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thank the Minister and welcome his commitment to vacant housing and the voids. The figure of more than €300 million since 2014 is very significant. I very much welcome the Minister's statements on a commitment to a prompt turnaround of properties, ensuring only essential work is carried … those houses can be re-let quickly and that any other work that is non-essential can be done through a planned maintenance programme. That is critically important. The Minister knows full well nothing frustrates people more than seeing vacant housing in local authority areas. We need

scheme. Two weeks ago, I raised with the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, the 33 families in Cork whose houses were sale agreed. Cork City Council was going to buy the houses but on 4 April it informed Cork City Council councillors that there … consider it and talk to people about it. Yesterday, I spoke to a lady, Amy, who was meant to be out of her house in February. It was supposed to be purchased in April. She got an email two weeks ago telling her and the landlord

have said before that housing is the number one issue affecting my generation. Whether we call them modular units, modular methods of construction or log cabins, we know what we are talking about. I am aware of many in rural Ireland up laneways or in yards, and planning … issue. We need to address that. In a rural area, if it is in keeping with the environment, which so many of these houses are, if the owner is from the area and has a housing need, which all of them have, planning permission should be able

instance, if someone has an income of below €40,000, they get 100% of the grant, the disabled persons grant and the housing adaptation grant, which was previously 95%. Furthermore, we have increased the level of the grants. We are always seeking to ensure that what … Government is to mandate local authorities to find suitable sites in areas - towns and villages - to give that choice in terms of public housing to allow people who wish to right-size to do so. I am taking a holistic approach. Local authorities are involved through the CCMA

every local authority in the country and ask them to identify what parcels of lands they have to deliver more homes and houses. However, elected members of Dublin City Council will be faced with a very challenging decision when it comes to the rezoning of those lands … very difficult to make a decision to rezone that land. That is why it is so essential that we establish this strategic housing activation office. The example of Ballyboggan is a classic case where if we banged heads together, we could find interim solutions and ensure that councillors

welcome the opportunity to address the House on the national driver test service. I will share time with the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer. By way of background, the Road Safety Authority, RSA, has statutory responsibility for the national driver test service under the Road Safety Authority … will see wait times begin to reduce this month, with the pace of that reduction then accelerating across the summer. Everyone in this House has heard from their constituents about the issues and challenges that extended driver test wait times are causing, the serious impact they are having

vacancy and dereliction but it is simply not good enough for the Taoiseach, as leader of the party that has held the housing brief for five years, to pass the buck to local authorities. That is not good enough. He speaks of a "razor-like focus" on tackling … vacancy and dereliction. That is exactly what we are not seeing from his Government and his Minister for housing. We are seeing an absolute vacancy as regards policy. We hear from our councillors across the country that the resources available to local authorities to tackle voids are diminishing

always about handouts. You can go around certain local authority estates and see six vacant houses. Millions are not needed to put those houses back into use. They should never be vacant for beyond a month. I am not just saying this now; I have said this … after void initiative. The dependency culture kicks, that they will fill a void if given €50,000 or €60,000. No. If a house is idle because someone left it a month ago, it should be allocated again. We are in a housing crisis

collapse of the houses at the canal yesterday encapsulates the scandal of dereliction and vacancy in this country. There are 160,000 vacant properties, 50,000 of which have been vacant for six years or more. Despite the immense housing crisis and the fact that over … should be compulsorily purchasing properties that are left vacant for long periods of time? Do not allow these to sit vacant during a housing crisis. Bring them into public ownership and use them to provide housing to the very many people who need

barriers. These are all economic barriers that people have to overcome in order to access the great leveller. When it comes to student housing, funding for the technological university sector needs to be unlocked. This sector needs to be allowed to borrow money to either purchase or arrange … construction of purpose-built student accommodation. It is important that the types of housing available in our university cities, including my city of Cork, are diverse. Students need to live within a reasonable distance of their third level institutions. It is a failure of housing planning if students

work on this motion. Right across counties Carlow and Kilkenny, we have towns and villages crying out for an increase in housing. These towns and villages have prime sites for housing developments that are unusable simply because the Government of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael has failed … village of Knocktopher, as well as Ballyhale and Mullinavat, have no planned works to upgrade local infrastructure. Simply put, this means no new housing developments being built in the coming years. This is crippling these communities and impacting everything from schools to shops to local sports teams. People

