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What engagement has the Minister had with the Central Bank regarding tax incentives and other demand-side measures for housing and will he make a statement on the matter, particularly in light of what appears to be the Governor of the Central Bank pouring cold water … latest apparently back-of-the-envelope policy on housing from the Minister for housing? It is reported that the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, will meet the banks regarding that proposal. What discussions has he had with the Central Bank on this and what is his view regarding banks lending

that as debated in the Dáil on the day it was published by her colleague Deputy Doherty and the then Minister for housing, Deputy O'Brien. There were lots of projections across the public domain, and the Government obviously said it was disappointed with the final outturn relating … housing completions. That is why, in the context of the NDP review, we have set out that housing will be a central priority. We are particularly focusing on transport, energy, water and housing to unlock further supply in our economy. These are central to what we have

done this and that and had not followed the proper procedure. Fourteen properties went to Tipperary County Council for social housing. Eight residential units in Dublin city centre were leased to housing agencies. A building in Crumlin was leased to Dublin City Council for use as a family … former Garda stations in Cork were transferred to social housing. Three Garda stations in Limerick went to social housing. The list goes on. We have followed all the criteria that are in place. No more than any other agency, the OPW has an enormous number of properties

constituents who simply want to move around within their towns and villages, it is very tough for them to do so. Some new housing estates are being built in north county Dublin now. Given the scale of the Government's housing crisis, any house building is, of course … started to get a bus. There has to be some type of forward thinking. If people are moving in to the houses, they are not staying in them forever and for always and for 24 hours a day. They will need to get out. On the one hand

midst of a housing crisis that is worsening month by month. It is the actions of this Government, its refusal to listen to experts and its insistence that the market will provide that has accelerated this crisis so rapidly. All we see from this Government is its head … sand as it refuses to admit the market has failed. These actions have failed rural Ireland so severely on housing. I look across my home county of Kilkenny where the Government’s failure to invest in modern, fit-for-purpose water and sewage facilities has ensured that large

tithíochta ann. Caithfidh mé súil ar ghné amháin toisc go bhfuil roinnt de m’am imithe. If the Government regarded this as a housing emergency, it would be funding regeneration projects to the hilt to make sure that those public sites would have public, social and affordable housing … three-year pause on regeneration projects in this city because of a lack of central government funding. I cannot figure out where the housing emergency is, or where it sits in the Minister's brain, if the Government cannot even fund those projects, which involve public land with

Taoiseach has spoken about building 300,000 houses over the next few years and I wish him luck in that. The facts are at the moment that 85% of the towns of Ireland do not have capacity to provide extra water for new housing. We know the budget … with. Its ten-year plan is to bring the network up to specification under EU regulations and is based on approximately 30,000 houses per year. We know that, in Dublin, Ringsend's sewerage is over capacity. What happens when it is over capacity? We open the sluice

also escalated planning permissions that had been granted for a number of years and were not activated, and caused a higher rate of housing commencements. The Taoiseach will remember when he started out in his first house with his wife, Mary, how difficult it was to save … This waiver is something the previous Government brought in for people who do not get any other contribution, such as the social housing waiting list. This was an opportunity and was very well received by people, where there could be savings

crisis, this national parliament has a duty to show leadership to the country. I recall the unity we have found in this House in moments of crisis and economic challenge. We came together and pulled together during Covid-19 and the Brexit times. The context we now face … with that job. We need to get the Oireachtas committees up and running so that the elected Members of this House can scrutinise legislation that may well be required, and, most importantly, can make recommendations on how to improve that legislation so we can have the best possible

these Government formation negotiations. Indeed, the quid pro quo regarding the Ceann Comhairle was sealed with Michael Lowry and voted on in this House at the same time as the Government was purporting to speak with the Labour Party and others in opposition about possible Government formation … ignore his resignation in disgrace as a Minister and member of Fine Gael; or ignore the all-party, uncontested motion passed by this House that he is not fit for office and should resign as a TD. Nor should we ignore the words of the Taoiseach, with whom

prison, to 9 March 1932 when we had that first changeover of power between two parties, when reportedly some Members of this House carried weapons into the Dáil Chamber only for W. T. Cosgrave to intervene and ensure a peaceful passing over of power. This House has seen … from the Opposition on this issue. The response has been disproportionate to the issue at hand when we consider the history of this House and all that has happened here before. I ask for the Opposition to accept the democratic vote that will happen in this House today

