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engineering in DCU for five years and my thesis was on waste heat utilisation from data centres. Sometimes I hear people in this House speaking about data centres and the water they use. They are not looking at the statistics. I am not defending that they … water but I note the recent Uisce Éireann report gave a figure of 0.3%. A lot of that water is in-house. With my politics, I am always talking about the current problem we face and what solutions we can bring. In the case of data centres

homes petrol bombed, we had shootings and we had vicious attacks using knives and other deadly equipment. We had a case where the house of a woman and her two young children was petrol bombed for no reason because criminals - and that is too good of a word … them - petrol bombed the wrong house. This woman was distraught. Her two young children were in bed when the petrol bomb was hopped off the house. Gardaí and forensic officers were there. The gardaí in Cork are doing their best but the problem is the allocation of gardaí

profiling or disproportionate targeting of an ethnic minority or minority communities. Let us look beyond the text of the Bill. We in this House cannot ignore internal Garda culture, a culture that has deeply tested the public trust over the last number of years, and the question … very integrity of the Garda institution itself. Following Rita O’Reilly’s “Morning Ireland” interview I am obliged as a Member of this House to ask the critical questions before I can support the expanding of any policing powers. When GSOC was informed on 9 September 2019 that

number of other issues arise, such as where there are existing entrances onto regional and national secondary roads. What happens where a house has been given planning permission in previous years and there is an entrance onto a national secondary route or a regional road? There … dwellings. There is the distance from the next-door neighbour. This will become an issue in more urban areas. I live in a housing estate, for example. If there was a modular building put in the garden each side of me at 0.6 metres from the house, that

pleased that we have managed, as an Oireachtas, to facilitate that. I am obviously committed, as I know everybody in this House is, to realising the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement for all the people of this island. At the core of that agreement … tell Deputies that as the finance Minister of this country, and based on what I have put on the record of the House, that is not possible but it is also not intelligent. This is a much more dynamic situation. There are serious economic and fiscal issues

Government agrees that the delivery of housing and the delivery of infrastructure have to go hand in hand and creating sustainable communities requires investment, not only in homes, but as the Deputy said, in the transport, energy, water and community infrastructure that supports them. As he also noted … Swords, whether it is the R132 connectivity project, the Balheary Road wastewater upgrade or the Fosterstown link road proposal under the housing infrastructure investment fund. I think that the Deputy accepts that all of those are helping or will help to address key infrastructure requirements while supporting future

echo what the Minister said about the support across the House for the domestic violence register. That is really important because the model that we have landed on has been able to attract support. It is important to say that many people had very significant concerns about … people involved in the legal profession and people involved in civil society. I appreciate the unanimity that we have landed on in the House. It took some time to get here. In considering these amendments, it is worth understanding why we have landed on the model that

spoken in this debate is in support of the legislation. That is a very positive sign in respect of what we, as a House, are seeking to do in terms of changing the law. On many occasions, understandably and correctly, the legislative process is adversarial and people disagree … being put forward by one side or the other. However, in this instance it is instructive that there is widespread agreement across the House in respect of the legislation being introduced. It is important to note that the only other time that has happened in my experience

Weir, a Scottish-born merchant and philanthropist. It was built for nurses working nearby in the fever hospital, which was also called the house of recovery. It accommodated up to 50 nurses, who were able to stay there. Only around the corner, about 20 years later, the first … amount of joy and peace to people living in the city centre. Campaigners are looking to see whether it can be used for housing. I know negotiations went on with the Peter McVerry Trust but it does not seem to have been possible. The Solas Project, which works

Galway housing crisis is just getting worse. I genuinely cannot believe that it is getting worse year on year. This year, we are not seeing the housing stock that we need coming on stream. I am dealing with a couple in their 60s who have been nine years … housing waiting list. They have to leave their rental property, and they are being told that the only option available to them is HAP. Anyone who knows Galway city knows that getting a HAP property is impossible. We are now at the stage where we cannot house

accommodation and then a key worker or a local authority staff member works with them to provide the documentation to get the social housing support application in place or to provide the other forms of evidence that are there. The Minister has denied an appeal but what … keeps saying he wants to ensure consistency yet when you read the section of the amendment it states that the local authority or housing authority "may" make a decision to provide that safety net. That means we will get inconsistencies in decision-making right across the local authorities

