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understand or refuse to recognise what has been said. I would argue that Sinn Féin is probably the only party represented in this House that has accepted the will of the people in every referendum. The parties of Government did not accept the will of the people … apologies for that. That is what Irish representatives should do, and do so proudly, because I do not think anybody in the House advocates for a Brexit-type scenario whereby we withdraw entirely from the European Union as Britain did. Likewise, I will reject the suggestion that there

council. I learned a very harsh lesson very quickly in the first number of weeks I was elected. In the biggest working-class housing estate in the ward I represented in Waterford city, there was a plan to put in place a service in a house right … small number of residents were selected to go and visit centres in different parts of the State where the same organisation had similar houses providing similar services. Over time, the fear dissipated. The service providers won over the local community. That service has been there for the past

move that: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — the housing crisis continues to deepen for ordinary workers and families while corporate landlords, investors and developers make ever greater profits; — residential property prices have increased by 47.7 per cent since 2020, pushing first-time buyers further into debt to secure … insufficient to end this unacceptable practice; — the Government are responsible for the continued bulk purchase by investment funds, with over 2,000 houses purchased by investment funds triggering the higher rate of stamp duty between May 2021 and the end of 2025, at the expense of individual home

less than five years, house prices have risen by 47.7%. That is a failure of the Government of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. It is a failure to respond, a failure to intervene and a failure to deliver. Over 2,000 family homes, which is a conservative estimate … been bulk purchased by investment funds since the Minister's claim they had stopped it. In Waterford today, there is not a single housing assistance payment, HAP, property to rent. House prices are up 10.7% in Waterford across city and country. The average price for a three-bedroom

getting harder and harder to own a home every year this Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition is in power. Government is continuously missing housing targets. The prices of houses are soaring. Rents have also reached new highs nationally and are only set to get worse from 1 March … nasty taste in everybody's mouth, I can tell you. The Government's policies have actively driven up prices even further on houses that young people were trying to purchase, locking ordinary families and workers out of new homes in the area. The Government's response to this

have told the House quite clearly what we are going to do. We brought in a higher rate of stamp duty. We increased it further. We are seeing the number fall. We brought in specific planning guidelines that are having a very significant effect. We are now seeing … commitment, and we are seeing the benefit of that policy now. It is important, though, that we discuss these issues in relation to housing. It is important that we discuss the issues in relation to HAP. However, it is also important that we are not hypocritical

Minister, Deputy Browne. It is a nifty trick to avoid accountability and avoid light being shed on just how daft these housing plans are. Last year, debate on every single Bill from the Minister's Department was guillotined. Not one full Report Stage was taken in the Dáil … same thing again on highly controversial legislation. It is bad governance from a bad Government, and this is a bad week for housing policy. It is one year since stroke politics delivered us this regressive tripartite coalition with the Lowry-Healy-Rae Independents. In truth, we are seeing

thank my constituency colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, for the work he has done on this legislation. The Social Housing Passport Bill is a really important piece of legislation. It provides a person with the ability to move from one local authority list to another without losing their time … housing list. I first raised this issue back in 2019 when I got elected in a by-election. It was in the 2020 programme for Government, but it was not included in the 2025 programme for Government. I am going to put my Dublin hat on because this

held to account on this particular issue. Let us consider some of the projects. Midleton was devastated by Storm Frank in 2015. Houses and businesses were trashed and lives were put at risk. That community was promised that flood defences would be built but nothing happened. Storm Babet … million. Storm Babet nearly took human life. So fast was the influx of water in some locations that people were caught in their houses and barely able to get out. Cars were floating down driveways and through estates. It is now 2026. What happens in the likes

touch the sides but people tell me the sides of the rivers are eroding and they are losing land. I visited a house a number of years ago in Abbeyfeale. The woman's husband has passed since. The back wall of their house was ready to fall into … their home took two years. The ports are dredged because silt builds up. Silt builds up everywhere, on every waterway. We want more houses to be built but the Government does not allow for any maintenance of gullies and waterways to take away the excess water. It could

being portrayed as the Government wanting to undermine renters. That is such a ridiculous assertion. The origins of this come from the Housing Commission. The Social Democrats' housing spokesperson spent about a year and half condemning the previous Government and this Government for not following through … Housing Commission. The Housing Commission recommended that we permanently reform the RPZs. The Housing Agency came forward with recommendations to do that. The ESRI said we have to do it. Most economists agree we have to do it. Why? We have to get more supply into the rental

