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These matters are being examined by the Department and will help boost home ownership further and support younger people seeking autonomy in the housing market. In the rental market, we have committed to continuing support for renters and landlords, including measures to protect renters and landlords from abusive … enforcement powers for the Residential Tenancies Board. While we will continue to vindicate tenant protections, and successive recent Governments have significantly strengthened these rights, they must continue to be balanced with a landlord’s constitutionally protected property rights. Supporting households experiencing homelessness remains a priority for the programme

events of last evening are extremely serious and very grave. As the Deputy quite rightly said, our thoughts are about the well-being and welfare of the child involved and with the entire family. It is the fundamental duty of the State to protect the children … Tusla. They were being provided with housing - essentially emergency accommodation. That is an important context for that case, so we should not conflate all the cases. There are different backgrounds to each case. The State has a fundamental right to protect the well-being of a ten-year

relation to the legislation. We did not get a chance to hear from Uisce Éireann, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the HSE, environmental groups, housing associations and many other groups that have been suffering as a result of the lack of critical infrastructure being delivered. I hope that this legislation … Committee Stage, and that it will be given the time needed. We must make sure that critical infrastructure is actually done right. We are going to engage on Committee Stage and, of course, bring in our amendments in relation to this legislation. We are going to scrutinise this

giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the position in respect of St Mary’s Boys National School, Blackrock, County Dublin. The Department is committed to offering all available and appropriate supports to schools. As the Deputy rightly pointed out, budget 2026 includes €39 million towards … reduction to the ancillary-related grants for the longer term where school secretaries are being paid on the Department's payroll. The House should note that the reductions may change when a permanent model for ancillary-related grant reductions has been finalised. The financial support services unit, funded

Freudian slip from the Deputy there. We are driving on and addressing the housing crisis. We want to solve it in order that we can get people into the homes they need. That is why we are driving on with building social homes, affordable homes and private homes … tenants and ensure that their rights are protected. CSO figures show that there was a 38% increase in apartments in 2025 compared with 2024. Our policies are working; we are going to drive supply and that is how we will solve the housing crisis, the rental crisis

commend the motion to the House. The Minister and the Government are all over the place when it comes to student fees. The Minister went on the national broadcaster and scared the bejeysus out of every student and parent across the State when he told them … Minister for education - a Minister for higher education in this instance. He is absolutely blind to the suffering that is going on right across the board. People are really struggling with rents going up, with prices going up and now the Government wants student fees

whole-of-government approach to progressing the rights of people with disabilities. This is an acknowledgement that disability is not just the concern or responsibility of one Department but extends to many more, including health, transport, education and housing. However, we need to see the ambition from … with the Minister previously. It is a massive issue for many people who come to me and, I am sure, everybody in this House. It is one, in my opinion, that the Government has failed to act on and get a handle on. My office is constantly

required for new AI developments, and housing. If there is a red herring, it was not I who raised it originally. I made the point in an earlier question about 21% use of energy by data centres here in Ireland right now. The next nearest country is Singapore

fairness to the Government, there have been supports for post offices and pubs. It is a model which, if we get it right, can be extended to other businesses on main streets in villages and towns across the country. Several of the different funding schemes and the hundreds … viable now. We must also see further housing development in smaller villages, unlocking opportunity for smaller builders and embracing energy and national digital infrastructure. There is a huge opportunity here for community benefit funds but we need to get it right. We need to ensure that where energy

understand the Deputy’s frustration. He is right to be frustrated because it is important that we have connectivity. I am informed that the enhancement of route 132 is planned under Connecting Ireland. Operational decisions regarding service delivery are the responsibility of the NTA in collaboration with transport … both here in the House and in private, and I will certainly work with him to ensure a service between Carnew and Baltinglass so the people of Baltinglass will not be discommoded further. I do not have positive news for the Deputy right now, but I will

