I am grateful for the opportunity to take on behalf of the Government Second Stage of the Dereliction and Building Regeneration Bill, which has been tabled by Senator Malcolm Noonan. This is an area I am exceptionally passionate about. I have done extensive work on the issue of vacancy and dereliction in my county of Waterford, and I have seen many of the measures implemented by the Government put to very good use there. I can confirm the Government has agreed to a timed amendment for the reading of the Bill, havin…

I thank the Members of the Seanad for extending their invitation to me to attend. I was delighted to accept it. I always welcome the opportunity to engage on the matters related to local government. It is something that I hold dear, having served as a councillor for 11 years and as mayor on two occasions. I am very aware that Members of this House have a huge interest in local government affairs. All Members of this House are dedicated advocates of strong local government and as Minister of State with responsibilit…

I thank the Acting Chair, and I thank all the Senators for their contributions this evening. It was a really useful exercise to hear from them. A total of 17 Senators contributed to the discussion this evening and that shows the interest this Chamber has in local government, as I have myself. I will start by addressing elements of the questions raised by Senators around the urgency of establishing the task force, and determining its make-up and timing. A number of Senators raised that. Then I will do my best to go …

I thank Senator Goldsboro for raising this issue. I have to advise that the Water Services Acts 2007 to 2020 sets out the arrangements in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services by Uisce Éireann. These services are matters for Uisce Éireann which has a statutory responsibility for all aspects of water service planning, delivery and operation at a national, regional and local level. The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual projects are matters for Uisce Éireann and approved through its…

It is important to say that Uisce Éireann has invested in resources and people to tackle this issue, which was cited in the meeting I had with it. I know it is determined to keep pace with the industry demand, which is in line with our own expectations, to facilitate infrastructure and housing delivery. A number of initiatives have been introduced by Uisce Éireann in recent years, including capacity registers for water and wastewater. We also have the first mover scheme so we do not penalise developers who move on …

No.

There is no point in shouting down the Minister.

I thank Deputy Gould for raising this important matter. There is no question that utilising existing stock at a time of such need is just as important as developing new social housing stock. The programme for Government commits to the introduction of a new voids programme and also to supporting the ongoing work to transition to a strategic and informed maintenance approach to the management and maintenance of our local authority housing stock based on stock condition surveys. The new programme will build on the suc…

The Deputy's question asked about planned maintenance, so that is the answer I gave. We want to move towards more of a planned maintenance approach, which is appropriate. We do not want to see voids left for significant periods. Huge amounts of money have been spent in the voids programme but we want to move to a planned maintenance approach so that we can relet council properties and reuse our existing stock to the fullest. As per the latest NOAC report from 2023, the performance of some local authorities is bette…

I did not say that.

I would appreciate if the Deputy did not misrepresent me on the floor of the Dáil. What I actually said was that we wanted to move to a more planned maintenance approach. It is not that we are eliminating the voids programme. We have spent a considerable amount of money on it over the past number of years and will continue to do so, but we want a more planned maintenance approach and to move to a more cyclical maintenance in local authorities.

I did not interrupt Deputy Gould. Is he going to continue shouting people down? If the Deputy asks a question, I would appreciate it if he gave me the respect of being able to answer it. From 2022, to the end of 2024, local authorities carried out approximately 5,793 stock condition surveys. In 2025, more than €10 million has been provided to local authorities for planned maintenance. We will continue to move to that approach and continue to support local authorities through the voids programme.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. We have spoken several times about this. He is passionate and anxious to see what has been agreed under the NPF translated into the local development plans, as am I and as is the Minister. The final revised NPF was approved by Government in April and passed by the Oireachtas last week. This concluded the revision process and allows the revised NPF to take effect in the planning system. The revised NPF provides the basis for the review and updating of regional spatial and …

I thank the Deputy. I hear the point he is raising. There is a statutory process in terms of varying county development plans. It is a reserved function of members. We will be issuing clear direction on a local-authority-by-local-authority basis in terms of the expectations and quantum of zoned land that will be required. There will be headroom. We are working on finalising the methodology around that at present within the Department. It is imperative that we have sufficient quantum of zoned land within our areas t…

This has to be a priority for everyone. It is not just for us in here but for every local authority member and executive. We will be very clear in that. The Minister, Deputy Browne, and I are visiting local authorities. This is a top priority for us and we will ensure what has been agreed by those in this Chamber and in the Seanad is translated as quickly as possible into development plans so that proposals can be brought forward for housing purposes. We will continue to engage with local authorities on a consisten…

I thank Deputy Gould for raising this important issue. I know he is passionate about it, as am I. We sat on the joint committee together previously. This is an issue that the Deputy raises consistently. Both the Minister, Deputy Browne, and I are committed to ensuring that it is addressed. We are reviewing the implementation of the Derelict Sites Act through engagement with local authorities. As the Deputy knows, the Act imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensu…

As the Deputy knows, enforcement of the levy is a matter for local authorities. I see the carrot-and-stick approach having worked to pretty good effect in some local authorities. What I am talking about is the carrot of the likes of the repair and lease scheme, which has worked exceptionally well in my county of Waterford. About 50% of the national total of repair lease units have been delivered in Waterford, with one- and two-bed units in city centre and town centre areas not being used for social housing purposes…

I thank Deputies Gould and Burke. I was going to reference the CPO piece in my response. CPOs are a useful tool to be able to claim title, as Deputy Burke rightly pointed out. We have given significant resources to local authorities under call 3 of the URDF, specifically for a CPO programme. In the context of the local authorities I have visited so far, I have asked why they are not using the CPO process to the extent it should be used. Neither the Deputies nor I want to see properties lying vacant and idle. We wan…

I propose to take Question Nos. 15 and 111 together. I thank the Deputy for his interest in this matter. Having served in local government for 11 years, I value the role of our councillors and of local democracy. This specific commitment is contained in the programme for Government. I have worked extensively on this since taking up this role a number of weeks ago. Both the Minister, Deputy Browne, and I have engaged with the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, and the Local Authorities Members Association,…

Briefly, I am working to finalise the terms of reference of the local democracy task force to bring them to Government as quickly as possible. I want to see this task force established as quickly as possible. We are working on the terms of reference and I hope to see that body of work as soon as possible to be able to present options to Government for consideration.