Excuse me?

What the Deputies are talking about here are smaller and darker apartments. I am simply making the comparison to our minimum standards. They are comparable to where the Deputies opposite have lauded the introduction of housing in other jurisdictions. It is true to say that by virtue of the comments that have been made by Deputy Sheehan here where he has said that cost savings have been eroded as a result of inflation that the Deputy is acknowledging there were savings attached to the revised apartment standards. He…

It stands.

During the debate Deputy Sheehan was talking about the size.

I would like to respond to some of the comments. This is a sensible proposal to allow the alteration of existing planning permissions for a time-bound period of two years. The alternative being suggested by Deputies is that developers who have schemes that they cannot build for a viable cost should go back through the entire planning process. As the Minister of State, I want to activate apartment development in this country. I do not want to see planning resources within our local authorities wasted. The Deputies o…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2026, Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No. 2) Regulations 2026, Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No. 3) Regulations 2026, Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No. 4) Regulations 2026, Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No. 5) Regulations 2026, Planning and Deve…

I move: That it be an instruction to the Committee on the Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026, that pursuant to Standing Order 194, the Committee has power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing provisions of the Bill to provide that Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 be amended for the purposes of: (i) introducing legal and habitual residency eligibility criteria for access to homeless accommodation provided by housing authorities under said Se…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to bring the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2026 before the House. The main purpose of this Bill is to support the smooth commencement of the remaining provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2024 later this year and to provide clarity and further policy direction on a number of matters that have already commenced in Part 3 of the 2024 Act, including: the timely introduction of ten year county and city development plans; speeding up t…

I thank all of the Deputies for their engagement in the discussion on this Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill. As I stated at the outset, the commencement and implementation of the Planning and Development Act 2024 is a key priority for this Government. While I appreciate some of the concerns that have been raised about the length of the debate, we are going to conclude this debate ahead of the time that was allocated to it, and I am speaking to a practically empty Chamber. I suspect that this is not lost on…

I thank the Deputy for the question. The Government's housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, aims to ensure that the activities and resources used to address vacancy and dereliction are co-ordinated and effective, and that legislative powers are used proactively to tackle dereliction and vacancy. The derelict property tax announced in budget 2026 is intended to introduce legislation providing for the tax in the Finance Act 2026. When it comes into effect, the tax will replace the derelict sites levy …

As the Deputy knows, all local authorities in the country are independently operated. It is their responsibility, and their responsibility alone, to ensure they collect outstanding levies, particularly the derelict sites levies. They are charges on properties, so it often takes time for a property to be disposed of and for the levy to come in. However, it is absolutely their responsibility. We are committed to ensuring that we have the derelict property tax, which will be collected by Revenue, in place as early as …

I am glad the Deputy mentioned Scotland because it is referenced in the report that has been done. As the Deputy knows, it has not been introduced in that jurisdiction. It is very difficult to get data on the effectiveness of this, although it has been examined. Where local authorities are using the Derelict Sites Act to put derelict properties on the register, they have been successful in using their CPO powers. Other local authorities that have not been proactive in this space or have not put notices on propertie…

I thank Deputy O'Connell and I also thank Deputy Currie for her work on this. The programme for Government sets out a number of priorities for Government on access to early learning and childcare services, including a commitment to review the 2001 childcare facilities guidelines for planning authorities to ensure childcare spaces are provided and put to use. Further to the commencement of Part 3 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 in October 2025, provisions for national planning statements have been introduce…

I accept the points made by Deputy O'Connell. It is not just a matter of affordability but also of availability. As a new father who has started sending a child to crèche in recent weeks I certainly know this. I acknowledge that the guidelines that have been in place since 2001 were a legacy of that time, when provision was attached to development. It is a cost on development. We do need to move, as I outlined, under national policy objective 41 to where it is more planned. This would be in line with what we do for…

The Department of Children, Disability and Equality has established a working group in this area. It is chaired by that Department, in conjunction with our Department and the Department of education. We are reviewing the situation, and all the various points made by Deputy O’Connell and Deputy Currie to me over a considerable period of time will be factored into this review. We are also reviewing development contribution schemes. This may have a role in how we address additional development in established areas. It…

I thank all Deputies for their contributions and for their genuine advocacy and work in this area. I recognise the real hurt and anger right across the country of homeowners who have been impacted by legacy defects as a result of defective concrete blocks. I want to put that on record. As the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, have said previously, the Government is committed to assisting homeowners who have been impacted by defective concrete blocks. We have provided significant…

As the Senator will appreciate, there is a lot in this response and it will be circulated. I will get through as much of it as I possibly can. The delivery of housing is a top priority for this Government. The Government's new housing action plan supports the delivery of the revised national planning framework projections, which set out the need to plan for approximately 50,000 additional homes per annum out to 2040. Fulfilling these commitments will require a substantial increase in housing output of all types, in…

It is being conducted on a precautionary basis. The Senator has said viability is key in apartment development. The Government recognises that, which is why we are introducing this national planning statement and why we introduced the guidance we brought in last year. If the Senator has suggestions around viability measures in relation to apartment development, he knows I am an approachable Minister of State and I am more than happy to hear those because that is a critical element if we are to get to the targets. I…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." On 19 May this year, the Government approved the publication of the Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026. This Bill is structured in three Parts, the two substantive elements being Part 2 and Part 3, which deal with amendments to the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 around eligibility for social housing, and the second, Part 3, which introduces a number of technical amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. The p…

I thank the Cathaoirleach and Members for giving me the opportunity to update the House on the subject of rural planning. As announced in the Government’s housing action plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, both the Minister, Deputy Browne, and I will, subject to Government approval, issue a national planning statement, NPS, on rural housing in the second half of this year. However, both the Minister, Deputy Browne and I are working to finalise a draft of the proposed NPS in the coming days in a bid to bri…