Ireland makes for very grim reading for everybody, but especially for young people trying to get their first home. The report shows that house prices are continuing to rise and selling prices are well above even those, at 7.5% above asking. This is pricing more people, especially young … Dublin, it is close to €500,000. These are startling headline figures, but they do not tell the full story of the runaway house prices. Some counties have experienced double-digit increases in the last year. Kilkenny, Roscommon and Mayo have seen €25,000 added to house prices

necessary inputs. At some level, we welcome the fact that we have seen something in respect of rural and Gaeltacht housing. We have all been waiting for guidelines on one-off houses in rural areas for a long time. We need to deal with the issue … speakers within Gaeltacht areas. That needs to be addressed. We have seen a bit more flexibility when it comes to one-off rural houses. I do not think there are too many in this House who come from rural backgrounds or who have huge rural areas in their

this very high on the agenda of the Cabinet subcommittee on disability. There has been good development of late between the Minister for housing and the Minister for disability, who have come together. The Minister for housing has undertaken to build housing for people with disabilities. This … instruct every local authority to build a quota of units and to reserve a quota of any new builds in local authority housing to be made available for people generally with disabilities and particularly for those adults with disabilities. Respite is perhaps a separate issue to some degree

Shannon. It is a mantra we have. I am chairman of an all-party Oireachtas group that deals with Shannon Airport. While this House is often defined by division, argument and divergent views, I am glad to say that the 19 Members who sit on that, including … airport boardroom. We meet with airport management, we deal with stakeholders and we try to represent the Shannon agenda in the Houses of the Oireachtas. The fact is that with Dublin's 84% to 86% market share - it varies year on year - the other national State airports

Second Stage. I will make a comment before I speak directly to the amendment but it is related. I know everyone in this House has an earnest and a well-held view about this. I think all of us agree that Dublin Airport is an important strategic asset … indirect. I am speaking to amendment No. 1 to section 2, which is Deputy Ahern's amendment. Others have come into the House in a less constructive way, such as Deputies Murphy and Coppinger and others. We would be having a debate here, and rightly

said on Second Stage of this Bill, I commend the Minister of State on bringing the Bill to these Houses. There are a few things I will mention before I get to the amendments. When the Minister of State said "recommendations contained in [the pre-legislative scrutiny report … that, for whatever reason, the type of composition of the board should not form part of the primary legislation, she might tell the House or give the House some comfort as to the types of experiences, backgrounds and professions that a person who is seeking

Deputy. I thank him and all his Government colleagues for ensuring that County Kildare got a substantial amount of funding under the housing infrastructure investment fund that will, critically from the perspective of my Department and that of the Government, unlock housing. It will also, no doubt, help … Crewhill in Maynooth. The Deputy is also right, however, in relation to water infrastructure. In approving these types of funding under the housing infrastructure investment fund, we are using the housing activation office where we have Uisce Éireann and the ESB. We are ensuring coherence such that where

raising what is an important issue, namely, measures to reduce cost-rental rents. The cost-rental model was first introduced under the plan Housing for All and it has been continued and significantly expanded under the new plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. It is designed to provide secure … homes for households on moderate incomes at rents that are significantly below private market levels. The cost-rental support schemes in the new housing plan are key measures in seeking to address affordability challenges in the rental sector. This is why, under the new housing plan, the Government

bracket on this, when the availability of the funding is intermittent and in some cases non-existent. We are in a housing emergency. We should be putting the scheme on a statutory basis and resourcing it so it is available throughout the year. This would have the effect … providing an increased supply of available housing to the market, which is the stated aim of the Government and the Minister of State's Department. Along with the local authority and AHB supply of senior citizens' accommodation with planning for retirement villages, this could free up significant numbers

ensuring we have offshore wind infrastructure. Those are important to do. In response to Deputy Ahern, no one on this side of the House is losing that focus. We are really focused on that. I can see that all across my party. At the same time … would all love it if we could just build wind farms and have it all done in the morning, with windmills outside our houses and everything solved, but it is honestly not as simplistic as that. I listened patiently to Deputy Ahern for quite a long time. There

pilot scheme and allow people in Fingal or Dublin City Council or any other county council with new-build social and affordable housing to have plug-in solar installed and show the savings to the State and the council through these systems. Some 3% or 4% of German … grid was very old and they had to do everything they could but, as the Minister of State knows, in this House we rarely congratulate people. It is something we should do more in politics. The CRU has approved up to €18.9 billion in green investment, which