infrastructure that is necessary, as has been identified by so many organisations on the ground. The second is the implementation of the Housing Commission report, at least in respect of the housing delivery oversight executive, underpinned by legislation. The third is the adequate resourcing of the planning system … start with that last issue. I understood, from listening to the many debates on the planning legislation that the Government put through the House, that at any given time, there are approximately 500 vacancies in the planning system throughout the country. I have asked repeatedly to be corrected

parish I was born in and which is where I got my biggest vote in the last local election - is over-facilitated with housing estate after housing estate being built and no infrastructure being delivered. I thank my colleagues in Sinn Féin for bringing this … infrastructure? We have all identified it: north, south, east and west. I find it ironic that a number of Members come into this House and you would swear to God they never held a portfolio when they go around, pretending they are Mighty Mouse in Leinster House

Housing and Critical Infrastructure” is a very appropriate heading for the motion as we cannot have housing without critical infrastructure. In my own county of Kerry, we are in the Dark Ages when it comes to critical infrastructure. The majority of villages in County Kerry do not have … upgrade for far too long. Uisce Éireann needs to pull up its socks. The time for action is now. We have a national housing crisis and this also applies to my county. The villages I refer to also include Gneevgullia, Reask, Ballydavid and Ballyferriter in the west Kerry

similar situation. There are many towns in Leitrim, such as Mohill, Carrigallen and Drumshanbo, where a person who wanted to build 100 houses, which is a small number of houses, would not get planning permission because the sewerage system would not be adequate. We need substantial upgrades … many parishes, there is no town so there is nowhere else for people to go if they cannot build a one-off house in that rural area but they cannot get planning permission because of the restrictions in place as a result of EPA guidelines. All of these

wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the need for a new maternity unit at University Hospital Kerry. Deputy Joanna … Byrne - To discuss additional funding for local authorities for housing adaptation grants, mobility aid grants and housing for older persons. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil - To discuss the lack of crèche places in areas of growing population in Kildare North. Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher - To discuss coastal search

their loss. The Deputy is so right to highlight the importance of the electricity grid, both from an energy security and from a housing point of view. We quite rightly talk in this House about the emergency that is housing - there is no doubt about that … determined to get that right and make sure there is bang for buck in terms of that investment leading to extra houses. I will keep the Deputy updated as that progresses

very difficult to take seriously the Government's commitments on infrastructure or on housing delivery. On infrastructure, what is clear from the correspondence and the revelations about Uisce Éireann is that it simply has not been provided with the necessary additional resourcing to enable it to step … figure we now know is 10,000 off and across the country we are seeing communities who are left bereft, awaiting housing developments that are long promised. In Poolbeg, at the Irish Glass Bottle site, we were promised thousands of new homes. I met last week with

Government will investigate these issues, even if the Minister does not want to answer them right now. We do not need a housing tsar to contact Fingal County Council, have a meeting, discuss its needs and then organise the payment for whatever needs to be done … need a housing tsar. It is not as if this has not been done before. Previous Fianna Fáil governments did this in harder times in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It is not rocket science. What is the role of the housing Minister if somebody

these warnings were not acted upon. We still have no answers as to why. The family of another girl who stayed at the house raised concerns in 1992. The Brothers of Charity stopped placing people in that home. Grace showed signs of abuse in 1995. While … investigate the placement of other people into that foster home, and also into Fran, one of the children who was in the same house as Grace. Fran’s family came out yesterday talking about the experiences Fran had, in particular the extreme frustration with the report, and that

thank the House for allowing us time to continue the debate on the Farrelly report, which began last week. A number of commissions have reported to this House in my time as a TD. Certainly, a number of them have left the victims or the people … Perhaps more will be said on that in the future. We need to consider this more fully. I have heard mention in the House that this debate should be followed by a discussion at the disability matters committee when it is established. As a future member of that

year-old girl, a child, and she was without a voice. The failure began before Grace even entered that house; I very much struggle to call it a home. She was placed there by the South Eastern Health Board. The house was never assessed and it was never … years, those formative years of any child’s life. Why? It was not just Grace. There were 47 other children placed in that house. However, Grace remained there for 20 years, despite the placement having been temporary. Why? She remained there despite allegations of abuse on at least

