Written Answers Nos. 21-40
22. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he acknowledges that there is significant variation across local authorities in the way they enforce vacant sites legislation; the steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities apply the legislation in a uniform manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53904/25]
View answerUnder the Vacant Site Levy provisions in the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015, planning authorities were empowered to apply a vacant site levy of 3% of the market valuation of properties listed on registers in 2018, which relevant owners were liable to pay in January 2019. The rate of the levy increased to 7% from 2019 onwards, which site owners became liable to pay the following January. The primary purpose of the levy was to incentivise the development of vacant sites in urban areas for housing and regeneration purposes, thereby bringing the sites back into productive use.
Noting some inconsistencies in the application of the levy and to increase housing supply by encouraging the development of housing on lands which are suitably zoned and which have benefitted from investment in services, the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) was introduced by the Finance Act in 2021, and came into effect on 1 February 2025, to replace the Vacant Site Levy. The VSL will however remain payable for previous calendar years up to the end of 2024, and unpaid levies due remain as a charge on the land.
Information contained in the 2025 RZLT annual final maps indicates a total quantum of c.46,300 ha of land in scope, with approximately 5,300 ha of this land being undeveloped ‘new residential’ land. The scope of RZLT also includes mixed-use zoned lands which are ‘vacant or idle’, which comprises c.1, 400 ha of land identified on the 2025 final maps.
Data published by the Revenue Commissioners for 2025 indicates that the declared liability to date is c€120 million, with c.€43 million collected and c€76 million deferred. Deferral of the tax reflects ongoing engagement with the planning process and activation of land for housing, which aligns with the objective of the measure.
23. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the capital delivery programme for fire stations in County Cork, including details of projects currently under construction, those at design or planning stage, and the expected timelines for delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53205/25]
View answerThree new fire stations at Kanturk, Macroom and Clonakilty were prioritised for inclusion in the 2021 – 2025 fire services Capital programme. New Kanturk and Macroom fire stations were officially opened in May and September of 2022, respectively. The third new fire station at Clonakilty has now been completed and I understand planning has begun for an official opening ceremony to take place later this year.
In correspondence with officials from my Department, Cork County Council have indicated several new fire station projects at Dunmanway, Charleville, Mitchelstown and Youghal that they expect to seek inclusion of in the Fire Services Capital Programme 2026 – 2030. My Department will work closely with Cork County Council to progress their identified priority infrastructural projects, within the context of the totality of requests from fire authorities countrywide for capital funding.
Capital funding allocations for 2026 and beyond remain a matter of discussion between my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation in the context of the Budget and Estimates process. It would be premature to comment on the proposed Fire Service Capital Programme 2026 - 2030 prior to confirmation of the outcome of that budgetary process and the subsequent finalisation of a new fire services capital programme.
24. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm that he will ensure that defective block homeowners at a location (details supplied) do not have to rebuild their homes on a dangerous flood plain; for an update on his Department's engagement with the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW to find a solution and the outcome of this engagement. [53449/25]
View answerI visited Donegal earlier this year and understand the flood issue pertaining to Elm Park in Buncrana. Most of impacted homeowners have the option of availing of the Defective Concrete Block Scheme and the OPW intends to undertake flood relief works. The residents however are concerned about the length of time before those flood work would be completed and have asked that consideration be given to relocation options.
My Department continues to work with Donegal County Council and the Office of Public Works, to ensure a workable solution is reached for impacted homeowners in Elm Park, while also ensuring that we operate within the terms of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022. The matter is complex and there is no option open to my Department under the legislation. Equally there is no easy solution available to the OPW.
A meeting took place on 16 July 2025 between Minister Boxer Moran, T.D., Minister of State for the OPW and Minister O’ Sullivan, T.D, Minister of State for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to discuss the matter.
More recently on 1 October 2025 my officials again met with Minister Moran and Minister O’ Sullivan and efforts to progress the matter are continuing. Preliminary options to address the matter were examined at that meeting and officials have been asked to continue that work and revert to the Ministers again shortly.
25. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline the rationale behind the recent updated guidelines to local authorities on the second-hand acquisitions programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53882/25]
View answerMy Department has recently written to local authorities advising them of additional funding capacity and flexibility under the 2025 Second Hand Acquisitions Programme.
