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know there is a housing crisis and the only way to address that is by increasing supply. We have increased it from 20,000 to 30,000 homes. We need a step change to get to 50,000 homes and more so that people have the homes they … work out new proposals. We no longer hear about its manifesto. The only thing Sinn Féin has mentioned here is freezing the current housing situation. How does that give us more homes? That does not solve anything, as Deputy Ó Broin knows full well. We have

well as a number of other pieces of legislation produced by the Government this week, there has been a protocol in this House that legislation is produced two weeks before it is brought before it in order to allow us and the public to look at that legislation … needs to fix up a home, has increased. In my area of Dublin 12, one of the auctioneers was boasting recently about the houses sold, although I am not giving out about the estate agents as they are only doing their job. For example, for anyone who knows

home in the first instance, yet the Government just sees it as a cash cow to be taxed. Under this proposal, every single house in the State will end up paying more tax. The reality is this Government has pushed us in a direction of the financialisation … necessity - what should be a right - and transformed it into an asset and made it out with winners and losers. Its failed housing policy has pushed up prices higher and higher right across the State. That has not been to the benefit of ordinary workers who just want

introduced in 2012 and 2013, takes no account whatsoever of the income of the property owner. Somebody could be living in a house worth €500,000, €600,000 or €700,000, but they might be on a single State pension. For example, a widow or widower could … clearly what they get in return. That is a real issue. We must remember that in many cases, people who own their own houses have already paid stamp duty and are paying high mortgages. In some cases, the LPT turns out to be a tax on debt. People

Throughout the State, families are crying out for housing. If they are not crying out for housing, they are in our clinics crying to us because they are facing eviction or watching their children raise their families crammed into their childhood bedrooms, sometimes multiple families … very real and will be felt for generations. In my constituency of Waterford, the message going out is on the slow pace of housing delivery and the fact that a sod has still not been turned on applications made six or seven years ago. This will

delivery of homeless services in 2025. This will ensure that local authorities can provide emergency accommodation, homeless prevention and tenancy sustainment services, including housing first and other services to households experiencing or at risk of homelessness. It will also ensure that these households in emergency accommodation are supported … exit homelessness as quickly as possible. Expanded significantly under Housing for All, the housing first programme provides the most vulnerable of our homeless population with a home for life, as well as key wrap-around health services and social supports to help them. The housing first national implementation

Roof protest, which is taking place outside the building this evening. People are once again calling on the Government to finally treat the housing crisis with the urgency it demands. I had the pleasure of stepping outside and engaging with the crowd. The energy was contagious … Dublin Central, thousands of properties lie empty or in ruin. It is a staggering waste of existing infrastructure in the midst of a housing emergency, which has already had catastrophic consequences for families, most notably for children growing up in emergency accommodation with all of the impacts

need to zone land and open up planning permission for people, especially for one-off houses. We need to provide affordable houses and social houses. We need to provide private housing, low-cost sites and good-quality modular homes. We need to give choices to our people … quality modular homes are part of the solution here. Four or five modular homes can be provided for the price of one affordable house. They are better insulated and much warmer. They can be erected at speed. I am focusing on modular homes because I meet young couples

Gaza in recent days. It is not working. It is letting the world down and letting the people of Gaza down. As this House will be aware, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council can use their veto power to prevent the Security Council from taking … military neutrality. The proposed amendments to the legislation are in keeping with Ireland’s values and policy in this regard. As this House is aware, Ireland’s policy of military neutrality is characterised by the non-membership of military alliances or common or mutual defence arrangements. These legislative

dialogue with them on that. The reality is that all the information or ideas do not reside on any one side of the House. I certainly do not suggest that I possess the divine right to develop policy alone. I will always take helpful views, from whatever quarter … that are to the benefit of the people we seek to represent. I assure the House of that. I have engaged with people, and people are engaging with me and setting out their stall. There is little doubt that the sector has been under pressure for quite some

motion and a Sinn Féin Bill two weeks ago on Israeli bonds, a significant statement was made by senior Government representatives in this House. Finally, a senior Government figure in the State said unequivocally that Israel is carrying out a genocide against the people of Gaza. The Genocide … further. It is uncomfortable for the Government, the leadership of the Central Bank, the citizens of Ireland and all of us in this House to comprehend that our financial services regulator, the Central Bank, is, whatever way we interpret it, a critical cog in the wheel funding