democracy and securing the institution of the office of the Ceann Comhairle. The Opposition has been attempting to undermine the authority of this House and erode trust in its institutions. Members opposite have chosen the Ceann Comhairle as the sacrificial lamb after their attempt to subvert the Government … clear. The Ceann Comhairle has carried out her duties with fairness, consistency and full respect for the Standing Orders of the House. The recent amendments were passed by a significant majority of 21 votes, with 95 in favour and 74 against. Business is now conducted under those rules

this matter. At a time when there division in the Chamber, I thank all Deputies, particularly those on the other side of the House, for their work on the humanitarian assistance scheme and on the storm response generally. Most Deputies in the affected areas put in huge shifts … workers, communities, gardaí, ambulance workers, HSE personnel and many others were involved in trying get the response under way immediately. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead Department for the response to severe weather events. This means that it is responsible

Paris and Washington DC. Over 20 State agency offices were also opened over this period in addition to strong consolidation of the Ireland House model, where we co-locate Ireland's embassy or mission with a relevant State agency, such as the IDA or Enterprise Ireland. We have … most recently opened Ireland Houses in New York and Stockholm and I am pleased to confirm that a new Ireland House in Tokyo will open in the coming weeks. The benefits of co-locating Team Ireland under one roof are enormous. I have seen this at first hand

created a TikTok in which he shared his hopes for the year ahead which included throwing eggs at Ella Deasy's house. That of course could have been taken with a pinch of salt but unfortunately it did not end there. It turned out that a WhatsApp group … been created of 200 young men who all wanted to target her house. Frighteningly, they knew not only the house number but the room in which she was living and they congregated at the back of the house outside her window shouting and chanting. She reported this

certainly aligned with them on that. The UN Security Council is not functioning properly. We cannot continue to deny that reality. As the House is aware, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council possess a veto power, which can prevent the adoption of resolutions … Security Council, where we witnessed its use several times. It is important that we address the reality. I can provide the House with some recent examples. One of our most important initiatives on the Security Council was the proposal of a resolution on climate and security, effectively allowing

been the suggestion that the Opposition is wasting time on this unimportant thing when there are very important issues happening like the housing crisis, Trump and so forth. Commentators, who have cheered on every step of the way while the Government, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, made developers … landlords rich and worsened the housing crisis, now profess to care about the housing crisis and that we should be debating it. The speaking time row is precisely about our ability as an Opposition to hold the Government to account. It is precisely about us having time

loosening of the purse strings in Europe in terms of rearming countries at a time when we have so many crises, including the housing crisis. During the European elections last year, our candidate in Dublin, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, as well as our other candidates, strongly focused … need for housing and a housing commissioner. We have that in the EU now. Despite significant evidence of housing crises, not only in our country but throughout Europe, the EU has been slow to move to fund a solution, but when it comes to rearmament and militarisation, Ursula

from 1 December 2022, following a Government decision. This coincided with the offer a home scheme launched by the Minister for Housing and run by local authorities in conjunction with the Local Government Management Agency. That scheme has been invaluable in making homes, mainly holiday homes, available … than to make the property available on the rental market. However, as those who attended the recent Irish Red Cross briefing in Leinster House will be aware, its survey found that the vast majority of hosts - 91% - are not landlords. They have never been registered with

have gone out of their way to help people from Ukraine and it was the right thing to do. People opened up their houses and provided people with rooms, which was fantastic. However, a minority of people have come in, claiming they are from Ukraine. They have bought … take it to another level. I refer to those who come here and have two or three properties. Irish people cannot find housing for themselves and people coming here from other countries to work cannot get accommodation. People who come into this country and are subsidised

question. There was not a perfectly normal situation at the end of last year. We know that because the local authorities, approved housing bodies and building contractors and developers have told us that. There was a huge delay in anything up to 5,000 units of social … affordable housing. That was caused in part by a significant overspend in the Department because there were challenges around the operation of the cost rental equity loan as well as the social housing investment fund. The Minister sought and secured approval for 3,000 social and affordable homes

overall dip is driven mainly by a fall in the permissions for apartments. This illustrates the enormous challenge of meeting our revised housing targets, the critical role of apartment delivery in this regard, and the importance of securing private capital investment to fund this delivery at the levels … future. Government is already examining actions to scale-up delivery in the immediate term, pending completion of a new all-of-government national housing plan committed to in the programme for Government. To this end, we are actioning priority commitments in the programme for Government with the potential

private investment. The Taoiseach is also spinning this by saying we are against private investment. We are not against private investment in housing. What we are against is shaping the entire housing system around the profitability demands of institutional funds and institutional investors. There are multiple different forms … billion that is available in banks in this country. We cannot just rely on commercial banks to channel that money into housing. What they have in France is a state saving scheme that creates a fund that funds affordable housing directly. Why can we not do that? That