This includes an additional €50 million secured on foot of the recently concluded National Development Plan discussions, bringing the funding available this year to €375 million. The additional funding is ring-fenced for acquisitions supporting households, particularly larger families with children, to exit emergency homeless accommodation into housing. It has been allocated to the eight city and city and county councils, which generally have the highest number of households in such accommodation. Any unspent funding this year will be carried over into 2026 and will remain separate from the broader 2026 Second-Hand Acquisitions budget.
Adequate scope remains within the original €325 million allocated to the Programme in 2025 to support all acquisitions that can be completed by local authorities before year-end. Where local authorities indicated they would likely fully commit and draw down their original allocation this year, but could progress additional acquisitions if further funding were available, they have been approved do so.
Finally, local authorities have also been authorised to enter into commitments to a value of up to 30% of their 2025 budget for acquisitions unlikely to close and draw down funding until 2026. This effectively provides a multi-annual approach for the programme and allows local authorities to continue to pursue priority acquisitions over the closing months of 2025 with certainty on funding from my Department in 2026.
26. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on whether Roscommon and Galway local authorities have been directed to reopen their development plans to re-zone land for housing; and the measures being taken to ensure compliance with Revised National Planning Framework. [53753/25]
View answerThe Revised National Planning Framework (NPF) was finalised and approved by Government and the Oireachtas in April 2025. The Revised NPF strategy sets out the need to plan for a projected population of at least 6.1m people in Ireland by 2040. Taking into account ‘pent-up’ demand, the strategy sets out a need to plan for the delivery of approximately 50,000 additional housing units per annum nationally, to 2040.
To ensure that local authority development plans reflect the requirements of the NPF in respect of housing as soon as possible, I issued the NPF Implementation: Housing Growth Requirements Guidelines under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 in July 2025. These Guidelines set out the housing demand scenario to 2040 for each local authority, by translating the NPF housing requirements into average annual figures and set out the requirement for planning authorities to commence the process of varying their development plan to meet the new housing growth requirements.
The zoning of land for particular purposes, including housing, is an exercise undertaken by planning authorities as part of their statutory development plan function under sections 9 to 13 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.
Further to the issuing of the Guidelines in July 2025, planning authorities, including Roscommon County Council and Galway County Council, are currently assessing their current development plans and undertaking a review of the adequacy of existing zoned lands to cater for the new Housing Growth Requirement figures and the potential for ‘additional provision’.
This review and analysis will inform the preparation of a Chief Executive’s report to be submitted to the elected members which will set out the position in respect of each local authority, and the Chief Executive’s recommendations to the members as to what variations to the Plan may be required in order to meet the requirements of the Guidelines. A copy of the Chief Executive’s report is required to be submitted to the Minister and to the Office of the Planning Regulator.
27. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will report on measures undertaken to date, to enable the private sector to deliver more homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53818/25]
View answerThe Programme for Government commits to building on the successes of Housing for All and ramping up supply to deliver over 300,000 homes between 2025 and 2030.
Supply has increased significantly in recent years, with 140,000 new homes delivered since July 2020. Some 92,400 of these were delivered between 2022 and 2024 inclusive, exceeding the combined target for the period by 5,400 or so.
Government is focused on continuing to bring forward measures that will build on this and increase the supply of new homes further. The recently revised National Planning Framework is a major step forward in this regard, and will help increase capacity and accelerate home building across the country, while the new Housing Activation Office will work to address barriers to the delivery of infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development.
The new Planning Design Standards for Apartments will allow greater flexibility vis-à-vis the size and mix of apartment types to help increase apartment viability, facilitate increased supply, and address affordability challenges.
The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2025 will deal with expiring planning permissions and encourage activation of housing.
The next call for expressions of interest under the Croí Cónaithe Cities scheme has been issued – the scheme will help activate the thousands of planning permissions for apartments in our cities.
Further measures to continue enabling supply will be considered in the context of the new national housing plan.
28. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the joint level of engagement which has taken place between his Department, Uisce Éireann and local authorities in order that the services which are required for the connection of new developments can take place in a timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53397/25]
View answer100. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has arranged for a structure to be put in place which will allow local authorities to engage with Uisce Éireann in order that services can be delivered in a timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53396/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 100 together.
The Programme for Government commits to establishing a new procedure for large developments where Developers can meet with local authority planners and Uisce Éireann on site to iron out issues at preplanning stage.
My Department has commenced discussions with Uisce Éireann in the first instance on the implementation of this commitment, with a view to engaging with the local authority sector thereafter.
29. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider introducing a starter home scheme to address the imbalance in affordable housing provision for lower and middle-income earners to enable them to purchase their own homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53182/25]
View answer72. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his proposals to roll out more affordable housing schemes in 2025 and 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53741/25]
View answer101. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on plans to dramatically increase the supply of housing under the affordable housing scheme. [53566/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 72 and 101 together.
Affordability and the chance to own a home is at the heart of the Government’s housing policy. As detailed under Housing for All, the Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver affordable housing at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. The Government’s ambition is to build on progress to date under Housing for All.
Under the Programme for Government published in January 2025, the Government has committed to introduce a new national housing plan to follow "Housing for All", including a new Starter Home programme across the public, private and AHB sector which promotes home ownership and secures long-term rental tenures for young people and fresh start applicants. My Department is currently examining that commitment, its implementation and potential time frame within the context of a new national housing plan.
While work is being undertaken to progress a new plan,the measures detailed in Housing for All will continue to be progressed to accelerate and increase delivery of secure and affordable housing.
Since the launch of Housing for All to end Q1 2025, over 14,500 affordable housing solutions have been delivered by a range of delivery partners. A very strong pipeline of further delivery is already in place across our delivery partners, including Local Authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, the Land Development Agency and the First Home Scheme.
Building on this progress, my Department will continue to engage with all delivery partners to further the development of the affordable housing delivery pipeline for 2026 and beyond, and to ensure that the affordable housing programme responds effectively to the affordable housing needs identified at a local level.
30. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his Department’s plans to lower housing costs in Fingal; the way in which his Department plans to ensure that the first home scheme keeps up with the housing price increases that Fingal has seen year on year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53742/25]
View answerContinuing to increase supply is key to meeting need and addressing many of the challenges currently facing the housing market. Increasing supply will help moderate house price growth and ease affordability challenges.
Supply has increased significantly in recent years, with 92,400 new homes delivered between 2022 and 2024 inclusive, exceeding the combined target for the period by 5,400 or so.
Government continues to bring forward measures to help build upon the uplift in supply and help dampen house price growth and ease affordability challenges across the country. The recently revised National Planning Framework is a major step forward in this regard, while the new Housing Activation Office will work to address barriers to the delivery of infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development.
Measures such as the Local Authority Home Loan, the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Scheme, the Help to Buy Incentive, First Home Scheme and the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant are also available to help make home ownership more affordable.
The First Home Scheme is a shared equity scheme, designed to help bridge the gap for eligible first-time buyers, eligible home buyers, and self-builders, between their deposit and mortgage, and the price of their new home (within price ceilings established across the country).
The First Home Scheme Designated Activity Company (DAC) is fully responsible for the operation of the First Home Scheme on behalf of all shareholders, including price-ceiling reviews. At its launch, First Home Scheme announced it would review all price ceilings at 6-month intervals. The DAC take into account a range of factors as part of these reviews, including the median price and volume of new builds purchased by first time buyers in each local authority area.
At the end of June 2025, the First Home DAC published the outcome of its sixth scheduled review of the price-ceilings that apply to qualifying homes. New price-ceilings were agreed for 16 local authority areas, including Fingal which increased from €475,000 to €500,000, and came into effect on 1 July 2025.
More information on price-ceiling reviews is available on the First Home Scheme website.
31. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social homes retrofitted by Fingal County Council since 2021; the number targeted for 2025; if Fingal County Council is on track to meet its share of the national retrofitting target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53463/25]
View answer47. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authority homes retrofitted to a B2 BER standard to date under the Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme; the projected number for 2025; and the progress made towards the national target of 36,500 local authority retrofits by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53462/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 47 together.
In 2021 a new holistic approach was applied to the Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP). Designed around the Programme for Government's commitment, led by the Department for the Environment, Climate and Communications, it calls for the 'retrofit' of 500,000 homes to a minimum B2 BER Rating standard by 2030, of which approximately 36,500 are expected to be local authority owned homes, with grant funding provided by my Department for those local authority housing retrofits.
Works eligible under my Department's revised EERP include attic/cavity wall insulation or external wall insulation where required, windows and doors replacement, heat pump installation and ancillary and associated works.
The programme is well established and remains popular with the local authorities. Current indicators shows appetite remains strong in the sector. By the end of 2025, it is anticipated close to 11,000 units will have been retrofitted under the programme.
