83. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the housing projects that are currently under construction in Kildare North and those which are expected to commence before the end of 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48233/26]

Sentiment score: 0.01

My question concerns the key issue of housing and all the different types of infrastructure that go with it. I ask the Minister for the information on all the housing projects currently under construction in Kildare North and those expected to commence before the end of 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Sentiment score: 0.01

I thank the Minister very much for his response. I will go through the specific statistics relating to County Kildare afterwards. I thank the Minister for the information. I welcome the announcement last week from the housing activation office and the Minister’s team. I also welcome the infrastructure we have in Kildare. The new bridge in Celbridge is an issue I raised when I was a county councillor in the context of the local area plan, and I have been pushing for the funding to be delivered since being elected to this House. It has now been delivered under the housing activation office. We also have the Maynooth outer orbital route, MOOR, the inner relief road in Naas and the roads in Confey. These projects are extremely welcome. On the other hand, I am also conscious that we are struggling with Uisce Éireann, from the network perspective, to deliver water infrastructure. This is the case out around Prosperous, Robertstown, Leixlip, Celbridge and Maynooth, where we see regular burst water mains. While we are pushing for new houses, and I welcome that, at the same time, the infrastructure has to be able to meet that demand.

Sentiment score: 0.30

I thank the Minister. We are broadly aligned on infrastructure. The other key element of infrastructure is the social element, be it from a sporting perspective or related to the sports capital grants that will assist local sports clubs, and indeed local community groups, in which I am heavily involved. Housing is about the delivery of infrastructure but also about the delivery of the associated strands, with which the Minister's team is currently heavily involved. Being from north Kildare and having been a councillor there for so long, it is the area I am most conscious of. The issue in Kildare speaks to many of the issues we all have, specifically on the eastern corridor but also in the growth areas in many major towns across the country. The country is doing really well economically. It is very well run from a Government perspective, and we can see that. At the same time, however, we need to consider population growth and push, as the Minister is doing, towards further growth in housing and the infrastructure required.

Sentiment score: 0.27