The following motion was moved by Deputy Eoin Ó Broin on Tuesday, 13 May 2025:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes that:
— decades of underfunding by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments, in our water and electricity infrastructure, have created significant constraints to the increased delivery of public and private housing;
— the Commission for Regulation of Utilities has warned that data centres pose a risk to increased housing delivery, due to constraints in the electricity grid;
— Uisce Éireann have said that meeting the Government's revised housing targets would require a significant increase in capital funding, above their current programme to increase water and wastewater capacity in urban and rural areas;
— the Irish Home Builders Association have repeatedly warned that the electricity grid, drinking water, wastewater capacity and connections are a constraint on housing delivery; and
— the Government's proposed Housing Activation Office does not have the emergency powers underpinned by legislation as called for by the Housing Commission; and
agrees that the Government must:
— as a matter of urgency, set out its plans for the funding of, and delivery of, increased capacity of critical infrastructure required for the delivery of housing, including the electricity grid, drinking water and wastewater;
— fully implement the Housing Commission's proposal for a housing delivery oversight executive, with emergency powers underpinned by legislation; and
— properly resource our planning system, to ensure timely decisions are made on applications for the delivery of critical infrastructure and new housing.
Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
"acknowledges that:
— population growth in recent years has been higher than anticipated, bringing a requirement for enhanced infrastructure and services, and the annual increase in population of 1.3 per cent, between Census 2016 and 2022, has exceeded the forecast increase of 0.8 per cent that underpinned the National Planning Framework in 2018;
— high population growth has been a driver of strong economic growth, and there are now a record number of people at work in Ireland, and this population requires housing and supporting infrastructure; and
— there has also been a growth in energy demand and in the energy intensity required for modern manufacturing and large-scale servers, due to the requirements of modern technology;
recognises that:
— the measures introduced under Housing for All - a New Housing Plan for Ireland, have helped establish a solid platform to 'scale-up' delivery of housing in the short-term, and secure a sustainable level of supply that will help us meet fully unmet and emerging housing demand;
— the measures committed to in the Programme for Government, including a new housing plan building on the successes of Housing for All, will help us meet the enormous challenge of delivering more than 300,000 new homes by 2030;
— a record level of investment is being provided for the delivery of housing in 2025, with overall capital funding now available of almost €6.8 billion;
— the Government's new national housing plan will incorporate pragmatic actions to boost housing activity in the short-term, coupled with strategic deliverables to drive comprehensive systemic change and subsequent increase in supply into the long-term;
— there have been record levels of investment in infrastructure under the current National Development Plan for the period 2021 to 2031;
— Uisce Éireann has ramped up capital delivery for water services and infrastructure, from €300 million in 2014, to roughly €1.3 billion in 2024, and for 2025, the Exchequer will provide just over €2.2 billion in funding to Uisce Éireann;
— our water networks will require ongoing and sustained investment to bring these up to the required standard of treatment, to deal with population and housing growth, and to adapt to the impacts of climate change;
— the Programme for Government commits to investing additional capital in Uisce Éireann, and this is being considered in the context of the ongoing review of the National Development Plan;
— Ireland is currently experiencing high demand for new electrical connections driven by population growth, industrial development and accelerated electrification targets;
— over the last four years, ESB Networks has connected over 147,000 homes and businesses to the distribution network;
— in response to increased demand, the electricity system operators, ESB Networks and EirGrid, have prepared business plans that propose significantly increased investment in the electricity grid for the period 2026-2030, and the Government looks forward to the conclusion of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities Price Review Six strategy, which will provide a clear framework for investment in the electricity grid;
— the Government has established a new Infrastructure Division, that will lead infrastructure reform, overseen by the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce;
— the Government has established a new Housing Activation Office (HAO), to identify and seek to address barriers to the delivery of public infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development, through the alignment of funding and coordination of infrastructure providers;
— the HAO will engage and align stakeholders, including local authorities, utility and infrastructure providers, industry and others, to ensure that infrastructure blockages are addressed in a coordinated way in order to enable housing development, and it will focus on infrastructure needed at a local or district level to support housing delivery on multiple sites, including social and community infrastructure needed to support the development of sustainable communities;
— legislative and system level reform of the planning system is progressing;
— the Government is prioritising the commencement of the Planning and Development Act 2024, on a phased basis, and the Act represents the most comprehensive review of planning legislation since 2000, and will reform and streamline the planning process, and support timely decision making for housing and strategic infrastructure projects;
— the Government is committed to improving the capacity and performance of the planning system, through the implementation of the Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources, approved in 2024; and
— on 30th April, 2025, Dáil Éireann approved the Revised National Planning Framework, and this provides the basis for the review and updating of Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2019-2031, and local authority development plans to reflect critical matters such as updated housing figures or projected jobs growth, including through the zoning of land for residential, employment and a range of other purposes; and
affirms Government efforts to:
— prioritise infrastructure development as a critical means for increasing housing supply, noting the Government's commitments in the Programme for Government including, for example, the commitment to invest in water and energy infrastructure under the National Development Plan;
— resource a new HAO, to address barriers to the delivery of public infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development;
— expand the capacity of the construction sector as another key measure to scale up housing and critical infrastructure delivery to the levels necessary by 2030;
— deliver on the far ranging commitments in the Programme for Government, and informed by the Housing Commission's proposals for the long-term reform of the housing system, accepting this is an appropriate response to the current housing challenges which Ireland is now facing; and
— deliver on the commitments in the Programme for Government relating to implementation of the Planning and Development Act 2024, the Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources and implementation of the Revised National Planning Framework.".
- (Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy John Cummins)
I must now deal with a postponed division relating to the motion regarding housing and critical infrastructure. On Tuesday, 13 May, on the question, "That the amendment to the motion be agreed to", a division was claimed and in accordance with Standing Order 85(2), that division must be taken now.
Amendment put:
The Dail divided: Tá, 82; Níl, 66; Staon, 0.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Mary Butler and Emer Currie; Níl, Deputies Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Denise Mitchell.
Amendment declared carried.
Question put: "That the motion, as amended, be agreed to."
The Dáil divided: Tá, 83; Níl, 66; Staon, 0.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Mary Butler and Emer Currie; Níl, Deputies Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Denise Mitchell.
Question declared carried.