of childcare, housing and household costs. [26574/26

third parties (details supplied); the title and final cost of same; and whether the report is published and or laid in the Houses of the Oireachtas. [26860/26

same, if applicable; to provide a breakdown of where costs were incurred; and whether the report is published and or laid in the Houses of the Oireachtas. [26879/26

Migration if consideration will be given to repurposing an accommodation centre (details supplied), previously used for Ukrainian temporary protection accommodation, for alternative urgent housing needs, specifically for the provision of temporary accommodation for persons experiencing homelessness and for essential key workers such as hospital staff, members

Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of people housed at the IPAS Centre at a hotel (details supplied) each month since April 2024 to date, in tabular form [25575/26

those granted and any individuals that were subsequently refused access to free legal aid over the past six years, broken down by court house across Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26400/26

third parties (details supplied); the title and final cost of same; and whether the report is published and or laid in the Houses of the Oireachtas. [26857/26

same, if applicable; to provide a breakdown of where costs were incurred; and whether the report is published and or laid in the Houses of the Oireachtas. [26876/26

Food and the Marine the extent of coordination between his Department, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on land-use planning to prioritise food security and family farm viability over other competing uses; and if he will

third parties (details supplied); the title and final cost of same; and whether the report is published and or laid in the Houses of the Oireachtas. [26845/26

same, if applicable; to provide a breakdown of where costs were incurred; and whether the report is published and or laid in the Houses of the Oireachtas. [26864/26

Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of housing units that exist for long-term residential care for persons with a disability/intellectual disability in County Roscommon and County Galway. [23754/26

Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current number of supported housing units available for adults with learning disabilities in Longford-Westmeath and per RHA. [23985/26