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work with the Government and bring forward solutions. Three weeks ago, I brought forward a solution. While it will not fix the housing crisis, it would bring in thousands of empty and boarded-up council houses that are owned by the State. We now own enough boarded … council properties that we could house every family living in homelessness accommodation. That could be achieved. All we need is funding and staffing for local authorities. We also need local authorities to get back to building houses directly. I ask the Minister to reverse the decisions taken

this matter, as he has done previously. As I do, the Deputy recognises the importance of translating what we have approved in this House in the national planning framework into getting it implemented by local authorities in their development plans as early as possible. That … authorities telling them to prepare and start work on their variation processes. We will be writing to local authorities very shortly about their housing growth requirements for the interim years, up until the next revision of their development plans. We are engaging with the Attorney General on this

people with disabilities in partnership with the Land Development Agency and homes for older people and a crèche being delivered by the approved housing body Clúid. Funding approval from the affordable housing fund is in place to support the delivery of the 181 affordable purchase homes … importance of this development and will work proactively with Limerick and its delivery partners to support the work. It is envisaged that the housing activation office will manage a multi-annual housing infrastructure investment fund under the national development plan. The scope of this fund will be determined

Funding for the housing activation office will come under the national development plan, which is currently being agreed. Limerick City and County Council has received local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF, funding for the delivery of the first two phases of a new distributor road at Mungret. LIHAF … than €18 million is in place to support the delivery of 181 affordable purchase units by 2027 with the support of the affordable housing fund. In total, the proposed mixed tenure development will comprise 181 affordable purchase homes and two community dwellings for people with disabilities, which

offering for us as a family, we would look at it but, unfortunately, it is just not there for us as one-off house builders. I am lucky to be in that position. Still, there are significant barriers there. I was at a lunch today with the Estonian … part of a trade mission in the past few years, where there had been issues with certification. They are able to build these houses to scale in central and eastern Europe. Obviously, a house being built in Estonia will be different from one being built in Ireland

sure the Minister of State will agree. The woman is gravely ill. She has to have equipment fitted in her house and now she is in danger of losing the house. I used this as an example because we are in the middle of a housing crisis … moment. It has not kept pace with what is happening currently and it is not fit for purpose in the housing crisis we are in at the moment

take forward the views of the Ombudsman for Children, whether that is through bespoke strategies or reflected in specific actions in the new housing plan. He is not wrong regarding the need for a renewed focus for children and family homelessness. I will ask the Minister to revert … came into office. We have reformed the planning laws relating in relation to permissions. We are increasing the amount of land available for housing by directing local authorities to revisit their development plans to zone more land for homes. We have provided more money already for the delivery

There can be a reflexive attitude whereby the Government is unwilling to agree to things that come from this side of the House solely on the basis that they come from this side of the House. I hope that will not be the case with this Bill. What … most up-to-date report we have is from 2019. That was six years ago. I had not even been elected to this House at that stage. It seems nothing has changed since. If the director of a major company asked the chief financial officer, CFO, for information

space. That is the not the question I was asking, which is why I am bringing the matter to the floor of the House. I will continue to raise it because I feel strongly, and the data will back this up, that we are in for a crisis … infants placement and subsequent primary school class places from September 2022 to 2026. However, since the latest census there have been several large housing developments in the area, namely Dún Sí, Skylark, St. Marnock's Bay and Drumnigh Manor, increasing the population in the area rapidly. These housing

concern for the people of Ireland but particularly for my constituency of Dublin South Central. Our capital city is at breaking point. The housing crisis we are living in is dire. Every single clinic I have is jammed with people who are in desperate situations. They are coming … lives in my constituency, I cannot understand why things do not move. I am here seven months now. Things do not move. Houses and apartments do not seem to get built. There is delay after delay. My constituency has five regeneration projects. They have all been delayed

councils to be admitted to the remediation scheme. My local authority, Fingal County Council, applied in September 2023. My understanding is that the Housing Agency report, which was the latest impediment identified by the Government to my constituents being admitted to the scheme, is now with the Minister … housing. The responses we get when we ask questions tell us that it will happen shortly, in the future or perhaps in a while. Will the Taoiseach engage with the Minister for housing to ensure people can access this scheme? As I have said, their houses are literally

