Housing Policy
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-19
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Ryan O'Meara (FF), Tipperary North

In relation to the potential of a waiver, it would be important that central government step in and continue to fund the local authorities to the same level they would have been funded if the individual was paying this. I am conscious, however, of those houses that are already there. Some people might be paying for sites, if they do not have one they can get from a family member. There is the cost of building at the moment and the shortage of labour increases the costs further. This is one way in which we could help those people, many of whom I am representing.
While we are talking about rural housing and one-off houses, I would also like to acknowledge the work the Department is currently doing and the constant engagement the Minister is having with us, as members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party to try to liberalise the rural planning process. That work is very important because we need to see more of those rural homes, particularly for those young couples and those people abroad who I represent and went to school with, who want to come home, build in a rural parish, start their family there and start a life for themselves there.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-19