Supporting individuals and families experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness is an absolute priority for me, my Department and Government. I welcome the committee's focus on this important area. Indeed, many of the recommendations put forward are addressed in our new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, and are being progressed by my Department in collaboration with other Departments, local authorities and their service delivery partners. The report calls for a greater focus on prevention. There are many prevention initiatives already under way in the Department and across government, including the provision of social and affordable housing, HAP and homeless HAP, and our strong tenancy protection legislation. I recognise that more needs to be done and a co-ordinated approach is required right across government. That is why a cross-departmental working group was established to drive the development of a prevention framework. The first draft of the framework is being considered by working group members and the framework will be in place this year. The report also recognises the importance of a continued focus on measures to address youth homelessness and calls for the development of a child and family homelessness strategy. Again, work is well under way in these two important areas as committed to in the housing plan. I am establishing a standing sub-group of the national homeless action committee to ensure a continued focus on youth homelessness and my Department, in partnership with Department of the Taoiseach, will shortly publish a cross-departmental child and family homelessness action plan. Many other actions are under way that speak to the recommendations in the report, including the development of the of the housing delivery action plans, a review of the housing assistance payment and the continued funding of the second-hand acquisition scheme, including tenant in situ acquisitions. Ultimately, increased supply is key to addressing homelessness, meeting need and addressing the challenges in the housing market. The new housing plan aims to deliver 300,000 new homes in the period to 2030, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 starter homes. This means 12,000 new social homes will be delivered on average each year to the end of 2030.
Sentiment score: 0.23
We take the report very seriously and are giving it very serious consideration. Many of the recommendations in it are already in place or are being put in place. We are treating this as an emergency. I have already outlined many of the measures we are taking to make sure we address the situation where we have a very high level of homelessness. One person in homelessness is one too many. We have a very high number in emergency accommodation - I acknowledge that. That is why we need to do even more. I am treating it as an emergency. We are putting in emergency measures to tackle homelessness. Ultimately, we have to drive supply; that is how we will address all the key issues for people who are finding themselves in emergency accommodation and State-supported living as a result of not being able to have somewhere to live. In terms of homelessness, we cannot deal with everybody as a single group. There are those who need more targeted measures. Those suffering from trauma, mental health or addiction issues need very particular supports and we are putting those in place as well.
Sentiment score: -0.14
We are dealing with it as an emergency response. Last year, we saw a 20% increase in housing delivery overall and the highest number of social houses built in a single year in the history of the State. We are putting in record funding to address the housing crisis. Many of the measures highlighted in the report are already in the process of being implemented. I would remind the Deputy that, in his own housing plan, he proposes winding down the tenant in situ scheme – something he conveniently forgets every time he raises that scheme.
Sentiment score: -0.12
The Deputy is very fond of referring to the Famine. The Famine was a genocide in this country. A million people died and a million people had to leave the country yet the Deputy makes a political football out of it and uses it to come in here to engage in cheap political point scoring. It is very hard to take him seriously when that is the level to which he descends in order to make a political point instead of making a coherent, informed policy point or argument. We are putting in record funding to address the housing crisis in this country. That includes the homeless crisis and high rents. We have brought in some of the strongest, if not the strongest, tenancy measures to protect tenants in the history of the State and the Deputy voted against them. That is a fact. Tenants entering new tenancies will have the strongest tenancy rights in the history of this State. The majority of tenants will have a no-fault eviction ban.
Sentiment score: -0.12
There will be much stronger tenant protections as well. For those who are in tenancies at the moment, both tenant and landlord entered into an agreement under what was the law at the time. They understood the law on both sides and they entered into a contract on that basis. That is the reason we are not making those changes. The Deputy tries to have it both ways when he comes in here. He criticises the changes that were made and then he criticises that they not being applied to the past. As I said, we have brought in the strongest tenancy protection measures in the history of the State. They do apply to new tenancies. While notices to quit did peak, we saw a drop in March and I have no doubt that the drop will continue significantly.
Sentiment score: 0.02
I am not going to speak to an individual case but I am happy to look into the details of the case if the Deputy wants to provide me with them. We had an eviction ban in this country before and supply just dropped off a cliff. An eviction ban sounds very favourable to those who are currently renting but it creates a cliff edge. What is the Deputy going to do in two or three years’ time when he brings an end to his eviction ban? Supply will only go down in the meantime, as we have seen that in the past. Who will invest in delivering houses in this country when they know there are eviction bans in place? Nobody. The evidence is there that it is not going to happen. As Minister for housing, I have to look at everything in terms of how I maximise supply. When I am looking at delivering housing it is to help those people who are renting but also to ensure that we have the supply for those people who are living at home who need somewhere to rent so that they can get out of their homes and have somewhere. We have a shortage of homes in this country. That is what is driving the housing crisis, the homelessness crisis and the high rents in this country. When we get higher supply, those issues will be addressed but you cannot address them without it. That is certain.
Sentiment score: -0.12
Nobody is ignoring it. We are putting record funding into solving the housing crisis. Almost one third of all the capital being spent by the State is going to be spent on solving the housing crisis. It is reflected in the decisions we are making. We are treating this as an emergency and putting those measures in place. Instead of constantly coming in here using emotive language and pretending he has a monopoly on compassion, the Deputy should focus on policy solutions. It would serve everybody better to solve the housing crisis.