cumulatively, would reduce supply and do nothing to increase it. We have a fundamental challenge as a society. We need 50,000 new houses per annum. We are at approximately 30,000. It might be higher this year; we do not know. It is 30,000 plus. Back … State investment has largely brought it up to approximately 30,000 houses plus. We need significant private sector investment. The overall investment required is approximately €20 billion to get to 50,000. That will not be provided by the State alone. Institutional and pension funds have a role

homes should have a family living in it. It is disgusting that adults are stuck living in their parents' back bedrooms while the house next door is boarded up. Young people are boarding planes to Australia when they could be starting lives in these boarded-up homes. Children … stock and get families living in them. I am calling on everybody to support it. It is also time we introduced a social housing passport. I have raised this numerous times, including with the Tánaiste previously. Many people have contacted me who started out in one local authority

this Government has said that housing will be its number one priority but it appears that its members are not even talking to each other and continue to think up housing policy on the fly. It cannot even get its story straight on today’s announcement about rent … pressure zone reform. So far, we have seen thinking-out-loud policy briefing about sheds in gardens; a housing czar that no one wants, including prospective candidates; record homelessness; abandoning the tenant in situ scheme; and commencement and completion figures miles off the Government's own commitments

facing a housing crisis of unprecedented scale. More than 15,500 people, including more than 4,700 children are living in emergency accommodation. This is not just a statistic; it is a national failure, and one that demands urgent action. At the same time there are an estimated … properties back into use. This Bill is practical, targeted and overdue, but despite the rising levels of homelessness and that untapped stock of housing, the Government proceeded with a timed amendment delaying this Bill's progress by up to a year. This is deeply disappointing. With thousands

homes are being brought back into use is a disgrace and it tells a wider story about the Government's other failure in housing delivery. In communities right across the State we see the consequences of this every day in vacant homes gathering dust while families … waiting lists, dereliction, antisocial behaviour and the crassness of people walking past these houses knowing that they would provide lovely homes for their families while they languish on waiting lists and raise their children in their childhood bedrooms. In Waterford, like other counties, we see projects held back

What is required is an ongoing maintenance programme for all stock to ensure it is routinely kept up to a decent standard. No house should be in such poor condition when it becomes vacant that it takes several months to bring back. Usually, it is only after … house is vacated that it would be considered for an energy upgrade to thermal insulation and heating systems, or a new window set. I believe the council should be continuously assessing their houses. The rent collectors are gone from the job, but they were always on the ground

topic of vacant homes. I was until recently a member of Wicklow County Council. A number of years ago as the housing challenges became more acute, I proposed that every month councillors receive a total number of vacant houses, broken down by district. This could be discussed every … month at our full council meeting. This happened. I also asked that the list be aged by how long the houses were vacant. The proposal was adopted by the council. My logic for introducing it was that if you want to manage something, you must first measure

welcome the motion and the opportunity to once again place a spotlight on the extraordinary levels of vacant housing. The motion is pragmatic and I will support it. When I think of housing vacancy rates, I think of a man dying of thirst while a giant pool … remains within his reach. There is a stupidity and recklessness to this issue that is mind-boggling. In the middle of a great housing crisis, we are sitting on thousands of empty homes. It is ludicrous beyond words. I have raised the unacceptably high levels of vacancy

projects that will hinder our delivery of much-needed grid infrastructure. The new programme for Government outlines the Government's position regarding energy, housing, FDI policy and many other goals and reflects the balance between the various needs, opportunities and challenges facing the country. It also states … investment and delivery in our grid and expanding our energy generation capacity are priorities. Three main priorities in the NDP review are energy, housing and water. Price review 6 later this year will see a multiple of price review 5 and the investment in our grid because

protecting the pearl mussel, the Government is the cause of finishing of the pearl mussel because it was blown into the fields and houses were within one inch of being washed out again. The Minister of State was there at the time. I showed him the house … depth of the water that came into Dan Dineen's house and others. It is outrageous that so many years on, I still have not seen one bucket there. There was a situation where the local farmer cleaned out his river tidily and carefully once every ten years

overriding need in our society and in our economy is for housing. The Central Bank's director of financial stability has said 50,000 homes have to be built every year for the next ten years in order to fulfil the need. The targets the Government itself … State. In fact, Fianna Fáil Governments in power previously were capable of doing this. What has changed? I bought a house from Fingal County Council 23 years ago as a single teacher. A single teacher now has no means whatsoever of ever buying a house, which