need crisis, to access the special education supports that are needed. There is also the issue of people who, were there no housing crisis, would be paying differential rents on council houses. They are now paying differential rents for housing assistance payment, HAP, properties plus cash … deal with such situations is gone from families and households. I want to see an all-of-Government approach, involving the Departments of housing, health and children, as well as the Minister's Department, to get to grips with this issue

very clear for people watching at home that the decisions the Government has taken and the legislation the Government is taking through the Houses this week is legislation that will extend the rent pressure zones. As everybody renting across Ireland knows, the rent pressure zones were … They would have disappeared. Not only have we taken a decision to extend the rent pressure zones based on the advice of the Housing Agency and others, we have also taken the decision to expand the rent pressure zones to parts of the country that were not covered

housing crisis is not just an urban crisis. It is also tearing out the very heart of rural Ireland. Young people are being priced out or locked out. They are being pushed into the larger towns or cities or, more often than not, they are being pushed abroad … discuss the very real impact on clubs, parishes and communities across the State. The national planning framework that the Government pushed through the House actively promotes urban concentration at the expense of rural Ireland, deepening pressure on cities and depopulating the rest. The Our Rural Future strategy

rural future design programme. The GAA is having a huge impact the length and breadth of the country on many fronts. On the housing front, it is not fair to say that there is no focus on housing in rural Ireland. There is. The derelict grants … needed to develop such a derelict grant scheme, and it is having an impact. One can see it now in towns where houses have been refurbished and families have gone in to live in them. On the bigger issue, depending on different areas, I do not think there

hardly gotcha. Of course, we welcome decisions that are taken by the Government that we believe will fix the housing crisis. We support the extension of RPZs across the country, but not a hollowed out version of RPZs that offer no real protections for renters. This … living in fear of evictions, of rent hikes and of an uncertain future. It is the Government's chaotic drip feed of housing policy changes which is causing this uncertainty and confusion. That is why at 6 p.m. people from across the country will be gathering outside Leinster

Anybody watching will be wondering when the Government is going to take political responsibility for the housing crisis. He is the Taoiseach and is in government. His party and Fine Gael have effectively governed together for the best part of a decade and yet, he is resorting … Opposition for not building homes. We are in opposition. The Labour Party, as the Taoiseach well knows, produced a costed, detailed plan on housing and on the transformation of the Land Development Agency into a State construction company because only the State has the deep pockets that

take some years before the necessary funds would be available. The State itself is investing hugely with about €6.8 billion in capital on housing in 2025 and that will probably rise. That is not counting the State investment on the current side with … State investment in housing right now is well over €7 billion. We have the fourth largest construction activity in a European Union of 27 member states. There is a lot of activity in Ireland but we have had a growing economy in the last decade and very significant

talking about housing and targets. As Opposition Members have stated, the targets are not being reached. Let us not get into the semantics of whether they will be reached, because what will stop them being reached is infrastructure. We have a situation in Clonshaugh where planned housing … more data storage companies coming in, and the income potential of that. We cannot have that and also have electricity supply and build houses. We have the potential to be a major energy exporter in terms of converted hydrogen and stored electricity, which also feeds into the housing

First of all, "Yes" is the answer. We will. Utilities need certainty. Utilities can be a great enabler of both housing and infrastructure. The national development plan will reflect the prioritisation of water in particular, expansion of the grid and public transport along with road infrastructure. The Minister … interesting. We did try to streamline the law and the whole area around judicial review. There was a lot of opposition in the House to it. People wanted to reduce the impact of the Planning Act that we took three years to get through this House. People were