think it will go far enough. It will not lead to more homes being built or more homes in the right areas with transport, education, community and other facilities alongside them. The core problem in Dublin is the shortage of supply. In my constituency, more than any other … part of Dublin, we have seen huge tracts of land already zoned. We are carrying the load, with tens of thousands of housing units zoned but insufficient building taking place. Alongside this, thanks to almost every political party in this Chamber, appalling decisions were made to benefit developers

this House as well. When we were in discussions on government formation as regional Independents, it was big part of our negotiations. We made a clear commitment in the programme for Government that every child in this State deserved timely assessment, timely intervention and the right support … want to acknowledge and thank FUSS Ireland who came to the cross-party committee focused on autism. There are Members in the House who were on that committee. The honesty and strength of the FUSS Ireland representatives in that meeting was very informative, and it was solution focused

door slamming shut behind them and that angry hand or controlling voice they have in their lives. We all know in this House that the problem does not begin or end with the devastating murders, stories or statistics we read about. Violence against women is not rare … them they have a right to dominate. Every time a child grows up and learns that abuse is just part of life, we fail as a society. I know this is important to the Minister and to every single Member of this House. We seek not merely

middle of a housing crisis. Why is that, when the Minister says he is going to war on dereliction? Going to war, is it? It does not feel like he is going to war. It feels like he is quite all right with dereliction and thinks … live, are living in overcrowded accommodation, emergency accommodation, hubs or hostels and who cannot start their lives look at vacant and derelict houses and buildings and ask themselves a simple question, "How is that allowed to happen?" It is because the Minister facilitates it. He says he thinks

Bill as it goes through the Houses because there are opportunities for improvement to every aspect of it, to put it mildly. Fundamentally, I would argue that it prioritises economic competitiveness over the protection of fundamental rights. It is important that we get the Bill right. There

place before the end of that year. Right across Ireland, companies are submitting applications for significant wind farms. The guidelines allow these companies to bypass local authorities and to build massive turbines very close to people's houses. The people in local and rural areas deserve guidelines. When

there are no Sinn Féin Ddeputies in the House because Shinners speak with forked tongues when it comes to climate and carbon taxes. No one likes a carbon tax, and obviously in the context of the fuel emergency right now we need to give short-term measures

family ever finally do get a house, they do not know where it will be. They are being forced to travel long distances, sometimes getting two or three buses to get to school. This is not right. My understanding is that in Dublin there is a Leap card

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. She is right; I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for education. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It gives me an opportunity to set out for the House the position with regard to school infrastructure in Dublin Fingal

initial phase of their SMART modular housing project. In addition, Wexford County Council is being supported to commence a project to develop 22 permanent social homes utilising 3D volumetric systems. We will continue to maximise the use of 2D right across our systems due to its importance

particularly those of the male Members of this House. While we have said that there will be zero tolerance, a sea change and so forth, we now have an opportunity whereby we can prove all of our utterances right. I appeal to the Minister of State, the senior

about people who want to have a right to education? It has taught us for decades that we do not have the accommodation for people who want to go to third level, either on or off campus. We have a housing crisis but we have known this

technical briefing with officials from the Department of housing. I would also encourage the Deputy, his constituents and all Oireachtas Members from Donegal to fully avail of the consultation that is now open in respect of getting these standards right. The timeline is now clear. The consultation opened

move: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann resolves that the Social Housing Passport Bill 2026 be deemed to be read a second time this day twelve months, to allow for further consideration of the proposals in the Bill.". Before I go into … Deputy is right that there would be broad consensus that doing something in this area would make sense. We will, however, move the timed amendment. We need balance. We represent different constituencies and different local authorities. I remember the approach to social housing allocations in Cork being amended

Minister are insisting on a cut-off date that guarantees that this matter will not be fixed and will not be made right by the State. I also want to touch on the issue I mentioned of downgraded homeowners. Under this Bill, particularly section 15, we are still … flawed process whereby the chartered engineers they must hire to assess their homes conclude that their homes require demolition, only for the Housing Agency to overturn those decisions and decide, without ever seeing a house, that it does not need to be demolished. Appeals that were lodged over