Search the record

Those are the facts of it. They are actually saving the State about €800 to €900 every week. I have been in the House for ten or 11 debates on carers and everyone agrees but the problem is that nothing is changing. Where a youngster wants … that way, help the State? We are not giving them the opportunity or the recognition they deserve. Everyone who stands up in this House will talk about carers and all the great work they do, but at the end of the day, it is about pounds, shillings

months in office, despite Deputies' best efforts. An extra €800 million on top of the outturn last year has been allocated to housing. There is €450 million for 3,000 new homes and also funding to fund substantial numbers of tenant in situ homes under that particular programme … State's investment is enormous relative to historic norms in respect of housing in this country. That is why I am saying that parallel with that, there simply has to be a greater degree of private sector investment. If we look at the fall off last year, apartment

move: Wednesday’s business shall be: - Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions (without debate) - Statements on the Housing Commission Report (resumed) (not to exceed 2 hrs and 25 mins) Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Social Housing Tenant in-Situ Scheme, selected … taken later than 6.12 p.m. and shall in any event be taken on the conclusion of the resumed Statements on the Housing Commission Report; (ii) questions pursuant to Standing Order 47(1) to a Minister other than the Taoiseach shall not be taken; and (iii) the Dáil shall

people of counties Carlow and Kilkenny are paying the price of the failures of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Month after month, the housing crisis deepens. Average rents in Carlow and Kilkenny are almost €1,600 a month, which is a staggering burden for workers and families. Scores … this Government constantly failed to plan for the future needs of towns and villages across rural Ireland? No wonder this Government missed its housing targets. Some 10,000 fewer homes were built than were promised last year. How many more thousands will it be this year? How many

been well documented in this House that you cannot call a person a liar in the Dáil, so I will refrain from doing so in what I have to say. Micheál Martin misled the people of Ireland in the recent election campaign, Simon Harris spoofed them and Jack … this was what they told the people of Ireland in the lead-up to the general election. I have no faith that the housing crisis will be solved under this Government. It simply does not have the will or the ability to clean up the mess it made

years talking in the Dáil about housing. I listened to the Fianna Fáil Deputy who spoke previously and I have to agree with him. Regarding Ukrainians and others, we have been promising that all sorts of construction can be done and all sorts of structures can be built … cannot do anything for our own selves. That is something we need to do very soon. I hope the Minister will look at housing in a different light to his predecessors because they made no movement on housing. It is worse things have got, and it looks like

Last year, the Parliamentary Budget Office published data on the number of households eligible for but not yet in receipt of social housing in my constituency of Offaly. The Parliamentary Budget Office analysis was based on what it would have cost to house the number of households … social housing waiting lists, plus the households in receipt of the housing assistance payment. The cost for County Offaly and for the county council list was put at €338 million overall. That figure really sums up all of this. It sums up the acute emergency that we have

scandal to God above in heaven that there are people who want and could build a house for themselves in County Kerry who cannot because of this planning clause about urban development pressure. This means that young people who want to build next door to their parents … Minister to please do as the UK is doing, where people can claim back the VAT. A third of the cost of every house that is built is VAT, levies and other taxes. That is the honest truth about it, if we are meaning to do something. There

tenant in situ scheme for some time and is being frustrated by the lack of progress and has decided to put the house up for sale on the open market. My notice of termination expired in early January and I am fearful that the house will be sold … issue with the council receiving its budget allocation for 2025 but I hope that this has been resolved at this stage. If the house is not purchased under this scheme, it will be an incredible pity as the house would be a very good investment especially in such

expect this Government to tell the truth about anything relating to housing in light of the Taoiseach's repeated refusal to confirm or deny that the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform deliberately misled the Irish people during the general election, but here … year. More than half of them were on the grounds of landlords intending to sell the property. The number of people independent of housing funded emergency homeless accommodation increased by 13% in the past year to 15,286, including over 4,500 children. I was shocked late last

rule not only disregards the realities many face in our society but also maintains unfairness in a system that should be about providing housing stability for all who need it regardless of their circumstances. Single people and couples without children are just as vulnerable to housing instability … move to a car park. The council is pushing him on again. He works two jobs and cannot get on the housing list because he does not have an address. He was told to use his sister's address. This means her rent will