An annualised breakdown of the units retrofitted, including Fingal County Council, is available on my Department's website at the following links:
www.gov.ie/en/publication/668c1-energy-efficiency-retrofitting-programme-expenditure-output/.
www.gov.ie/en/publication/b86b3-midlands-energy-retrofit-programme-expenditure-and-units/.
In 2025 the EERP budget is providing funding support of €90 million to retrofit a minimum of 2,500 properties this year.
Fingal County Council were allocated funding toward the retrofit of a minimum of 94 local authority owned dwellings this year and of note under the revised EERP introduced in 2021, Fingal County Council has consistently met its targets and in some cases exceeded them.
32. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to allow for cluster developments in small rural villages across Carlow and Kilkenny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53453/25]
View answerThe National Planning Framework (NPF) fully supports the sustainable development of rural areas and the need to ensure that they continue to be viable places in which to live. Statutory county development plans currently provide planning policies for the development of new housing in rural areas including, as appropriate, housing within villages and smaller rural settlements. In this regard, local planning policies in relation to housing in smaller settlements in Counties Carlow and Kilkenny continue to be set out in the Carlow County Development Plan 2022-2028 and the Kilkenny City and County Development Plan 2021-2027 respectively.
When making a decision in relation to an application for permission, a planning authority is restricted to considering the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, regard being had to, inter alia, the provisions of the development plan and any Ministerial guidelines or National Planning Statements which are in effect.
For the development of clusters of new housing within smaller settlements, it is important to ensure that sufficient infrastructure, including wastewater treatment facilities, is available to support growth in these locations. In circumstances where no public wastewater network is available, individual homes may be provided with suitable individual wastewater treatment facilities, subject to compliance with environmental standards and requirements. Any such infrastructure options would have to be fully compliant with environmental requirements and developed in accordance with the appropriate specifications, for example, where necessary, specifications required by Uisce Éireann.
33. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on whether renters or landlords will be happier with Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53814/25]
View answerA central focus of the 2026 budget is to ensure that everyone has access to a home, whether to purchase or rent, at an affordable price.
To support the rental sector, in 2026 the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) and other advocacy services will receive funding of €24 million. In addition, €10.5 million will be provided for local authority inspection activity in the rental sector to ensure compliance with rental standards. The Government is also committing over €570 million to support households in the private rented sector through the Housing Assistance Payment and the Rental Accommodation Scheme.
Budget 2026 extends the Rent Tax Credit, which was due to expire the end of 2025 for a further three years, to the end of 2028 and this is a measure aimed at those who do not get any other housing supports. Parents who pay for their student children in full-time accommodation will be able to claim the credit.
The tax relief available to landlords for qualifying retrofitting expenditure on rented residential properties has been extended by a further three years, now applying until 31 December 2028.
The reduction on the VAT rate on the sale of new apartments which will be decreased from 13.5 per cent to 9 per cent will contribute significantly to improving their viability which will help to stimulate supply and is an addition to the suite of actions already being taken by Government to address the apartment viability challenge. Apartments are a crucial component of our housing system moving forward in terms of our compact growth policy and improving affordability and choice in our private rental sector.
The Government remains focused on growing the supply of much-needed rental accommodation by keeping existing landlords in the market and attracting new landlords, as that increased supply leads to more options for renters and lower rents. This needs to be done in tandem with ensuring strong and balanced tenancy protections for both tenants and landlords.
In order to boost the supply of homes available for rent, on 10 June 2025 the Government approved modifications to rent controls, to come into effect on 1 March 2026, which will include an incentive to bring new apartments to the market. The changes will also provide significantly stronger tenancy protections and are finely balanced between the interests of tenants and the need for further private investment in the rental market.
Legislation is being prepared and will be published later this year to give effect to these policy measures. Further information is available here: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/press-releases/government-to-introduce-major-reforms-to-the-rental-sector/.
34. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social homes which have been delivered in Kilkenny and Carlow since 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53884/25]
View answerGovernment is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social homes at scale and to continue accelerating social housing supply.
My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority. This data is available to the end of Q1 2025 and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/. Data for Q2 2025 is currently being collated and will be published shortly.
My Department also publishes the Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR), which provides details of social housing developments and their location that have been completed, are under construction or are progressing through the various stages of the design and tender processes. The most recent publication was for Quarter 1 2025. All CSRs are available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/cb885-social-housing-construction-projects-status-reports/.
