Written answers
Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
- Approved Housing Bodies
812. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on a proposal from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on ways to alleviate the debt levels in... - Septic Tanks
813. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will consider changes to the grant scheme available for upgrading septic tanks (details supplied). [11997/25] - Approved Housing Bodies
814. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update on its engagement with off-balance sheet borrowing by approved housing bodies (AHBs) for the delivery of social... - Water Services
815. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of water service stations in Ireland that have access to a back-up generator; and if he will make a statement on... - Housing Policy
816. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the temporary waiver scheme in respect of development contributions for planning for houses will be continued for the... - Departmental Meetings
817. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to list the representatives from his Department who will be attending a conference in France in March 2025 (details supplied);... - Housing Schemes
818. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when he will announce the funding allocations and sanctioned number of acquisitions that will be designated to local... - Departmental Staff
819. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of people employed in the planning division of his Department, by grade level. [10686/25] - National Parks and Wildlife Service
820. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he can seek emergency funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service and meet with them to address the urgent and... - Housing Schemes
821. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will consider reviewing the Government criteria for the local authority affordable housing schemes, which stipulates... - Departmental Schemes
822. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is aware of the delays to some interim remediation scheme pathfinder projects due to a requirement to re-tender for... - Urban Development
823. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government in light of the very welcome news that the Westgate Vision Project has been approved for Drogheda town, if he will commit to... - Local Authorities
824. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if local authority pensions are index linked; when the increases take effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter.... - Housing Schemes
825. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the housing grants available for a person (details supplied) living in a home who’s owner is now deceased; and if he... - Housing Policy
826. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will revise current housing policies to ensure fairness for older individuals who have contributed to society throughout... - National Development Plan
827. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the eastern gateway bridge in Cork; if it will be included in the National Development Plan (details supplied);... - Fire Stations
831. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if funding will be provided by his Department for a facility (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the... - Defective Building Materials
832. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the measures he can undertake to address the shortcomings in the defective concrete blocks grant scheme, which result in a... - Planning Issues
833. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will implement an exemption scheme for planning permission and other fees for homeowners rebuilding their homes due to... - Building Regulations
834. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is satisfied that under Part L 1.3.4 of the current Building Regulations, which covers building envelope permeability,... - Housing Schemes
838. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will engage with the Housing Agency regarding a cost rental tenant-in-situ application (details supplied) to prevent a... - Wastewater Treatment
839. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 426 of 4 March 2025, to outline the timeline for the multi-stakeholder group plan on... - Traveller Accommodation
842. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has been made aware of issues relating to the provision of emergency replacement mobiles or caravans to Traveller... - Departmental Staff
844. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if all persons that are recruited to work in his Department and all the related agencies of his Department are fully vetted... - Housing Schemes
846. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is aware of the fact that State funds have been made available to numerous private businesses under the built heritage... - Derelict Sites
847. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the current policy regarding the use of derelict protected structures for emergency or short-term accommodation; the criteria... - Housing Schemes
849. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of social and affordable homes that were stalled awaiting approval from his Department at the start of January... - Vacant Properties
857. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the position regarding any initiative proposed by his Department that seeks to address long-term vacancy in privately owned... - Regeneration Projects
858. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if completion of phase 2C of the City Northwest Quarter Regeneration Programme will involve any demolition; and the timeline... - Housing Schemes
861. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of serviced sites under the ready-to-build scheme that have had applications received for development by each local... - Housing Provision
866. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will address the lack of funding in Offaly County Council for extensions to council properties; and if he will make a... - Emergency Accommodation
867. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount spent by each local authority on emergency homeless accommodation in each of the past ten years and to date in... - Departmental Budgets
869. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of persons in receipt of housing assistance payments at the end of each of the past ten years. [11310/25] - Departmental Data
871. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of persons availing of the rental accommodation scheme at the end of each of the past ten years. [11312/25] - Local Authorities
873. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the current status of local authority access officers; if this role is filled in each local authority; whether the role is... - Climate Change Negotiations
876. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the size of the Irish delegation at COP16 in February 2025; the level of seniority of the delegates; and if he will make a... - Septic Tanks
878. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government who can qualify for the septic tank grants in the Meath local authority area given the low application success rate; and if he... - Defective Building Materials
880. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on a motion passed by Donegal County Council (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.... - Local Authorities
881. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the person or body responsible for enforcing tree protection orders in local authorities and the process for members of the... - Legislative Process
884. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when he expects the Planning and Development Act 2024 to be implemented; if safeguards to prevent frivolous or vexatious... - Departmental Correspondence
885. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to review the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11481/25] - Heritage Projects
886. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update on the progress for a heritage grant application (details supplied) for the Courthouse in Shillelagh; and if he... - Departmental Contracts
887. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for a list of all contracts that a company (details supplied) has with his Department. [11522/25] - Heritage Projects
888. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update on designating the Royal Canal Greenway a natural heritage area; the protections it would afford land adjacent... - Local Authorities
889. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update on the completion of local authority strategies for the creation, improvement and preservation of sustainable... - Housing Provision
891. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide an update on planned new social and affordable housing units for east Cork over the next five years, including... - Departmental Data
892. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of persons on the housing list in east County Cork, by local electoral area. [11588/25] - Water Charges
894. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there is an appeals procedure for a person whose application for the refund scheme for water has been refused; and if he... - Housing Policy
895. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has any plans to increase the income thresholds to qualify for social housing; and if he will make a statement on the... - Departmental Data
896. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to list the local electoral areas that experienced greater than 10% population growth between the 2016 and 2022 Censuses; the... - Defective Building Materials
897. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the increases in the enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme, announced in October 2024, will be applied to those... - Legislative Process
899. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update on the marine protected areas legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11680/25] - Housing Policy
900. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the action he is taking to tackle rising rents in counties Roscommon and Galway; and if he will make a statement on the... - Local Authorities
904. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has concerns that local authorities are preventing genuine farmers from building on their own lands (details supplied);... - Defective Building Materials
905. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his Department will review the case of a person (details supplied) who is renting elsewhere while reconstruction works are... - Business Supports
906. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he intends to review the business rating system to assist struggling businesses which find the level of rates to be an... - Heritage Schemes
907. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will increase funding for schemes to support owners of historic thatched buildings, including the historic structures... - Wildlife Protection
908. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his Department, in consultation with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, will consider purchasing lands (details... - Departmental Staff
909. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the annual amount claimed by special advisers attached to him or his Department outside of their regular salary, since 1 March... - Architects Register
910. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to set out the blockages to the establishment of a statutory register for competent architectural technologists that was... - Waterways Ireland
912. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when Waterways Ireland will bring their proposals to change the Shannon River bye-laws and canal bye-laws before an Oireachtas... - House Sales
913. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of housing units that have been bought by individuals or companies from outside the EU for each of the past five... - Court Judgments
915. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government regarding the High Court’s ruling that wind turbine noise constitutes a nuisance (details supplied), if the Minister... - Mortgage Interest Rates
916. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason none of the ECB interest rates cuts have been passed on to tracker mortgages holders, in particular those with... - Departmental Data
917. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of homeless mothers who gave birth in each of the past five years. [11879/25] - Fire Service
918. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the support and resources provided by both his Department and from central Government to local authorities across the State to... - EU Funding
919. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount by which the Economic and Social Intervention Fund, ESIF, was reduced in Limerick in 2024 compared to 2023 and 2025... - Departmental Data
921. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the projects funded to date through the urban regeneration and development fund, by county and location, the total amount... - Local Authorities
922. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the means by which he will encourage and incentivise local authorities to deliver a greater focus and budget on nature... - State Bodies
923. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to other State agencies and if his own Government Department have used any of the same IT... - Water Services
924. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the work his Department has undertaken since 2017 on each of the eight recommendations from chapter 5 of the Joint Committee... - Legislative Measures
927. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if, given the pressure on the Irish housing market, he will consider banning the purchase of Irish properties by individuals... - Fire Stations
928. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will advance the plans to build a new fire station in Rathdowney, County Laois; and if he will make a statement on the... - Constitutional Amendments
929. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps the Government will be taking to progress the 35th amendment of the Constitution (water in public ownership); and if... - Compulsory Purchase Orders
930. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of compulsory purchase orders made by the local authorities in counties Wexford and Wicklow, from January 2020 to... - Housing Schemes
933. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the grant funding opportunities available (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12086/25] - International Protection
934. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if, without any further delay, he will refuse the request by the then- Minister for Children, Equality, Disability,... - Housing Schemes
936. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if Exchequer funding for the Housing First scheme is separate to the acquisitions funding announced March 2025; the amount of... - Departmental Bodies
937. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of members of boards in each body under the aegis of his Department who have a professional accounting... - Emergency Accommodation
941. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of business cases for emergency accommodation providers currently awaiting a decision from counties Wexford and... - Housing Schemes
942. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the remediation scheme for fire safety defects in apartments and duplexes; when homeowners who already paid a... - Rental Sector
943. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is aware that not all local authority tenants are being income assessed on the same differential rent review (details... - Water Supply
944. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when a group (details supplied) will receive funding through the 2024-2026 multi-annual rural water programme. [12322/25] - Water Charges
945. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his response to media reports that he is considering introducing charges on domestic households; and if he will make a... - Mortgage Interest Rates
946. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the Housing Finance Agency reviewed its interest rates in the period 2022 to date; to provide details of any adjustments... - Culture Policy
947. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the plans that are in place for Ireland to sign the Council of Europe FARO Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for... - Defective Building Materials
948. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reasons a property would be deemed ineligible for the defective concrete blocks grant scheme in view of the fact that a... - Public Sector Staff
949. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to list the functions, roles and services that were carried out and delivered by civil service or State agency workers; the... - Departmental Correspondence
950. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide all correspondence between his Department and an individual (details supplied) between April 2021 and March 2025 in... - Housing Provision
958. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will review the provisions in Circular 06/2024 - Arrangements for Social Housing Acquisitions which has resulted in... - Housing Schemes
959. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on the work of officials within his Department to implement the commitment in the programme for Government to work... - Data Centres
960. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government about the impact of water consumption by data centres on water supply; his views on the impact of this consumption on water... - Deposit Protection Account
961. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when he will introduce a deposit protection scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12637/25] - Rental Sector
962. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when he will introduce minimum BER standards for the private rented sector and for social housing; and if he will make a... - Housing Policy
964. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when he will next update the Basic Unit Costs (BUCs) and the Acquisition Cost Guidelines (ACGs) for social housing; if these... - Housing Schemes
965. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government how many applications under the cost rental equity loan scheme are under consideration by his Department or relevant agencies;... - Housing Provision
973. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the social and affordable housing completion figures for 2024 will be published; the number of social housing, cost... - Rental Sector
974. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to review the rent pressure zone scheme to assess if it has achieved any of its stated objectives; if further districts in... - Water Services
975. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will give consideration to implementing mandatory parallel domestic water systems (blue-grey-brown) in new builds, to... - Wastewater Treatment
976. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his Department can provide information on the current capacity of the Poolbeg and Shanganagh wastewater treatment... - Water Services
977. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will require sustainable urban drainage systems to be installed in all new homes with a view to rolling them out, by... - Local Authorities
978. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide for municipal districts in the six local authorities that currently do not have them (details supplied) in... - Water Services
979. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has received any submissions to improve and replace Dublin's Victorian sewer system; and if he will make a statement on... - Housing Policy
980. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to establish a State-sponsored housing infrastructure investment fund to provide finance for a major construction of social... - Housing Schemes
981. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to amend the local authority house purchase scheme to enable tenants to purchase “Section 5” houses; and if he... - Housing Policy
983. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to establish a scheme whereby local authorities acquire, by agreement or by compulsory purchase, and repair vacant houses for... - Water Services
985. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of developer provided infrastructure projects nationwide that fall outside the scope of circular PL5/14 of November... - Domestic Violence
986. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is aware that the housing crisis is causing particular concern for victims and survivors of domestic abuse; if there are... - Vacant Properties
987. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for a breakdown of the number of void houses in Leitrim and Sligo local authority housing supply; the number of weeks, months... - Artificial Intelligence
988. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to identify specific examples where artificial intelligence has been adapted for the operation of his Department and each body...
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