This also relates to affordable housing. There will be full agreement across the House on the need to increase our delivery of affordable housing. I am pleased that in the city and county of Cork many developments have been brought forward by the city and county councils … question relates to the ramping up of delivery of affordable housing. It is a critical vehicle for those seeking home ownership. We need to be very ambitious in our targets and I seek detail on that this morning

bundles; they cannot just do one but have to do a couple. It takes quite a while to come back. Many of the houses that are boarded up have only minor works to be done. While waiting for authorisation from the Department, they end up being boarded … which costs €3,000 to €4,000. Nobody wants to live next to a house that is boarded up. It is not fair when there is family coming to visit. The estate does not look great. The issue here is making the process simpler and funding the councils

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the legal, statutory or circular basis for the application of the local connection condition to the assessment for accessing social housing support. [29575/25

Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Housing Agency will be provided with additional resources in 2026 via Budget 2026, in order that it can commence the work of regulating the owners' management companies sector, as promised in the Programme

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of new Housing First tenancies created in each of the years 2020 to 2024, by second-hand acquisition, turnkey and construction, with a further breakdown of each of these categories by local authority

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the housing need and demand assessment targets for each local authority have been agreed and communicated to the relevant local authorities; and to provide those figures by local authority, in tabular form. [29955/25

Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the Apartment and Duplex Defects Remediation Bill; when he expects this piece of legislation to come before the Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration has been given to increasing the income threshold for cost rental housing outside of Dublin, in particular taking into consideration the number of dependents that are in a household; and if he will make

Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for clarification in relation to housing for older people grants eligibility where a person is residing in a retirement home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30060/25

Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the plans in place to raise the current means limit to qualify for social housing in Donegal and nationwide (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30306/25

Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures his Department has put in place to make sure that the Housing Agency has enough resources in 2026 through the budgetary process in order that it can commence regulating the owners' management companies sector

Deputy Gillian Toole asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the direction being given to local authorities for balanced, common-good and needs-based planning in the areas of renewable energy production, social infrastructure and housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the Housing Agency will commence regulating the owner management company sector as promised in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30464/25

Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the planning development charges imposed by county councils on successful applicants for one off houses will be suspended for a period to encourage the construction of homes and to reduce the costs involved

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount in the capital budget as set out in table 9 of the Annual Progress Report 2025 that is designated for the construction of new-build social housing units; the number of new social homes

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the Programme for Government Commitment to launching a new, comprehensive starter-home programme across the public, private and approved housing body, AHB, sector will be realised; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when work on translating revised national housing targets into local, tenure-specific targets which was reported as ongoing and at an advanced stage will be completed and published; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress to date in ensuring sufficient resources are put in place in Q4 2025 to enable the unit in the Housing Agency to regulate owners’ management companies, as envisaged in the Programme for Government

Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress to date in ensuring that regulations on service charges and sinking funds, which were drafted by the Housing Agency in February 2022, will be issued by the end of 2025 [30671/25

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if she will engage with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, in regard to utilising HSE buildings and lands across County Kerry for housing, that are no longer being utilised and are surplus to requirement

Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has assessed a location (details supplied) as a potential location for new housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28471/25

Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the costs in each of the years 2020 to 2024 and to date in 2025 to his Department and to agencies under his remit, including Uisce Éireann, of legal actions relating to planning and construction … housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28758/25

Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he intends to raise the income thresholds for social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27856/25

Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the further steps that are in place to ensure his Department delivers sustainable housing to promote renewable energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27895/25

Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to estimate the cost of installing 5kW of solar PV on 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 50% of all social housing [28270/25

Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a breakdown of the average cost to upgrade to a BER B2 as part of the retrofit of social housing in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form

Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to estimate the cost to increase the energy efficiency retrofitting programme budget under the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage over a five-year period, with an increase of 50% per year, broken down