International Women's Day, every day and every year, this House has statements on issues facing women. I feel a bit heavier this year because of the number of domestic violence services that have come into the audiovisual room here since I was elected in November. A motion … Half the population is women so half this Dáil should be women. Representation matters. A Deputy on the other side of the House spoke about Barbies. When I was growing up, Barbies only represented one type of person. I did not think I would be this person when

outsourced to the private sector leaving behind an empty shell of a state that cannot do basic common-sense things like building public housing, providing bike sheds or building walls. Instead, all of those things are outsourced to a profiteering private sector. Independent Ireland is so blinded … company continuing to be awarded massive State contracts. Their vans can be seen at this building today. It is the same story with housing. The State has agreed to pay €3.4 billion in rent to vulture funds to lease 9,000 social homes for the next 25 years

That is why there is prioritisation in the tenant in situ scheme that has been announced by the Minister for housing with approximately €325 million allocated, which is a substantial sum. There should be prioritisation because the original idea of this was to prevent people from falling into … homelessness. Additional to that, of course, there is significant investment under way in the Housing First programme, which is one of the more effective ways, working with the approved housing bodies involved and with the various organisations for the homeless, to look after people who are homeless

requested by 130 Irish language, Gaeltacht and other groups as per an plean fáis through Foras na Gaeilge and through urgently addressing the housing crisis in our Gaeltachtaí. Labhróidh mé le himní mhór. I will speak with deep concern about the housing crisis in our Gaeltachtaí … agus easpa tithe inacmhainne ar díol, tá sé ag éirí níos deacra i gcónaí do mhuintir na Gaeltachta cur fúthu sa Ghaeltacht. The housing crisis in the Gaeltachtaí has particular significance to the language given their importance in the continuation of the language and its ability to thrive

Will the Taoiseach look at the people from CBS in the Visitors Gallery, those who may want to build a house in the future, and tell them about how we now have inflation from €100 to €200 per sq. ft and all the Government is doing is taxing … existence so that the same people who want to rebuild or build a house will not be able to afford it? The people who have existing houses now have tiers 1, 2, 3 and 4, which means engineers now want to lift the roof off the house, take

women who lives in my constituency. She was brutally and viciously assaulted by her partner. Some 14 years ago, she went on the housing list in Dublin City Council. She has had to leave Dublin city. She lives in north County Dublin. She is now in danger - imagine … saying this - of being offered a house because she has been on the housing list for so long. Members of An Garda Síochána have told her it will not be safe for her to return to Dublin city. She does not want to. Her children do not want

previous Minister did not attend because the Commissioner was not invited. If the Minister does not attend, I will. Somebody from the House should attend the conference. The Oireachtas should be represented there. Gardaí do not feel that the Commissioner has or that the last Government had their … have been made regarding how members of the force have been treated over the past number of years. I have spoken in the House about Limerick and issues in Dublin. Those who have made protected disclosures or speak up often suffer as a result. One of the Minister

need them as a primary home. That has to be taken into account, and the Deputy has made that point well. Regarding vacant houses, we will have to make a very difficult decision. In tourism towns in my constituency, as I am sure is the case … Deputy's constituency, there are rows of houses that are completely vacant. I am sure that, when canvassing, the Deputy knocked on doors and found about ten houses in a row where there was no one there. A lot of those houses are used for Airbnb accommodation

this country. I also wish to raise the point that manpower is one of the biggest pinch points in the construction of houses. There are thousands of Irish people working on construction sites in Australia, Canada and all over the world and we need to bring them home … breaks and financial incentives. It is really important we launch a financial campaign with a package to build those workers home to build houses in this country. There has been a snobbery around apprenticeships in Ireland over many years and that attitude needs to change. For example

good report and I encourage or ask the Government to give it good consideration. Section 3 deals with recommendations on sustainable housing supply. I want to speak about recommendations 18 and 19, which are about money and finance, the State supplying finance, getting involved and providing essential finance … which is a key component for construction. The State is already involved in that sector because the Housing Finance Agency - former councillors like Deputy Willie Aird who served on local authorities will know this - lends money to local authorities and to AHBs

women who need help and seek support do not find it. In this Chamber last week, I raised the institutional barriers, specifically around housing, placed by this State in front of women trying to leave domestic abusive situations. This week, I met another woman who had been … this State she was not allowed an intercounty transfer. This meant she had nowhere to go. She had to start a new housing application with Galway City Council, which means she is now only days on the list in a county where you need to be ten years

health and safety, who was very seriously assaulted by her partner around seven years ago. She had been on the housing list for seven years in Dublin city at that stage. When he was sent to prison, she moved as far away as she could get while still … moved to north County Dublin. Now, she finds herself in a situation where she is high up on the Dublin City Council housing list. She is absolutely terrified she will be offered a house because it will be in a place where her abuser, now released from prison