A version of the CSR file can also be downloaded for analysis by local authority, location etc. at this link: https://opendata.housing.gov.ie/dataset/social-housing-construction-status-report-q1-2025. The Q2 2025 Construction Status Report is currently being compiled.
35. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the provision of allocated housing for those that work in front-line public sector jobs including teachers, nurses and members of An Garda Síochána; if this is under review within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52741/25]
View answerThe Government is acutely aware of the housing challenges faced by many sectors of society. The Government's current housing plan, Housing for All, contains a suite of actions that have increased, and will continue to increase, the provision of housing through accelerating supply and increasing the affordability of homes.
The 2025 Programme for Government includes a commitment to target Cost Rental homes at key local workers. To this end, my Department is working to implement certain changes which were made to Part 3 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 late last year via the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024. The changes included new provisions related to the Cost Rental sector which are likely to improve access for certain cohorts.
On 2 July this year, under the provisions of this Act, I made the Affordable Housing Act 2021 (Cost Rental Allocation Plan) Regulations 2025. These Regulations allow for Cost Rental landlords to employ Allocation Plans which may prioritise particular homes for those with a link to an area though residence, employment, or children’s education. This will support people to live and work in their local area.
My Department continues to explore all options to improve access to Cost Rental.
36. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will incentivise local authorities that deliver or exceed their housing targets, by providing additional funding in schemes such as tenant in situ and vacant/derelict property grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53822/25]
View answerGovernment is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. This is demonstrated by the record level of investment which is being provided for the delivery of housing in 2025, with overall capital funding now allocated by Government of almost €7.5 billion. The capital provision for 2025 is supplemented by a further €1.65 billion in current funding.
The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant introduced in July 2022, provides a grant of up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent. A top-up grant of up to €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000. The maximum grant amounts were increased in May 2023 from €30,000 to €50,000 to take account of rising costs. The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant is a demand led scheme with local authorities reimbursed for the total amount of grants paid. There are no targets set for delivery under the scheme.
My Department has provided €325 million to support a second-hand acquisitions programme in 2025. The programme supports priority categories of need, including exits from homeless services, tenancy sustainment (tenant in situ), people with a disability and older persons requiring urgent housing responses, and Buy and Renew acquisitions tackling vacancy.
I have recently secured a further €50 million as part the National Development Plan capital funding process to expand the second hand acquisitions programme this year. I intend this funding to be ring-fenced and target acquisitions that support households, primarily larger families with children, to exit long-term emergency accommodation arrangements.
The delivery performance of local authorities against their targets under Housing for All is kept under continual review by my Department. Beginning this year, I started publishing the delivery achieved by all local authorities – as set against their targets – as part of the quarterly statistics published. This will allow for greater transparency and engagement with the delivery of new-build housing at a local level.
There is a commitment in the Programme for Government that a new, all of government, national housing plan to follow Housing for All, underpinned by multi-annual funding will be published. The new plan will be published shortly and I have asked my Department to investigate areas where we can focus additional support to local authorities who are delivering on their housing targets.
37. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is satisfied with the level of funding provided for housing in Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53817/25]
View answer70. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding being provided for cost rental under Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53825/25]
View answer88. Deputy Catherine Ardagh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding being provided for affordable housing under Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53738/25]
View answer134. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding being provided for social housing under Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53824/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 37, 70, 88 and 134 together.
As part of Budget 2026, the Government is making an unprecedented investment in housing. It reinforces the Government’s commitment to boosting housing supply, unveiling a record-level funding package alongside tax measures to accelerate nationwide home construction to meet national targets.
Under the Housing programme, the total Exchequer funding available in 2026 is €7.21bn, comprising capital €5.19bn and current €2.02bn. The Exchequer capital provision of €5.19bn will be supplemented by Land Development Agency (LDA) investment (projected up to €1.6bn) and Housing Finance Agency (HFA) lending (projected over €2bn), resulting in an overall capital provision of over €9bn.
The Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services (REV) will be published by the Minister of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation later this year. The REV provides considerably more detail than the AEV including complete subhead level allocations and performance metrics. The REV also forms the basis for parliamentary scrutiny of allocated expenditure.
The finalised subhead allocations will be provided at that point.
38. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the allocation for 2026 tenant in situ scheme will be released to local authorities; and the amount which it will be. [53200/25]
View answer39. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the tenant-in-situ scheme; to outline the differences in the scheme by local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53921/25]
View answer120. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is satisfied with the level of funding provided for the tenant-in-situ scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53815/25]
View answer125. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the success of the tenant-in-situ scheme to date; if he proposes to expand it and allocate additional funding to local authorities under this scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52742/25]
View answer129. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which he is prioritising and targeting the recently announced additional €50 million for housing acquisitions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53746/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 38, 39, 120, 125 and 129 together.
My Department's social housing Second Hand Acquisitions Programme is an important part of Government's policy response to support households in precarious housing situations. Generally, it operates on a uniform basis across all local authorities, funding acquisitions that support tenancy sustainment (tenant in situ), exits from homeless services, persons with disabilities and older persons requiring urgent housing responses etc.
Some €375 million has been secured for the programme this year, including an additional €50 million specifically targeting families in long-term emergency homeless accommodation.
From July 2020 to end December 2024, the programme has secured homes for some 7,000 households, helping these households exit homelessness, preventing them from entering homelessness, or providing them with urgent housing responses to meet urgent specialist needs. Moreover, with more than adequate funding available to meet all potential acquisitions flagged by local authorities in 2025, I expect at least 800 more households to be supported under the programme this year.
The programme is sufficiently flexible to accommodate additional measures to address urgent issues as they emerge. This includes, for example, tenant in situ which was introduced in 2023 as a policy tool to help prevent households becoming homeless. In this regard, the broader acquisitions programme has been an undoubted success, and I am committed to continuing it as a critical housing policy response in the coming years.
Reflecting the programmes flexibility, and ensuring we optimise its impact for vulnerable households, my Department has responded quickly throughout the year to financing and other challenges as they have emerged.
In this regard, local authorities have recently been authorised to enter into commitments in 2025 that are likely to only close and fall due for payment and drawn down from my Department in 2026. Accordingly, local authorities can now enter into commitments for 2026 to a value of up to 30% of their original 2025 acquisitions budget. This allows them commit, pending completion of the Estimates process and an agreed programme budget for 2026, some €95 million extra this year for acquisitions that will complete and draw down in 2026. This effectively provides for a multi-annual approach to programme delivery, facilitating local authorities to plan and progress acquisitions from one year to the next with a higher level of certainty vis-à-vis future funding availability.
Additionally, those local authorities that flagged capacity to progress, complete and draw down from my Department additional acquisitions this year (i.e. beyond what could be facilitated within their original allocation) have been authorised to do so. This provides additional scope for those authorities to address urgent responses (e.g. for tenant in situ, exits from homelessness, and other priority cohorts) where acquisitions can be completed and fully drawn down from my Department in 2025.
Finally, a further €50 million has been provided for acquisitions supporting households, particularly larger families with children, to exit long-term emergency homeless accommodation. This funding has been allocated to the eight city and city and county councils, which have the highest number of households that have been emergency accommodation for longer than 24 months in the Dublin region and 12 months or more in the remaining four authorities. Any uncommitted or unspent monies from these allocations will be carried forward into 2026.
Funding for the 2026 Second-Hand Acquisitions Programme will be agreed shortly following completion of 2026 Estimates process. Respective allocations will have regard, not only to relative demand across local authorities, but to progress committing and drawing down the additional allocations provided to support exits from homelessness, with such funding reallocated to other authorities where necessary to better support households to exit long-term homelessness into housing.
40. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the assessments his Department has carried out, or plans to carry on, in respect of the impact of student and employment residency permits on housing pressures in the State. [53806/25]
View answerMy Department works closely with the Economic Migration Policy Unit of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, which is responsible for overseeing reviews of the the occupations lists for employment permits process that applies to non-European Economic Area workers.
It is important to note that the employment permit system is an important source of skilled labour for many industries, including the development and construction industries. My Department also works with the Student Accommodation Unit of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, including with respect to policies to provide new student accommodation.
In terms of the broader task of understanding how migration flows, inward and outward, shaping housing demand, my Department works with the Economic and Social Research Institute to undertake and publish projections of structural housing demand. The models used for this research does not disaggregate specific categories of migrants, such as students or non-European Economic Area workers, however it does include projections of international migration under several scenarios.
The latest iteration of this research informs the revised National Planning Framework and related work in my Department.