housing crisis is a social and economic disaster. Solving it requires an emergency response that is unprecedented in scale and a radical reset in policy. Yet, what we have seen so far from this Government is disarray, half-baked ideas, kite-flying and a complete lack … breaks for investor funds. How can we have any confidence that this Government will co-ordinate a solution to the housing disaster, when it cannot even co-ordinate and take a joined-up approach in its own Cabinet? To be clear, the Government's new activation office

proud member of SIPTU and have been a union member and representative all my working life. I commend the unions represented in Leinster House today promoting the benefits of union membership. I was also happy to stand with the early years childhood groups in calling on the Government … marriage equality and a woman's right to choose. They took the lead on the right to water and the Raise the Roof housing campaigns. I urge the unions to work with political parties and reorganise the Raise the Roof campaign. We urgently needed an active and vibrant

above the shop. There is huge untapped potential on our high streets and side streets across the country. Not only will this increase housing availability, but the knock-on effects of bringing these properties back to life will bring more footfall to our cities, towns and village centres … welcoming our tourists into towns that are falling down around us. However, more importantly, we are in the middle of a housing crisis and fighting tooth and nail to build more houses while there are tens of thousands of properties standing vacant and derelict on every street corner

Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that Louth County Council has had to limit access to housing adaptation grants and related schemes; if there are plans to provide additional resources to Louth County Council and other local authorities

Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if Oliver Bond flats will be subject to the same rationalisation of the refusal to fund the regeneration of Pearse House; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33821/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable housing targets set for each county over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33886/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable housing targets set for each county municipal area-town in county Mayo over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33887/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current criteria for eligibility for affordable housing nationally; and if he will provide specific detail on the criteria applicable in County Mayo. [33888/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the basis on which areas are deemed eligible for affordable housing; the methodology of calculation used to determine such eligibility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33889/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the current process for the development and delivery of affordable housing schemes in County Mayo. [33890/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether it is a requirement that only projects which have full planning permission and are shovel-ready may apply for affordable housing schemes; if so, whether consideration has been given to supporting earlier-stage proposals

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the Claremorris municipal area and the Ballina municipal area are currently ineligible for affordable housing schemes; and if there are plans to revise the eligibility criteria to include these areas. [33892/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the housing schemes, including social, affordable, cost rental or other supports, which are currently available in the Ballina municipal area and the Claremorris municipal area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33893/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will publish the affordability assessments or data used to determine eligibility for affordable housing in specific counties or municipal areas, including County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33894/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether there is scope for a more flexible or locally informed approach to determining eligibility for affordable housing schemes, particularly in rural or smaller urban areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the means by which local authorities can appeal or challenge the exclusion of specific areas from affordable housing schemes; and whether a review process is in place for this purpose. [33896/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the projected delivery timeline for affordable housing in counties that have not yet had any such schemes approved or commenced; and the steps being taken to ensure balanced regional delivery. [33898/25

Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are plans to include tenants of houses acquired by local authorities under the part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-2021 in the tenant purchase scheme; if not, the options available

Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the publication of the rural housing guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34158/25

Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing commencements to date in 2025 in the four Dublin local authority areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34176/25

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he would consider extending housing adaptation grant schemes to include support for the purchase of generators for homes with a dependence on electrically powered medical equipment (details supplied); and if he will make a statement

Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason a newly built social housing estate (details supplied) has been vacant for seven months post-completion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34513/25

Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how he will ensure the houses due to be completed in the public private partnership bundle 3 will be completed; if he will consider working with the local authorities to have these properties developed and manages

minimum rate of jobseeker’s pay-related benefit; if he is aware that this group, due to historically favourable circumstances in the housing market may have had the means to purchase a house, pay off a mortgage or accumulate savings and as such fail the means-test

Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the housing aid for older people grant, specifically whether boiler replacements remain eligible under the scheme; and if they are no longer included, the alternative supports that are available to cover

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the Government’s new housing plan will be published; if he will guarantee that it will be published before the Dáil summer recess to allow for immediate debate; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if an application has been submitted by Cork City Council for funding for emergency funding to replace mobile homes/caravans used for Traveller housing damaged during Storm Éowyn; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Apartment and Duplex Defects Remediation Bill will be brought before the Oireachtas Housing Committee for pre-legislative scrutiny by autumn 2025, given the urgent need to advance the implementation of the remediation scheme