Lucia O'Farrell and her family have been in and out of the offices of TDs and Senators in this House to fight for justice for Shane since 2011. I am thrilled that we are here today to witness this apology from the State and to hear … easy for Lucia O'Farrell and her family. It was not easy to come before each one of us here in the House to try to convince us that something was wrong. We have heard those stories before. Lucia O'Farrell painted a picture of a State

allocation in the Department of Justice Vote. Deputies will recall that the Revised Estimate for the Department of Justice was approved by this House on 1 April, in advance of the commencement of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 and the establishment of the Votes … statutory agencies, the Policing and Community Safety Authority and Fiosrú and, therefore, I seek the approval of the House this evening to a Further Revised Estimate for the Justice Vote. The Revised Estimate as approved by this House on 1 April is unchanged other than to provide

Last week, South Dublin County Council passed a People Before Profit motion to allocate long-term housing to victims of gender-based violence leaving short-term refuges. Official figures show that 32 households fleeing domestic violence were forced into emergency accommodation from January to March. However, according … service providers this massively understates the problem. The housing crisis means women either cannot leave abusive relationships or are forced to return to them once their time in a refuge is up. I spoke to a woman a few weeks ago whose time in the short-term refuge

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the development of a single stage approval process for local authority housing developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65670/25

Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the engagement between the housing activation office and local authorities in Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65584/25

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of regeneration plans for a Traveller housing scheme (details supplied), given regeneration has been promised for over 25 years, and its latest iteration is with his Department; when he expects funding

Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will report on the work of the Housing Activation Delivery Group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65544/25

Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding being provided for housing adaptation grants in 2025 and the allocation for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65541/25

Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the work of the multi-stakeholder group under his Department in respect of developer provided wastewater treatment plants in housing estates that are not in the charge of local

Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on any recent tripartite engagements between his Department, Dublin City Council and the developers of the Poolbeg SDZ area to progress the delivery of affordable housing; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which local authorities are being supported to zone sufficient land for housing and ensure the necessary servicing and infrastructure is delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65681/25

Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the specific accountability measures that are being put in place to ensure that local authorities meet their housing delivery targets, given ongoing concerns from the construction sector regarding constant delays, objections, and bottlenecks in planning

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable housing options which have been delivered to-date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65636/25

Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he is taking to increase the delivery of affordable housing in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65157/25

Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his targets for the delivery of social and affordable housing in County Monaghan. [65815/25

Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update of social housing output to-date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65486/25

Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the provision of allocated housing for those that work in frontline public sector jobs including teachers, nurses and members of An Garda Síochána; if this is under review within his Department

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps he will take to ensure a clear and consistent approach to rural housing and rural planning; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65479/25

Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline any involvement his Department will have with the special purpose vehicle established to implement the recommendations of the Dublin City Taskforce roadmap for delivery, as discussed in the recently published housing plan

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the new measures contained in the housing plan to activate the SME builder developer sector to build more good quality homes for people to buy. [65688/25

Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reasons the completed social housing units at a location (details supplied) remained vacant for close to a year before tenants were allocated homes; and the measures which are being taken to ensure that newly completed

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the specific steps he is taking as part of the Government’s new housing plan to reduce the number of single adults in long term homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter

Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will confirm whether the properties in Red Island, Skerries sampled by the Housing Agency meet the criteria for inclusion in the defective concrete blocks grant scheme; the next steps for affected homeowners

Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will report on the implementation of his housing plan, ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030’, thus far, and set out the timeframes by which the plan will be fully implemented. [65820/25

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his Department’s plans to deliver housing, accommodation and residential facilities for people with disabilities; the timeframes for delivery; the supports available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65786/25

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the local authorities that have underspent their housing adaptation grant allocation; the local authorities that have had their funding increased under the redistribution of the underspends in 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular

Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which he will support local authorities to provide more housing under Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025 – 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65639/25

Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the proposals being considered by his Department to increase the income threshold for applicants looking to access social housing through their local authority; the last date such an increase was made; and if he will make