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children. I respect Deputy Tóibín's good faith and acknowledge his genuine concern, as I do with all Deputies in this House. My only frustration with the course of action that the Deputy had indicated he was going to take is that motions of confidence or, indeed … themselves provide services or address the challenges that we are all concerned about. I want to assure the House and the families listening to this debate that as a Government we are steadfast and determined in our efforts to address these challenges. These efforts include strengthening governance

course we did not wait for the housing action plan. We have brought in a range of measures since the beginning of the year, most of which the Deputy has opposed, as she opposed most measures in respect of housing from the planning Act right through. This budget … allocates significantly more resources again on very substantial State investment in housing - a 20% increase in overall funding to housing. I heard Deputy Bacik talk about it having been "commodified and marketised". In the name of God, it is the State that is investing overwhelming in housing today

will give the Minister another figure if he wants to burn money instead of building houses. It costs on average €87,500 to keep a family in a hotel in emergency accommodation. That is what we are spending, and it is only €31,000 to repair a boarded … house. For years I thought the Government was over-smart, saying the market would solve the problem. I am now fully convinced that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael do not want to solve the housing problem because they are more interested in keeping the banks profitable, the rents

public representative in Kerry for over 20 years, I have never seen the like of what is happening, including to the 14-house estate in Killarney, and there are many more of those. Day after day, I hear about affected girls with one or two children and couples … matter today. I am afraid that what is proposed will not work. I have the history. There is no stir on the 55 houses along the road from Kenmare through Kilgarvan to Killarney. The reason is the owners will not enter agreements because they are afraid they will

that this issue is having an impact right across the construction sector. That is why we have the paradox whereby we have a housing crisis but so little development, particularly in rural counties like Mayo. Housing commencements for the first six months of this year are among … construction materials and services last year. Development contribution levies, connections to services, etc., are driving the cost of construction and choking housing delivery. I ask the Tánaiste not to refer to housing schemes, because these do not exist in Mayo for middle Ireland. The affordable housing scheme delivered

agreement, regardless of which side of the Chamber we sit. It is my pleasure to commend this budget to the House and to speak in favour of this financial resolution. As a Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, I am cognisant … living issues that have impacted so many people. It is in that context that we witnessed a budget brought forward to this House, for the tenth year as either Minister for Finance or Minister for public expenditure, by Deputy Donohoe. The budget is absolutely rooted in the principle

poverty. This country has been transformed for the better by huge job creation. That huge success has led to the challenge of housing. There is no simple fix to the housing shortage. There are a hundred or more things that can help deliver enough houses. This budget proposes … another part of solving this challenge. It is right to use targeted tax measures to help deliver housing. The Government will do everything it can and make all necessary changes to deliver housing. It will be done in a pragmatic way, not in any ideological way. I will

home Opposition Deputies are the first people to point the finger when the benches are a bit light on this side of the House. Their absence is either an endorsement of the budget or they could not be bothered to turn up I welcome the increase … teachers in special education settings. It is vital that we continue to have the staff and resources necessary to expand special education provision. Housing received a major uplift in the budget. The expansion of the living city initiative will help to address vacancy and dereliction and hopefully bring

very much welcome the establishment of the housing activation office. This idea came from the work of the Housing Commission. The Minister took it on board and brought forward his own proposals in relation to it, and that is very welcome. As he says, working under … critical. I also welcome the fact that, in the budget yesterday, over €200 million was secured for the work of the housing activation office, as was over €300 million in additional funding for the URDF, which is very important in unblocking some of the barriers to supply. That

Affordability is the biggest issue in County Meath. The county has met its housing targets. Those targets are too low. They are being increased, but there is a track record of delivering housing without affordable housing. The schemes the Minister of State is talking about do not deliver … affordable housing either. We have huge numbers of adult children living at home with their parents - I would say tens of thousands. We heard on "Prime Time" last night - and I think it reflected a sentiment across many areas, including in Meath - adult children saying they could

thank the Minister. One of the problems we have at the minute is that the Government’s social and affordable housing targets are too low. Not only are they too low, but they are simply not being met. The Government has failed in its pre-election promise … concentrate on the affordable purchase schemes. Last year, the Government only delivered 779 affordable purchase homes. Even with this low number, the affordable housing that came out of that was way too expensive, with so-called affordable houses in my own area in Dublin Mid-West costing