Sentiment score: -0.15
I thank the Deputy for this question about income eligibility thresholds for social housing support. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority in accordance with the eligibility and needs criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. The 2011 regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority in different bands according to the area concerned, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard household means policy. The baseline income thresholds are €40,000, €35,000 and €30,000 for bands 1, 2 and 3, respectively. These thresholds are net income, which is gross household income less income tax, PRSI, universal social charge and additional superannuation contribution. Income is defined and assessed according to a standard household means policy, HMP. The policy provides for a range of income disregards and local authorities have discretion to disregard income that is once-off, temporary or short-term in nature, and which is outside the regular pattern of a person's annual income. The income bands are expressed in terms of a maximum net income threshold for a single-person household, with an allowance of 5% for each additional adult household member, subject to a maximum allowance under this category of 10%, and separately a 2.5% allowance for each child. My Department has been examining the existing income limits in the context of current market and household income conditions, including the suitability or otherwise of the current framework, having regard to the significantly changed landscape since the standardised income limits were introduced. This includes examining the findings of research commissioned by my Department and this work is ongoing. I envisage that the analysis will be concluded shortly to facilitate a final determination on next steps. I am also keen to put in place a more structured and frequent process for the review of these limits going forward.
Sentiment score: 0.10
I agree with the Deputy. The situation for a long time has been that as social welfare or other family support payments increase, average household incomes increase, and the Department of housing rightly faces calls to increase the limits. We go through this process and there is the opposite of a cliff edge where the numbers all go up. I want to not only increase the limits but bring an end to that kind of process, so people and local authorities have a better understanding of where we are going rather than the process there to date, which is not satisfactory for anybody. My intention is to have this in the near future. I am finalising the proposals for it in order that we can get the limits increased and put a procedure in place, so it is not this constant position where we are depending on the Minister and the ability of the Department and of the workload to see whether or not increases will happen. It is not an appropriate way to deal with it.
Sentiment score: 0.28
I think we are very much in agreement on the general direction of where we need to go in relation to social housing threshold limits. The way I look at this is that there is a spectrum. Everybody needs to be able to get a home in their local community based on their needs. Whether that is purely private or with supports, affordable purchase, cost rental or social housing, it is about ensuring on that spectrum that people have not only an entitlement but availability so they can benefit and get a home in their local community. That will be to the front of my mind in the coming weeks, and I look forward to hearing the views of the Oireachtas committee when we publish these changes.
Sentiment score: 0.26
I appreciate the Deputy’s question on water supply, wastewater systems and Uisce Éireann. Both our water and wastewater systems require substantial and sustained investment over a number of investment cycles to bring them up to the standard and quality required of a modern service to provide people with the necessary supports, ensure growth and build resilience in the face of climate change. My Department is delivering a sustainable funding path to further enhance the ongoing significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services. Since its inception, Uisce Éireann has ramped up capital delivery capability for water services and infrastructure from a mere €300 million in 2014 to €1.4 billion as part of budget 2026. Under the national development plan, the Government is supporting Uisce Éireann with a record allocation of €11.7 billion in funding out to 2030. This funding will support the delivery of the wide range of projects in our cities, towns and regions required for housing delivery, safeguarding public health and the environment and, crucially, providing the capacity required to address the housing crisis in this country. This investment will deliver significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services and support improved water supplies right across Ireland, as well as a range of programmes delivering improved water quality in our rivers, lakes and marine areas, thereby making a significant contribution to addressing Ireland's needs. Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. Therefore, the scope prioritisation and progression of individual projects are matters for Uisce Éireann, and are approved through its own internal governance structures. As Minister, I have no function in such matters. Uisce Éireann has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives.
Sentiment score: 0.33
Deputy Stanley makes an important point. We are asking local authorities to rezone a significant amount of land to deliver additional housing. I encourage local authorities to complete this process. I am not happy with the time that many local authorities are taking in what is a housing crisis. I do not believe many local authorities have been treating it as such with the delays in delivering additional zoned land, which is essential to deliver homes and solve the housing crisis in this country so the houses can get built. In relation to villages, we have introduced developer-led infrastructure to allow developers to be able to provide wastewater facilities in our villages, which is absolutely crucial. Deputy Stanley rightly points out using over the shop units. Using existing services and regeneration in our towns are also crucial. With regard to Borris-in-Ossory, as Deputy Stanley is aware, Uisce Éireann commenced works to upgrade the Borris-in-Ossory wastewater treatment plant to support future growth and development, with works beginning in March 2026. This is a €4.1 million investment that will benefit homes. The works are expected to be completed in autumn 2027.
Sentiment score: 0.09
In terms of developer-led infrastructure, in any new process it will always be about who is going to be the first mover. When the first couple are delivered, others will see the pathway and move an awful lot more quickly. What we have said to Uisce Éireann, and it is doing this, is to work with local authorities and developers to try to get those first movers across the line as quickly as possible. This will then give confidence to other developers to follow suit. To be clear, these are not pilots - they are first movers. Any developer can move forward to provide these in local villages at the moment. That is happening with Uisce Éireann engaging with local authorities and developers. I am confident a number of these will come through. They have the support of the EPA. Deputy Stanley is right there is a reluctance in Uisce Éireann to take over legacy wastewater projects around the country, often because of the cost involved or legacy issues. These developer-led infrastructure projects have been worked out very carefully with the EPA and Uisce Éireann, which is why I believe there will be success and hand-holding at present to get the first few across the line.
Sentiment score: 0.19