Written Answers Nos. 249-258
249. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider removing the working family payment from consideration on social housing income thresholds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56099/25]
View answer250. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if local authorities will be permitted to exercise limited discretion when the income threshold for social housing is marginally exceeded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56101/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 249 and 250 together.
I refer to my reply to Question No. 639 of 14 October 2025 which sets out the position in the matter.
251. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if funding announced in Budget 2026 for second-hand acquisitions includes the tenant-in-situ scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56107/25]
View answerFunding for the Second Hand Acquisitions Programme will be agreed later this year, with individual local authority allocations notified to local authorities as soon possible thereafter.
That said, I expect the 2026 programme to maintain support for tenant in situ acquisitions as a last resort policy tool available to local authorities to prevent social housing supported households in the private rental sector from becoming homeless.
Indeed, local authorities have recently been authorised to enter into commitments for 2026 to a value of up to 30% of their original 2025 acquisitions budget. This allows them commit, pending an agreed programme budget for next year, some €95 million extra in 2025 for acquisitions that will complete and draw down in 2026. This includes acquisitions to support exits from homelessness, tenancy sustainment via tenant in situ, and other priority cohorts such older persons, persons with disabilities, care leavers, etc. This flexibility 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.
252. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing assistance payment applications submitted in County Kildare from 2022 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56266/25]
View answer253. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of landlords currently accepting housing assistance payment in County Kildare from 2022 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56267/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 252 and 253 together.
The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a flexible and immediate housing support that is available to all eligible households throughout the State. Under HAP, a tenant sources their own accommodation in the private rented market. At the end of Q1 2025, almost 127,000 HAP tenancies had been set-up since the scheme commenced, of which there were 52,657 households actively in receipt of HAP support.
The table below provides a breakdown of the total number of active HAP tenancies in Kildare County Council from 2022 to end Q1 2025, in addition to the number of new HAP tenancies set up in each year.
|
- |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
Q1 2025 |
|
Active HAP Tenancies |
2,032 |
1,799 |
1,732 |
1,757 |
|
HAP Tenancies Set up |
324 |
429 |
413 |
112 |
My Department does not hold data on the number of landlords currently accepting HAP in Kildare. A landlord or an agent acting on behalf of a landlord is not legally obliged to enter into a tenancy agreement specifically with a HAP recipient. However, on 1 January 2016, the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 introduced “housing assistance” as a new discriminatory ground. This means that discrimination in the provision of accommodation or related service and amenities against people in receipt of rent supplement, HAP or other social welfare payments is prohibited. Further information is available at www.ihrec.ie/your-rights/housing/housing-assistance-payment/.
If a person feels that they have been discriminated against by a landlord or their agent, they can make a complaint under the Equal Status Acts to the Workplace Relations Commission; further information is available on the Commission's website, www.workplacerelations.ie/en/.
254. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on if the office of the planning regulator is holding back housing supply in certain local authorities; if so, to detail which local authorities; when, and the way in which, the office of the planning regulators is impacting their housing supply in this way. [56322/25]
View answerSince its establishment in 2019, the OPR has played an important role in restoring and upholding confidence in the planning system in Ireland by fulfilling the core statutory functions of the Office. The OPR has set a high standard for transparency, accountability, and independence in how planning decisions are made in respect of development plans, work which not only serves the public interest, but also gives reassurance to communities, local authorities, and developers alike that the system is being regulated with fairness and consistency.
I am committed to supporting the OPR in fulfilling its statutory functions. The independence of the Office as the regulator of planning in Ireland is fundamental, and I will continue to safeguard it.
255. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the abridged estimates volume for Budget 2026 for Vote 34 including the provisional sub head and programme level allocations. [56323/25]
View answerThe documents referred to in the question are prepared and published by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.
It should be noted that the Abridged Estimates for Public Services (AEV) are published as part of the Budget 2026 Expenditure Report with allocations at programme level. As such the subhead allocations are draft only and may be subject to change.
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.
256. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has undertaken any impact assessment, economic analysis, or consultation with stakeholders regarding the proposed prohibition of no-fault evictions for landlords with more than three tenancies, due to come into effect on 1 March 2026; the projected number of private landlords expected to exit the market as a result of this measure; the estimated likely effect on the supply and capital value of private rental housing; if any legal advice has been obtained as to the potential constitutional implications of restricting an owner’s right to sell with vacant possession; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56416/25]
View answerOn 10 June 2025, the Government approved policy measures including modifications to rent controls to come into effect on 1 March 2026 in order to boost investment in the supply of homes available for rent and keep existing landlords in the market. The changes agreed 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 across the country, taking account of stakeholder engagement.
The modifications to rent controls have been informed by the findings of the Housing Agency review of Rent Pressure Zones and Potential Policy Options. This review was undertaken to assess the operation of Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) since their introduction and consider their impact on the market and relevant stakeholders, including the retention of landlords and new investment. It was also to consider whether RPZs should continue without change or be removed, modified or replaced. The review involved engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders, including investors, representatives of landlord and tenant advocacy groups, academics and the RTB. The review recommended a modification of rent controls. It also recommended allowing landlords to reset rents to market levels between tenancies and providing for stronger tenant protections to guard against economic evictions.
My Department consulted extensively with the Office on the Attorney General in relation to the proposed amendments to the Residential Tenancies Acts. On 14 October 2025, Government approved the General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025. This legislation will now be subject to priority drafting by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, and the General Scheme will be forwarded to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for pre-legislative scrutiny.
A detailed communications campaign will be undertaken by my Department, in conjunction with the RTB, between the publication of the Bill and the introduction of the new legislative measures from 1 March 2026.
257. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the EU funding opportunities that will be open for application for schemes under his Department and at agencies under his aegis in the next six months and in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56453/25]
View answerThe information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.
258. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 283 of 25 September 2025, in which he stated that the Housing Agency has confirmed to his Department that the presence of pyrrhotite is taken into consideration in their analysis, if he will confirm whether transitional applicants, those who applied under the original defective concrete blocks grant scheme S.I. No. 25 of 2020 and who were subsequently transferred to the enhanced grant scheme (details supplied), have had the presence of pyrrhotite in the blocks of their homes properly considered during their assessments. [56483/25]
View answerThe Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the current grant scheme and the related Regulations were adopted on 29 June 2023.
The 2022 Act sets out the role of the Housing Agency which acts as agent on behalf of the local authorities under the terms of the Scheme.
The Housing Agency has confirmed to my Department that for new applications in which a Building Condition Assessment report was referred by the local authority, the Housing Agency request the laboratories to provide an analysis on all sulphides contained within the selected concrete block samples, including pyrrhotite and pyrite. For transitional arrangements between the previous scheme and current scheme, applications in which an IS 465 engineers report was referred by the local authority, the Housing Agency takes into consideration pyrrhotite and pyrite, where identified, together with all other aspects of IS 465.