good self. The legislative framework governing affordable purchase and cost-rental tenure is set out under the 2025 regulations under the Affordable Housing Act. Capital funding includes €695 million in funding for approved housing body cost-rental housing via the cost-rental equity loan and €155 million … local authority affordable housing via the affordable housing fund. We are determined to drive supply as much as possible in all tenures - social, affordable, cost-rental and the private market - so that everybody has the ability to get the home he or she needs in the local community

terms of purchasing power. Families will have to pay more for heating their homes and will face higher prices. The Government announcement on housing is so frustrating. There was a VAT reduction in terms of construction, but only for apartments which will not be sold en masse … building. They say it is simply not viable for them to build. Having builders at home doing nothing in the middle of a housing crisis is incomprehensible. If the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, thinks the €8,000 benefit just for apartments will effect radical change in relation

site where they had just demolished their home. They were absolutely traumatised. Their home was about the size of an average detached house in rural Ireland. They will be €200,000 short of redress. That is €200,000. They had a mortgage left of six years, which … pyrite got 100% redress. I have given the Minister an example of what is happening, by contrast, in the west of Ireland. When houses are being rebuilt, I ask the Government not to insult people by saying it has stepped up. It is such an egregious offence

over recent weeks, I have been acutely aware that there are 20 Irish participants on board, including colleagues from this and the other House, all of whom are motivated by the entirely understandable desire shared by many people around the world and this country to urgently address … safety of people aboard has to be a priority of the international community and the collective priority of those of us in this House. I returned last week from UN General Assembly high-level week in New York, where the Middle East was a central focus

worried about how they are going to pay their car insurance. A great number of people in the areas I represent have dropped house insurance because they cannot afford it. I will leave the Minister of State with this. I know a girl who applied for Cork City … Council housing. She was being interviewed to get a house. Does the Minister of State know why she was refused a house? It was because she drove a car without tax or insurance. She did not have the money for them. Not alone could

Government should have stricter control of any proposed increases in premiums. We know that increased construction costs have a large effect on domestic house insurance but increases of 20% year-on-year appear to be over the top and unwarranted. Businesses can succeed or fail depending … reimbursed by the insured. This means the insurance company never loses. Controls that exist need to be tightened up to ensure that house, car, health and business insurance in general are affordable to the public. Even if not legally required, it is desirable that insurance cover is availed

poverty is currently 8.5%, that figure having doubled since 2024. However, the consistent poverty measure, in and of itself, does not account for housing costs. The Minister and I both know that for reasons of Government policy, housing costs are out of control. People who are at risk … poverty or living in consistent poverty are not having the extent of that poverty measured because housing costs are not included in it. These are people who are forced to pay among the highest rents in Europe. If we look at the study from Barnardos, the parents

what happens. The Minister knows that. That might happen with a Bill but the motion was passed. The position of the House, with the Minister’s agreement, is these awful reactionary policies that were proposed. The Simon Community is in the Dáil today to highlight the devastation … Government’s housing policy is inflicting on thousands of families. Over 16,000 live in emergency accommodation, including over 5,000 children, yet there is no mention of children in Housing for All and no sign of any new housing plan. There are strategies for ending homelessness

children who are living in poverty. The Government has refused to put in place a ban on evictions because it is making housing policy for the big investor fund landlord lobby. This week is Simon week and it points out that prevention is what is needed. We need … Meath, Kildare or Louth. How is her child going to go to school? How is she going to go to work? The housing crisis is absolutely out of control. In recent weeks, I listened in disbelief to interviews with the former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as he spoke about

related issues, the fact that we live on an island, etc., but Ireland is still one of the richest countries in the world. Housing costs have risen as well. The big issue relates to children who have no housing at all. If you are in that type … matter. I want to focus mainly on vulnerable groups like lone parents and people with disabilities. I want to see more movement on housing. I raised an issue about families being allowed to build homes in their back gardens at the start of the year. We had some

with the work on their dwelling under the option determined or the option of a full technical review of their application by the Housing Agency. This review will be informed by the current research once the full review of the national standard is complete. The Deputy's second … question was on whether the Government would use its ministerial authority to direct the Housing Agency to reinstate original engineering recommendations. In response to that I would say an appeals panel has been established to assess appeals made under the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged

housing disaster is spiralling out of control. This year has seen the lowest commencement figures in a decade. The Central Bank has just revised its forecasts for this year downwards. To paraphrase, it is saying that this Government has no hope of reaching its housing targets. Meanwhile … profit housing organisations are telling us that they have never seen such chaos and they are blaming this Government. The truth is that the Government has totally lost control of housing. The Minister is barely there. We need a debate on this crisis in the House this week