With the agreement of the House, I will share time with the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne. A Chathaoirligh Gníomhach agus a Theachtaí, I thank you for the opportunity to have this important debate in Dáil Éireann today as we mark the third anniversary of Russia … Work will continue ahead of a special European Council that has been called on 6 March to further discuss the European response. The House will be aware that recent developments in Washington and the resumption of political contacts between the United States and Russia have indicated shifting

time for that to have the cumulative impact we want. We will continue what we are doing through new social house builds and leasing and acquisitions. Combined, we will try get to approximately 12,000 units in 2025. This will help, particularly in the context of the housing … first tenancies that, for example, many approved housing bodies operate. That is a very effective mechanism to get people out of emergency housing

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 512 of 25 February 2025, his views on whether it is consistent with the aims of the Pathways to Work 2021-2025 strategy, namely that whether on welfare, in employment … will always receive more than they would if reliant on welfare alone (details supplied), given that individuals can be rendered ineligible for social housing on the basis of employment or on the basis of hardship payments, and consequently see a substantial fall in disposable income

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has considered that income limits for social housing eligibility act as a “welfare cliff” (details supplied) that disincentivise eligible individuals from taking up employment or applying for promotion. [26723/25

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether legislation will be progressed indexing income limits for social housing eligibility to either inflation, the minimum wage, the median wage, average industrial wage, or lower quartile wage to reflect the decline in purchasing power

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of vacant local authority houses in each local authority area in each of the years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement

Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration will be given to adding inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, to the list of conditions eligible for medical priority with regards social housing lists in local authorities across

Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he intends to review and consolidate the four stage approval process for the Social Housing Investment Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27488/25

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to explain the rationale for recent comments he made in a newspaper (details supplied) regarding international investors; to provide any analysis his Department has conducted or used on the amount of any such investment in housing

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a stipulation existed whereby a house which qualified for the vacant property refurbishment grant, that was instead offered to a Ukrainian family fleeing war under the “offer a home scheme”, would still qualify

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he would consider discounting the working family payment when assessing income for inclusion on the social housing list or alternatively include income from the working family payment as part of the local authority loan

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail all recourse, including legal recourse, available to individuals who have been removed from local authority housing waiting lists (details supplied). [26392/25

Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing units purchased through the tenant-in-situ scheme in each local authority in 2023 and 2024; the total expenditure incurred by each local authority through the tenant-in-situ scheme

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the implementation status of the 14 recommendations made in the 2019 report by the Oireachtas Committee on Housing regarding child and family homelessness; and if he will make

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how his Department assesses the impact of housing policies on children, specifically regarding the use of a children’s rights framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26543/25

Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures being implemented to improve access to cost rental housing for single applicants in Dublin, given current eligibility criteria and affordability assessments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26077/25

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications received, granted, refused, or are currently being processed for the social housing tenant-in-situ scheme in County Kerry, since it was reintroduced in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the roadmap to implement minimum BER standards for private rented dwellings as promised in Housing for All, will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26230/25

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm when objective 2.14 (Implement Minimum BER standards) was last included as an item in the quarterly updates for Housing for All; the reason it has not been included in recent updates

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps he is taking to strike a fair balance between investment in housing and ensuring first-time buyers are not pushed out of the market; if he is aware of reports that some new developments

Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if his Department has engaged with approved housing bodies (AHBs) and local authorities regarding initiatives to support solar panel installation on AHB and local authority housing. [25300/25

Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if his Department has engaged with approved housing bodies (AHBs) and local authorities regarding initiatives to support solar panel installation on AHB and local authority housing. [25299/25

Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are plans to re-introduce the local development levy waiver on new houses, as was offered to home builders up to December 2024, considering the increasing building costs; and if he will make

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a detailed breakdown of the number of housing units currently delayed due to An Bord Pleanála's failure to issue timely decisions on planning applications; if he will outline the specific actions

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider emergency legislative or administrative measures to fast-track housing applications that are stalled due to the planning backlog at An Bord Pleanála; and if he will make a statement on the matter

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will examine whether the continued delays in planning decisions are affecting the viability of housing projects and contributing to cost inflation in the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he accepts that the failure to reform key institutions such as An Bord Pleanála has become a structural barrier to housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25123/25