before us. Let us be honest. I hear a lot of comments about landlords. Landlords, unfortunately, include people who just have one extra house, yet they are still classified as landlords. I think it is very unfair for such people to be called a landlord. At the same … deal with landlords quite a lot. I have to deal with them. If a person is coming to you looking for a house, you are not carrying out your duty correctly if you do not speak to everybody concerned, including the council, the landlord and everybody else. Most

alternative and to private sector investment in a moment The Minister also likes to say that people on this side of this House have nothing to say about private sector investment. In fact, I have probably spent more time talking about alternative and better forms of private sector … investment than the Minister. The missing piece of our private sector housing crisis is not high-end, high-density, high-cost private rental. That is not our problem. The missing part is a failure on the part of the Government to support and activate the small and medium

acknowledge that this is an issue that the Deputy has raised a lot in this House. It relates to Uisce Éireann, how it functions and, perhaps almost as importantly, how it answers to and engages with the Government, the Oireachtas and communities as well. To be honest … better in relation to this too. I can assure the Deputy that it is not just an issue on his side of the House. On this side of the House, many of my colleagues point out the need for better community engagement and better engagement with public representatives

social media. Our thoughts are with them. There has been one fatality and a number of injuries. Our best thoughts go from this House to the people involved. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I support the legislation because it addresses two realities that … school mid-term or face another long commute across the city because they have been priced out of their area. The Minister for housing is aware of this as well and is sympathetic to it. As colleagues have, I have listened to renters who simply cannot make

average; — electricity companies have announced an average increase of 10 per cent; — gas prices have almost doubled in the last five years; — private house rents have continued to skyrocket, up 4.7 per cent year-on-year and reaching €2,100 per month in Dublin; — house prices have increased … cent year-on-year; — council house rents have increased, including charging extra rent for person's carer's allowance; — motor insurance premiums have increased by 17 per cent; — toll charges have increased; — Local Property Tax has increased; — student fees have increased; and — childcare fees continue

Taoiseach mentioned housing at the outset. One of the commitments in the programme for Government regarding housing was to repurpose the local authority affordable housing purchase scheme to become part of the starter home programme in order to enhance uptake. I am not sure we will have … conscious that we are trying to generate supply across the entire sector. Last year, Galway City Council managed to complete nine affordable houses and Galway County Council completed 17. The local authority advised me it is finding it challenging to fund affordable housing programmes. In 2023, I voted

rushed through so the Minister appears to be taking action instead of simply taking action. Just two weeks ago, I sat on the housing committee where we dealt with dozens of typos in the planning Bill. This is legislation that has been enacted but that was also rushed … tackling the crisis in the rental sector, it would take real action. In Cork city, there are 2,197 people and families getting housing assistance payment, HAP, or rental accommodation scheme, RAS. Those families are entitled to social housing but, because the Government did not build

Each time I have the opportunity to speak on housing, I say this. I have to start by reiterating that for the common good, I want every Government housing and homelessness policy to be effective. For every person on the housing list, the hidden homeless, every family … there will be people who are no longer able to afford their rental accommodation and will also end up in their local authority housing office trying to source emergency accommodation. This is at a time when we are at a record level of homelessness, with almost

different place ideologically, but we need private investment to help build homes. We do not wish to live in a country where every house is built by the State. Can I just be clear about that? We want to build social homes. I think we are on track … about planning objections. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and Deputy Barry Ward are coming to work every day, pursuing policies to deliver more houses. Deputy Boyd Barrett is seeing housing schemes in his constituency, and saying, “We don’t want that one, that one and the other

have delivered 53,000 social houses since we came back in 2020 through local authorities and through approved housing bodies. That is a good mechanism for social housing and it is working. We need more affordable housing and we need more apartment building in addition to what … doing on social housing. We are getting results on social housing, no question, where construction is at its highest since the 1970s. We are going to continue with that and increase it in the time ahead

absolutely unapologetic about getting our critical infrastructure across the line and delivered for our people. We have to be honest about increasing housing delivery, which is a huge concern for everyone in this House, no more than for the Minister. What is honesty holding it back? In reality … infrastructure deficits. It is not lack of ambition. It is about constraints on housing and community development. First and foremost, our water and wastewater infrastructure is at capacity in many places. In Drogheda, Dundalk and Ardee, and across north and south Louth, developments that are zoned, viable

their contributions. Deputy Carthy raised several issues in respect of Ireland's sovereignty. The fact these issues are being debated in this House, and subsequently will be debated and voted on in the Seanad, indicates Irish democracy is very much at the heart of the consideration of these … three parts to the PNR agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation. First of all, there was a vote by both Houses of the Oireachtas back in 2024 in terms of determining whether we would enter into negotiations between the EU and the Swiss Confederation. Both

better than Dublin Bay North, with the former Crown Paints site and the way it was dealt with. I have spoken in this House multiple times about how an inquiry needs to be done on how it was dealt with, how people were put in danger … dealt with the Crown Paints site. The mandate I was given is the standard to which I will always hold myself in this House. I welcome some of the changes in the asylum system that this Bill brings in. What is proposed is sensible and faster decisions

