Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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1127. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is aware of prolonged delays to a new development (details supplied) in Sligo; the action he will take with the developer and stakeholders regarding the completion timeline; his plans to implement stronger protections for buyers in off plan purchases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44808/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The purchase of homes is governed by clear laws of contract and legal frameworks, and given this is essentially an individual contractual and legal matter between the developer and the purchasers, as Minister I cannot comment in relation to same. 

Notwithstanding, and cognisant of the infrastructural challenges more generally impacting the completion of homes, the Housing Activation Office (HAO) has been established to address these and other types of issues becoming a barrier to the delivery of homes. 

The HAO will be tasked with identifying and resolving infrastructure barriers to housing delivery, engaging with key delivery stakeholders, coordinating cross-agency collaboration, and supporting the development of a pipeline of housing enabling infrastructure projects. 

More broadly, the focus continues on increasing the supply of new homes, which is key to meeting need and addressing many of the challenges currently facing the housing market. Supply has increased significantly in recent years, with some 92,400 delivered between 2022 and 2024 inclusive, exceeding the combined target for the period by 5,400 or so. 

The Programme for Government commits to building on the successes of Housing for All and ramping up supply further to deliver 300,000 homes between 2025 and 2030. A roadmap for hitting this target will be set out in a new housing plan to be published in the coming months. In the meantime, Government is already bringing forward actions to boost delivery. In addition to the new Housing Activation Office, the recently revised National Planning Framework is a major step forward in this regard, and will help increase capacity and accelerate home building across the country. The Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025 was enacted before the summer recess and is essential legislation to deal with expiring planning permissions and to encourage activation of housing. 

Further measures to stimulate development activity will be considered in the context of the forthcoming new national housing plan.