supports in the upcoming budget, yet it had no problem giving these last year. Millionaires got them. All of us in this House got them. That was absolute insanity. I cannot but reach the conclusion that the Government was trying to buy the election. Helicopter money was falling … included in the retrofitting programme. A great deal of heat is being lost through windows and doors and is not being contained within houses. Many low-income households that are not in the social housing category, namely people who live in private houses but who are cash poor

programme for Government sets out a clear policy direction that balances energy, housing, climate and economic development. It recognises that increased and unprecedented investment in our electricity grid and generation capacity is essential to meet future demand, not just for data centres but for housing, electric vehicles, heat … support for EirGrid and ESB Networks. This represents a step change in infrastructure delivery, ensuring our grid can support both economic growth and housing delivery. While already contracted data centres will be accommodated in the near term, the Government has committed to developing a plan-led approach

Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to publish a comparative league table of local authorities’ performance with regard to housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68584/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will review the eligibility criteria under the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme (MARWP) 2024–2026 to allow communities with fewer than 25 houses, such as Glensaul, Tourmakeady, County Mayo, to access funding for community

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline the full eligibility criteria for each measure under the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme (MARWP) 2024–2026, with particular reference to the minimum number of houses required for new community water connections; and whether

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will introduce an exceptional case mechanism within the MARWP to allow funding for communities with fewer than 25 houses where there is a significant health and safety risk and proximity to an existing Uisce

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the alternative supports or emergency measures that are available for rural households that cannot access MARWP funding due to the 25-house minimum requirement. [68633/25

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the actions taken to ensure alignment of zoning, serviced land, water capacity and planning permissions with the 12,000-unit annual social housing target; and if he will provide any internal reports or delivery forecasts

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current national level of local authority housing units classified as non-lettable for more than 12 months; and the proportion of these units requiring structural versus minor refurbishment works. [68749/25

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department maintains real-time tracking of housing delivery bottlenecks across local authorities; and if he will publish the three most common causes of delay identified in 2023, 2024, and 2025. [68751/25

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of infrastructure barriers identified by the Housing Activation Office in each local authority to date; the category of barrier identified in each case; and the corrective actions recommended. [68823/25

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social housing projects approved above basic unit cost levels in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025; the reasons for the variance in each case; and the way his Department intends

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps his Department has taken since 2022 to secure more granular productivity data to support national housing targets. [68830/25

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has assessed the budgetary and value-for-money implications of the absence of residential specific productivity data within the national construction sector, and if he will outline any measures taken to ensure … capital allocations for housing delivery are supported by reliable productivity metrics. [68831/25

Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail the primary operational, staffing, procurement, and supply-chain constraints reported by local authorities in returning void social housing units to use; and the measures, financial, regulatory, or administrative, his Department is considering to reduce

Taoiseach if it would be possible for the CSO, drawing on SILC data, to create a new measurement of ‘consistent poverty (after housing costs)’, which would combine households at risk of poverty after housing costs and households in material deprivation, in the same fashion as the existing measurement

Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps being taken to monitor and enforce compliance within the housing assistance payment scheme. [68337/25

Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there is a requirement or quota for wheelchair-accessible one/two-bedroom units in new housing developments. [68338/25

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will ensure that one of the last remaining ‘ghost estates’ (details supplied) is taken in charge for affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68380/25

Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation his plans to ensure the urgent delivery of a dedicated 'changing place' toilet facility within the Leinster House campus to ensure that any disabled guests or visitors to Leinster House have access to accessible, clean and appropriate toilets; and if he will

Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he can provide information on the current oversight guidelines for estate agents in allocating bids on housing; if there are any regulations in existence for transparency on how properties are sold via estate agents

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the transfer of land from Horse Racing Ireland to the Land Development Agency at Leopardstown Racecourse which is zoned for public housing. [67314/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to conduct a full review of the mortgage to rent eligibility criteria and engage with money advice and budgeting service and approved housing bodies to assess demand and impact. [67423/25

Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the housing supports in place for male victims of domestic violence who owned the family home, continue to pay the mortgage due to the fact children remain in the family home, and had to flee

Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans for affordable housing at a location (details supplied); the criteria potential buyers will need to meet to be eligible to purchase; the way in which the process will work; and if he will make

Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department maintains any form of benchmarking, comparative performance assessment, league table, or KPI-based ranking of local authorities in respect of their management of vacant/void social housing units, including turnaround times, cost per unit

Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has carried out any analysis comparing the cost, speed, and long-term maintenance outcomes of returning void social housing units to use versus alternative interventions such as acquisition, leasing, or new build