Galway East, not one affordable home has been delivered in towns like Athenry, Tuam and Loughrea. Rents have increased massively, and so have house prices. Young families come to me all the time asking what their options are and if affordable housing might be an option for them … does not exist in our local area. We are in the middle of a housing emergency and that has been the case for a decade or more at this stage. It is a shocking indictment of the Government's housing policy that it has completely failed to deliver

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm whether any of the social homes funded by his Department that were to be part of bundle 3 of the social housing PPP scheme have commenced construction; if so, when; the number

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a copy of the review into bundles 4 - 7 of the PPP social housing scheme; the person or body that undertook this review; and the date on which it was completed and submitted

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the assessment his Department has made of the impact of short term rentals on long term housing availability in County Mayo, including in coastal and high tourism areas. [25728/26

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he intends to issue specific guidance to local authorities on balancing tourism activity and housing supply in rural counties, including County Mayo, under the new short term letting regime. [25731/26

Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to consider the implementation of allowing a wider range of lenders to be accepted when applying for affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26121/26

Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to consider the implementation of legislation to limit the amount a developer can charge on similar size houses in the same development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26122/26

Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to consider raising the maximum purchase prices applicable for affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26123/26

Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if any assessment has been carried out on the social housing stock to assess if it could accommodate solar PV; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26201/26

Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider increasing the thresholds for individuals to qualify for social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26404/26

Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a schedule of all studies and reports commissioned by his Department in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, that were composed and delivered by 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. [26856/26

Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a schedule of all studies and reports commissioned by him in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, that were composed and delivered by his officials … 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. [26875/26

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the names and organisations that have met with the Minister of State with responsibility for planning (details supplied) and his political advisors or Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage officials on the issue

Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will publish the Social Housing Delivery Action Plan targets for each local authority for the period 2026–2030, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27245/26

Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the level of funding made available in each year to each local authority for housing assistance for older persons. [27267/26

asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will act to establish a Joint Task Force between the HSE and the Housing Department with fixed timelines for the delivery of specialised housing units; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24069/26

Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether a joint taskforce between the HSE and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will be established, with statutory timelines, to coordinate the delivery of supported housing for adults with intellectual disabilities; and to provide

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of supported housing units currently available for adults with intellectual disabilities in County Mayo; to provide a breakdown of these units by service provider and type (group home, community house, or individual supported living arrangement

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of supported living housing units planned for adults with intellectual disabilities in County Mayo for each of the years 2026 to 2028; the specific projects in development, including those being advanced in partnership with Approved … Housing Bodies and the HSE; the projected timelines for delivery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24686/26

elderly parent providing care for their adult children with learning difficulties in an area (details supplied) and/or CHO5; the number of supported housing units in the area and/or CHO5; the number of supported housing units that are currently planned in an area (details supplied) and/or CHO5; the total

Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Health the number of supported housing units in CHO9; the number of planned housing units; if service providers in the area have submitted disability support management advisory team forms to the HSE; and if she will make a statement

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of residents displaced from Daisy Unit, Heather House Community Nursing Unit, following its temporary closure for fire safety works in late February 2025; the location to which each resident was transferred; and whether any resident was transferred … outside Heather House as a consequence of the closure. [24696/26

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated number of vacant homes and holiday homes in Kilkee and the wider west Clare area; the measures in place to bring such properties into long-term residential use; and whether targeted measures will … considered for high-tourism areas where housing supply for permanent residents is severely restricted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23178/26

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing assistance payment tenancies in County Clare that have ended due to landlords selling properties in the past 12 months; the number of such cases where a tenant-in-situ purchase was considered

Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in relation to the means test for the housing adaptation grant, whether the means test applies to the legal owners or the residents in the case where parents reside in a family home but the ownership

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of SHIP construction single stage social housing applications that have been received to date; and the breakdown by local authority area, number schemes and number of units per scheme. [23316/26