Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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11. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to expand the provision of modular housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24654/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy O'Meara for raising the important question around the expansion of the provision of modular housing. I thank the Deputy for his ongoing work and engagement in this important area of housing delivery. My Department, working closely with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and other relevant stakeholders, is progressing work to increase delivery capacity in the residential construction sector through promoting the adoption of modern methods of construction, MMC. MMC is a collective term which describes innovative construction alternatives to traditional construction, which includes modular housing.

In 2023, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in collaboration with my Department, published the roadmap for the increased adoption of MMC in public housing delivery which was a priority deliverable under Housing for All. The roadmap set out a series of initiatives and policy interventions needed to advance the use of compliant MMC in public housing delivery and remove barriers to adoption. The publication of the modern methods of construction roadmap set in train a live agenda for modern methods of construction development in Ireland.

Under Housing for All, a range of initiatives have already been put in place to support modern methods of construction. These include the accelerated delivery programme to deliver over 1,500 modern methods of construction dwellings through local authorities, led by my Department. In addition and building on this experience, Wexford County Council is currently tendering a 3D pilot project of 22 social housing units utilising off-site three dimensional construction methods which are essentially what are referred to as modular units.

The recent programme for Government contains a further range of initiatives to support MMC, including modular housing. These initiatives include a modern methods of construction innovation fund to directly fund new and existing factories; targets for modern methods of construction use in at least 25% of all State-backed housing; resourcing the National Standards Authority of Ireland to ensure regulatory certificates are issued in a timely manner; and increasing training programmes in modern methods of construction.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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I 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 permission is a major 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 to be obtained once the house meets the requirement regarding wastewater and water connections, utilities and so on. We have to be able to provide these people with homes. Younger people in particular are have contacted me. They would love to be able to build in rural areas, but the price of doing so is just too high. I see the homes to which I refer as a solution for them; possibly not forever, but in the context of getting a roof over their heads and some independence. We really need to look at that.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his passion and determination regarding the provision of housing solutions in his county and across the country. The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, has been working hard and has come up with significant proposals on log cabins. There will be a consultation next week, led by the Minister of State, about that matter, particularly as it is being worked on. We will continue to work across the Department to find the necessary solutions which are required in order that people can have the homes they need where they need them.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge the work done by the Minister of State on that matter to date, particularly regarding backyard dwellings or the equivalent of the 40 sq. m extension planning exemption. We need to go beyond that and allow a wider scale. I am not saying it is the entire solution; it is part of the solution. There is a real place for these dwellings at the moment. I will highlight the example of a site in Nenagh, my home town. It is a serviced site owned by the county council. For many years, the council has failed to get someone in to develop the site. It is ready to go and be built on. Companies around the country produce these modular units. I see the site in question as being ideal for these type of dwellings, particularly for single-storey, one- or two-bedroom units. If we think about older people or those with disabilities who have been on housing waiting lists for years, this is a solution for them. It is a safe, comfortable and warm home to call their own. We need to be ambitious, display a sense of urgency and see to it that serious movement happens quickly.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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We have all seen modern methods of construction, such as, for example, 3D concrete printing in Muirhevnamore, in operation. Whether we are talking about modular 3D printing or timber-frame housing, we need to see a plan for a significant ramp-up, while accepting that all of these solutions represent only a percentage of housing supply. Could we get some sort of detail on this matter? I agree with the previous speaker that we need to see real movement as fast as possible on the possible option of modular units in back gardens for the small number of people involved. We need to see the detail, and whatever we are going to do needs to happen as soon as possible because people are probably looking for more than what is already in the public domain. When will we see the guidelines on one-off housing and the report that was supposedly with the Attorney General last summer? We know there is a significant issue with people who cannot get planning permission in the place that they live, particularly in rural Ireland. This is a significant issue. We need both a solution to it and a real debate on it.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy O'Meara for raising this important issue. I am legally precluded from commenting on any particular planning cases. As already stated, the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, is leading the public consultation. That consultation will commence next month as opposed to than next week. The Minister of State has already completed the interdepartmental consultation process, so his work on this matter is advancing quite rapidly. We are looking at all options as to what we can do to deliver. Modern methods of construction are crucial to ramping up the speed of delivery of homes, be they modular or of any other type. The programme for Government is clear in its significant commitment to the use of modern methods of construction. We are working with the Department of enterprise to ensure that the relevant requirements are in place and that this happens as quickly as possible.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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What about he guidelines for the one-off housing?

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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That is a different-----

David Maxwell (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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That was not part of the question that was asked.