Housing Policy

732. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider the reintroduction of the waiver of development fees for persons building one-off rural dwellings where services such as lights, footpaths, water and waste are not being provided by the local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10431/26]

643. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total capital assistance scheme (CAS) funding allocated in each of the years 2021 to 2025; the average CAS funding approved per unit nationally and in Dublin in each of those years; and whether he is satisfied that current CAS funding levels adequately reflect the significantly higher construction, land…

644. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of CAS-funded projects in Dublin that have been delayed, redesigned, or deemed unviable in each of the past five years due to construction cost inflation; the average cost overruns identified in such cases; the measures in place to address viability gaps for approved housing bodies delivering CAS…

645. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the construction cost assumptions currently used by his Department when approving CAS-funded housing projects; whether these assumptions differ for Dublin compared with other local authority areas; when these benchmarks were last reviewed; his views on whether outdated or insufficient cost ceilings are impa…

646. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on whether that, notwithstanding significant Exchequer investment through the capital assistance scheme, the delivery of supported housing in Dublin is increasingly constrained by exceptionally high construction and land costs; whether additional CAS supports or revised cost ceilings are under con…

650. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will be providing funding to local authorities to install solar panels on their social houses where they previously took out solid fuel cookers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7592/26]

653. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he would consider increasing the Homeless HAP rate in Galway City and County from 35% to 50% given the high rents in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7736/26]

677. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has set any affordable housing delivery targets for each local authority, including Mayo County Council; if so, to provide the target figures for 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026; if not, the reason local authorities are not being given clear, quantified affordable housing delivery targets;…

678. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether Mayo County Council currently has any Department-approved affordable housing delivery targets; in the absence of such targets, the steps he will take to ensure Mayo receive clear, measurable affordable housing objectives per each town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8398/26]

679. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key performance indicators (KPIs), delivery benchmarks or performance frameworks which currently exist for local authorities in respect of affordable housing delivery; whether any sanctions, corrective measures or funding consequences apply where delivery is weak or absent; if he will commit to introducing m…

680. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether local authority Housing Delivery Action Plans are required to include specific affordable housing targets; the way in which compliance with those plans is monitored; whether any local authority has been formally challenged by his Department for failure to progress affordable housing schemes; if he will s…

682. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way national affordable housing targets are translated into binding local authority delivery expectations; whether he accepts that national figures without local allocations make accountability impossible; if he will commit to publishing county-by-county affordable housing targets on an annual basis; and if …

712. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the commitment in the Housing Action Plan to update the code of practice for local authority nominations to AHBs to require that local authority and AHB tenants are not precluded from living with domestic pets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8656/26]

279. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will clarify the situation in relation to the tenant-in-situ scheme in cases (details supplied); which local authority should be approached to explore the possibility of a tenant-in-situ scheme purchase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7021/26]

285. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the appointment of a permanent head of the housing activation office; his plans to underpin the office with legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7064/26]

96. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider allowing local authorities to include attic conversions in their own social housing stock to meet the needs of existing tenants as an alternative to tenants having to apply for transfers to larger homes as their household size increases. [6930/26]

629. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether consideration is being given to extending the fresh start principle to include applicants who were required to sell a previous principal private residence due to long-term illness or disability, including circumstances where the sale arose from loss of earning capacity or a medical necessity to relo…

630. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has examined cases in which households affected by disability exceed income thresholds for social and affordable housing supports, yet are unable to realistically access the private housing market due to reliance on a single income and reduced long-term earning capacity; and the polic…

631. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether local authorities are permitted to exercise discretion in the assessment of local authority home loan applications to take account of long-term disability, illness-related changes in household circumstances, and the presence of dependent children; and if not, whether provision will be made for such …

632. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether cross-departmental work is underway to address situations in which households affected by long-term disability fall between income supports, housing supports, and access to market housing; if not, whether such an approach will be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5781/26]

667. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures in place to accelerate the reuse of vacant and derelict buildings for housing and community purposes; the steps taken to improve delivery timelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6375/26]

676. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm if the funding for the recently announced infrastructure fund to be administered by the housing delivery office, will be funded under REV programme subhead A21; to confirm that this replaced the local infrastructure housing activation fund; and the way in which the administration of this fund will dif…

147. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has engaged in any consultation processes with approved housing bodies and local authorities in advance of legislation removing blanket pet bans. [4416/26]

148. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention had been drawn to his Department’s involvement in the production of the housing-related video published by an organisation (details supplied) prior to speaking to the Oireachtas housing committee on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5063/26]

165. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the Housing Activation Office became operational; its current staffing and remit; the key targets and priority actions set for Q1 2026; the role it is playing in supporting large scale housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5028/26]