humanitarian disaster but I cannot. I cannot help thinking, every time I think of defective concrete, of putting my hand on someone's house and feeling the wall come away like dust. I cannot help but think of the smell of the black mould in the kitchens … visit, the fact that the lights and electricity keep tripping because water is ingressing through everything, and that chimneys fall off people's houses and that is considered to be not that big a deal. I met somebody else who was concerned about their safety and their children

thank Deputy Charles Ward for all the work he has done on this. What is the Government guilty of? I sat on the housing committee last term. It is on the record of that committee that I highlighted to the Minister, and all the various witnesses … issues with blocks, foundations and the weight loads on foundations under the new regulations that you try to meet when rebuilding a house. How much has it cost to bring in all the people who have given the Minister the information? We brought in professors and people from

That is exactly why I will say what many gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women say privately and that many in this House are too afraid to say plainly, that is, this movement has been hijacked. It no longer speaks for the people who built … attraction to fold into the ever-expanding list of letters that has grown so broad it has become meaningless. Does anyone in this House know at this stage what the plus even means or stands for any more? That is not progress. To my mind, that is erasure

Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total capital assistance scheme (CAS) funding allocated in each of the years 2021 to 2025; the average CAS funding approved per unit nationally and in Dublin in each of those years; and whether … satisfied that current CAS funding levels adequately reflect the significantly higher construction, land, and professional costs associated with delivering new-build supported housing in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7453/26

Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of CAS-funded projects in Dublin that have been delayed, redesigned, or deemed unviable in each of the past five years due to construction cost inflation; the average cost overruns identified in such … cases; the measures in place to address viability gaps for approved housing bodies delivering CAS projects in high-cost urban areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7454/26

Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on whether that, notwithstanding significant Exchequer investment through the capital assistance scheme, the delivery of supported housing in Dublin is increasingly constrained by exceptionally high construction and land costs; whether additional CAS supports

Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will be providing funding to local authorities to install solar panels on their social houses where they previously took out solid fuel cookers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7592/26

Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authority housing retrofits completed in each of the past five years. [8041/26

Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on whether all local authority housing will be audited by 2030. [8043/26

Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the actions he will take to limit the number of cases whereby people are removed from social housing lists due to getting a promotion in work and therefore increasing their income; and if he will make

Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the need to create greater flexibility in the income thresholds for social housing to allow for applicants to take job promotions or other opportunities in order not to act as a disincentive

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will indicate the best practice guidelines given by his Department to local authorities regarding the time taken to process routine applications for the housing assistance payment; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the advice given by his Department to local authorities regarding the processing of emergency housing assistance payments; the length of time such applications should take to process; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which current housing output compares to the Government’s election commitment to deliver up to 60,000 homes per year; the projected delivery figure for 2026; the specific measures being taken to close

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he will publish quarterly affordable housing delivery data on a county-by-county basis, including commencements, completions and pipeline schemes; whether such data is currently compiled internally; if he will commit to making this information

Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to introduce requirements for new housing developments to include solar PV, domestic battery storage and provision for community-scale energy storage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8446/26

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the protocol to allow households fleeing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence to transfer time spent on a social housing waiting list to another local authority; when the protocol will

Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the domiciliary care allowance is treated as household income for the purposes of assessing eligibility and contribution levels under the housing assistance payment scheme; whether he acknowledges that this places an additional financial burden

Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will request Uisce Éireann to review the 25-house threshold for a new public water connection or network extension, with a view to introducing exemptions for rural and Gaeltacht communities

Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the commitment in the Housing Action Plan to update the code of practice for local authority nominations to AHBs to require that local authority and AHB tenants are not precluded from living

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the appointment of a permanent head of the housing activation office; his plans to underpin the office with legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7064/26

Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he has conducted any review into the operation of the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF); whether he will publish it; whether in his view it provided value for money; if he will detail

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total capital allocation for social housing acquisitions for 2026. [7145/26

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average length of private tenancies in Ireland; how this compares with other EU jurisdictions; and if he accepts that short-term tenancies, and annual leases, contribute to housing insecurity; and if he will make

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he accepts that greater long-term, secure rental options are required for households not eligible for social housing but unable to access home ownership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7170/26

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current timeline and action plan for the allocation of all vacant social housing units in a development (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7175/26

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department plans to set a mandatory deadline by which all vacant social housing units in a development (details supplied) must be occupied; the way in which compliance with such a deadline will be enforced

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether planning conditions for developers operating within an area (details supplied) require social housing units to be allocated within a defined period following completion; if no such requirement exists the reason for this