Labour Party will amend the Bill on Committee Stage. I can assure the House that we will not amend it on the basis that we want to see what is a modest charge on properties abolished. It is extraordinary that every time we debate the principle … property tax in this House there are parties who purport to be on the left in Irish politics which say they oppose it. They oppose it for their own reasons, and I respect that. In my view, parties are not entitled to refer to themselves as a social

sure, there are significant proportions of the population where the property is valued at roughly the same proportion as income coming into the house, but there are major disparities to it. If we are honest, this Bill admits that the value of the property is completely disconnected from … have no doubt that the Government will also need to reset the bands in another number of years because the increase in house prices is continuing at such a trajectory that that disconnect will remain embedded within the system. That is a basic fault and problem with

very practice, it is detached from the principle of equality and economic reality of many citizens. Let us speak plainly in this House. This exists today in our system and is a burden for some of our older citizens, men and women who have spent their lives buying … retirement, often living on their own and their incomes are sharply reduced. They have already paid taxes on their property and on the houses they built. Their heating bills or refuse charges have not halved but quite often their income has halved. There is an argument at this

cent it can out of hard-pressed renters. Not one affordable home has been delivered in my constituency. According to the Minister, the houses there are already affordable. We have had pitiful investment in housing infrastructure. The Government has gutted the tenant in situ scheme. There are dozens … town and village throughout east Galway that have been lying idle for years. These are all hallmarks of the Government's approach to housing. The solutions are staring it in the face but it chooses to ignore them. It is time for the Minister to wake up, stop

things that people cannot get their heads around regarding the housing crisis is how an issue can be top of the political agenda for so long but everything is still going in the wrong direction. How can it be the case that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have … word and words matter. They represent a situation. What is fundamental is that neither this Government nor the previous Government have treated the housing crisis as an emergency. They have treated other policy areas as emergencies. We know the capacity exists to respond to issues in an emergency

Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of those on the social housing list aged between 18 and 30; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38091/25

Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the cost to the Exchequer of the housing assistance payment in each of the years since its creation in 2014, in tabular form; and an estimation of the cost for each year from

Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to address long waiting times for allocation of social housing (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37195/25

Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to revise the income eligibility limit for affordable cost rental in County Cork to match the household income limit that applies in Dublin, given the comparable cost of living and price of houses

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage what his department doing to ensure that The Apartment and Duplex Remediation Bill 2004 comes before the Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for pre-legislative scrutiny in the Dáil autumn term

Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage given the ongoing housing crisis and the need to support families in mortgage-to-rent schemes in meeting their financial and social needs, if his Department has considered reviewing or amending current legislation and tenancy agreements

Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to amend the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011; if legislation to underpin the defects remediation schemes will be laid before the Oireachtas Housing Committee for Pre-Legislative Scrutiny before

Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated number of completed housing units nationally that cannot be occupied due to a lack of capacity in water infrastructure, both wastewater and water. [36812/25

Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of positions that remain vacant in the housing section of Cork City Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36947/25

Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of positions remain vacant in the housing section of Cork County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36948/25

Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of houses purchased through the tenant (incremental) purchase scheme 2016 since 2016 through Cork City Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36951/25

Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of houses purchased through the tenant (incremental) purchase scheme since 2016 through Cork County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36952/25

Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average waiting time for social housing allocation in each local authority in 2024 and 2025; and the average length of stay in emergency homelessness accommodation. [36445/25

Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current allowances payable under the mortgage allowance scheme to assist householders who are tenants or tenant purchasers of local authority houses to become owner-occupiers of other dwellings; the date on which those allowances were

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the development of the Government’s housing plan; if it will be published before the summer recess; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35894/25

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason he decided to withdraw funding for social housing PPP bundles shovel ready this week; and the measures he will take to ensure the 3,000 social homes planned as PPPs are going

Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has undertaken a review of utility infrastructure deficits in rural towns and villages; how these deficits are currently limiting the delivery of rural housing; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a date for when his revised housing plan will be completed and published. [35826/25

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the efforts he and his Department have made to encourage new technologies in the construction sector; the role he believes modular housing can play in the current crisis; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if new EE-zoned land will be identified in tandem with industrial land rezonings for housing to enable relocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35806/25

Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on plans to introduce a new local infrastructure housing activation fund-type scheme; if such a scheme could be made available for the St. Waleran’s site in Gorey, County Wexford

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department made a submission to the EU's consultation on an Affordable Housing Plan for Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35896/25

Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a proportion of the Rathbourne Wharf development, where 326 social houses and 399 cost-rental homes funded through CALF and CREEL, as cost-rental homes for essential workers in line with commitments

Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will review the recent changes to the local authority housing adaptation grants regarding central heating systems, and to allow the grant to fund the replacement of new oil or gas boilers

Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on plans to deliver an affordable housing scheme in County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35793/25