I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that the Government: — remains deeply concerned about the conflict in the Middle East and Gulf region; — is acutely aware of the impact on households and businesses of the recent increases in the cost of living, and is actively monitoring the current geopolitical situation and its impact on costs; — affirms that affordability is a priority for this Government; and — has taken action to help households and businesse…

The Opposition would prefer to lead us down a path that we cannot come back from and tie us into fossil fuels forever which is only going to continue to lead to increased energy prices.

Says yer man with the laptop.

I thank Senator Costello for raising this issue. It is an interesting one and certainly provides food for thought in regard to the Part 8 process, how it works and how effective it is. I will go through the Part 8 process to explain how it works and then add a couple of comments afterwards. The local authority own development approval process, commonly referred to as the Part 8 process, is set out under section 179 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and the associated Part 8 of the Planning and D…

I get the Senator's point about section 38 developments. In a Part 8 process, the members of the council have a vote. Ultimately, if there is an overwhelming feeling that the scheme will not work, they can take that democratic decision. In situations where that is taken away, I understand the difficulty the Senator outlined. Sometimes there may be an attitude that the council knows best, and not enough cognisance is taken of the submissions that are made. I have seen this happen time and time again. There have been…

I thank Senator Scahill. There are three main asks in his opening remarks, namely, broadening the scope when it comes to assistive technology, means-testing and assessment of income and better data, which is also a good point. I will outline the scheme. The Senator already mentioned how it has been expanded and improved. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage provides funding to local authorities under the housing adaptation grants for older people and the disabled people scheme to assist people i…

Absolutely. I know the Department is aware of ALONE's submission, which will be taken into account. The review was quite recent. Senator Scahill makes some very good points. Assistive technology is allowed and is catered for but we need to give better support to the local authorities to allow them to have a bit more discretion. It probably has to be within reason. There has to be a definite, obvious benefit to the person who is applying. The cases the Senator has given clearly prove that. We have a much enhanced sc…

I thank the Deputy for the question. It is good to see some focus on housing delivery in the rebel county. Increasing the supply of new homes is critical to alleviating pressures in the housing market, helping to moderate price growth and ease affordability challenges, ensuring everyone has a range of housing options available to them, whether they want to buy a house, rent one or are in need of social housing. Data on new dwelling completions are published by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, on a quarterly basi…

I thank the Deputy. He makes a valid point on employment in the county, and it is a key challenge. If you take not just the tech and pharmaceutical sectors but also CUH, which is such a big employer, many of the incredible team of nurses, doctors and other staff need access to housing. That is a challenge we have to address but we are doing so. There are key ways that the Minister in particular has directed travel in the last number of months. The city and county development plans are being reviewed at the moment a…

I thank the Deputy again. He raises a very important and relevant point, especially for our smaller towns and villages. This is where, as I was saying at the end of my last contribution, the significant investment announced by the Minister of almost €12 billion under the national planning framework and national development plan will allow Uisce Éireann to build capacity with respect to personnel and the funding of major infrastructure projects as well. Outside that there is capacity and we have heard of recent deve…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme (DCB Scheme), which provides grants to help those affected by defective concrete blocks to remediate their homes, is underpinned by the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (2022 Act); — over 3,500 homeowners are now at various stages of the DCB Scheme, and will be supported with grants for 100 per cent of eligible expen…

I thank all the Members for their contributions during the Second Stage debate. Some concerns were raised and there was some support for the provisions within the Bill. I hope some of that can be addressed on Committee Stage. I was here when Deputy O’Reilly raised the issue of the terrible situation her constituent finds himself in. As she knows, the Minister cannot get involved in individual cases but I wish that gentleman the best of luck in his treatment and recovery. It should be the case that our emergency acc…

-----Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 to the House.

I look forward to progressing through the remaining Stages of the Bill over the coming weeks.

I thank everybody for their contributions. I was not taking notes but I was taking mental notes and listening to it all. Fortunately, it is all recorded so we can watch it back. I thank Senators for giving me the opportunity to discuss rural planning, further to the important discussions on this topic in the House today. The draft national planning statement is being prepared and will provide more clarity and certainty to those engaging with the planning system and seeking to build a new rural dwelling. The importa…

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this issue. I hope there may be something for her in the answer, certainly around the technicalities and the question about light at the end of the tunnel. There is nothing in my response about communication, but it is not good enough if communications are not accurate or are not helpful. Uisce Éireann is improving its whole communications process massively, so I will certainly reflect it back to the Department and to Uisce Éireann that better communication is needed. If peopl…

I thank the Senator. In response to her last question on the Curragh Plains, it is an iconic and famous area for many reasons. Many of us pass through it every week. I often look at it and consider its potential from a nature and biodiversity point of view. It could be extraordinary if we managed to look after it in the right way. The Senator has actively raised this issue over the years. We are considering how to come to some type of agreement with the other Department and stakeholders involved. Obviously, the Dep…

I thank Senator Collins for raising this. A lot of my answer is specifically in relation to the development of the Limerick-Foynes line. I will try to get more detail about the possibility of it being turned into a passenger-commuter line. I have a piece on Adare as well and a projected timeline that might help the Senator and the people she represents. On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank the Senator for the opportunity to discuss this. The Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy sets out…

I get the Senator's concern. I would take positives, if I was looking at it from the Senator's point of view. The Senator is trying to deliver permanent passenger connectivity with Adare. It will have a permanent station. I am assuming - I cannot guarantee this and we will have to get it checked - that it will not only be used for the week-long event, which is the Ryder Cup, but that there may be a window either side of that event to allow passengers to travel. That is a great template to say that we have establish…

I appreciate time being allocated to statements on National Biodiversity Week. I sincerely thank its organisers, the Irish Environmental Network, for putting on so many incredible events the length and breadth of the country. It really puts biodiversity at the forefront and gives it a platform, which is something we do not do often enough. Considering the crisis we are in, we need to do more of it. I commend the Irish Environmental Network on doing that, supported by my Department. I urge everybody, right across Ir…