Written Answers Nos. 504-523
504. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the proposed arrangements for Uisce Éireann to take in charge privately developed wastewater treatment systems will be included in either an oversight agreement/performance delivery agreement or shareholders letter of expectation with its parent Department. [65133/25]
View answerI have recently outlined new arrangements to allow privately developed wastewater treatment systems to be constructed to Uisce Éireann standards and subsequently taken into public ownership and operation.
These arrangements are intended to support housing delivery in areas where wastewater capacity has constrained development, while ensuring that environmental and regulatory standards are protected.
In this context, I have written to both Uisce Éireann and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) setting out the arrangements and the requirements that must apply. Any privately delivered infrastructure must meet Uisce Éireann’s design, construction and commissioning standards, and must comply with EPA regulatory obligations. It also makes clear that Uisce Éireann will assume ownership and operational responsibility for these assets.
With regard to governance, these arrangements will be incorporated into the existing oversight framework for Uisce Éireann.
505. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications, and the number of approvals, for the local authority purchase and renovate loan applications, by county, by year to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65135/25]
View answerApplications for a Local Authority Purchase and Renovation (LAPR) Loan are made through individual local authorities and the final decision on loan approval is a matter for the relevant local authority and its Credit Committee on a case-by-case basis.
Decisions on all housing loan applications must be made in accordance with Regulations establishing the scheme and the Credit Policy that underpins the scheme, in order to ensure a prudent and consistent approach in the best interests of both borrowers and the lenders, the local authorities.
Information on the number of persons making applications for a LAPR loan to local authorities is not held by my Department. My Department publishes information on the number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns for both the Local Authority Home Loan and the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan. Local authority approval means that an official letter of offer has been sent to a borrower (and therefore relates to a specific property and loan amount). Information on the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan is published at national level only. This is done to ensure that no individual is identifiable from the data provided, following principles laid out in both the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act of 2018
Information on drawdowns, approvals, average drawdowns, and average approvals for Local Authority Home Loans and Local Authority Purchase and Renovation loans are available on my Department’s website at the following link:
https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/42d2f-local-authority-loan-activity/#local-authority-loans-approvedpaid
506. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of new cost rental and affordable housing units currently planned, funded and expected to commence construction before the end of 2025 in Longford and Westmeath. [65192/25]
View answerGovernment is fully committed to delivering housing at scale, and continuing to accelerate housing supply across all tenures. Affordability and the chance to own a home is at the heart of Government’s housing policy, as embodied within the new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025 – 2030.
In recent years, Government has introduced several schemes to help people to buy or rent homes, under Housing for All. Since 2021, close to 16,900 supports nationwide have been provided via these measures. Under Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025 – 2030, these supports will be retained, streamlined and expanded to form a Starter Homes Programme to ensure that first time buyers and renters in need of support, are supported by Government.
Westmeath County Council has funding approval in place for four schemes to deliver over 70 affordable purchase homes, with the support of the Affordable Housing Fund, with 53 already delivered to end Q2 2025.
In addition, 112 Approved Housing Body Cost Rental homes have been approved for delivery under the Cost Rental Equity Loan scheme in Westmeath. 67 cost rental homes have been delivered to date and another 45 cost rental homes are due to be delivered by year end.
Longford has seen some welcome delivery of affordable housing with 35 households availing of affordable supports since 2023, through a mix of the First Home Scheme, the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant and the Cost Rental Tenant in Situ scheme.
I understand that Longford County Council is currently developing a proposal relating to the delivery of affordable purchase homes. The Affordable Housing Fund is available to all local authorities to assist towards the cost of developing affordable housing, at locations where significant affordability needs have been identified.
Building on this progress, and utilising the measures outlined in Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025 – 2030, my Department will continue to engage with all delivery partners to further the development of the affordable housing delivery pipeline for 2025 and beyond in the counties of Longford and Westmeath.
507. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will direct the Land Development Agency to provide an update in respect of their interest or engagement with the HSE concerning the sale of a property (details supplied); and its potential use as LDA housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65195/25]
View answerGovernment is strongly committed to the use of vacant or underutilised state land for housing, having agreed the transfer to date of 37 sites to the Land Development Agency (LDA) to develop social and affordable housing.
Policies and requirements relating to the management and disposal of State Property assets which are surplus to requirements have been put in place by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform, and Digitalisation. All State bodies who require land, and have an interest in their acquisition, review the State Property register to determine if property is available that is suitable for their needs.
Furthermore, following Housing for All, all Government Departments agreed to examine existing portfolios of properties to determine their suitability for residential housing and the Local Government Management Agency conducted an in-depth review of sites identified. Baggot Street hospital was placed by the HSE on the State Property Register with an indication that it was available.
On foot of this, the Adaptive Reuse Division of Dublin City Council conducted a site investigation, and preliminary costings found that the building was not habitable and the work required to bring it into a habitable condition would require substantial time and money.
Separately, the Land Development Agency (LDA) was recently offered the building/site for sale in line with the statutory requirement under Section 53 of the LDA Act ("the Act"), which is to ensure that any relevant public land being disposed of is assessed to see if it is fit for use for the purposes of the Act, primarily the provision of affordable and social housing.
The LDA has declined to acquire it, noting that the property will still be subject to the affordable housing requirements under Part 9 of the Act if it is later developed for housing i.e. 100% of any housing developed must be for social and affordable housing purposes.
In general, the adaptive reuse of historic hospital buildings, often with preservation orders in place, has proved unviable to date given the high costs of refurbishment and reconfiguration that would be required. It is important to note that the level of funding that would be required to make the buildings useable could be better deployed to make more housing or accommodation beds available more quickly.
508. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the proposed acquisition of 17 housing units in Milford, County Donegal, currently being progressed by an organisation (details supplied) under the CALF scheme; the reasons for the apparent delay in Donegal County Council completing the required local authority section of the CALF application; whether his Department has received engagement from the council on this matter; the steps being taken to resolve the situation to ensure these urgently needed homes will be delivered for local social housing applicants; if these properties have been tested for the presence of deleterious materials; if any such testing has been requested or received by his Department or the local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65203/25]
View answer509. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason his Department has not sanctioned the purchase of 17 homes in Milford, County Donegal by an approved housing body to house families on the local social housing list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65206/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 508 and 509 together.
My Department operates a number of funding programmes that assist local authorities to work in partnership with Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to construct and purchase homes and make them available for social housing. One such programme that local authorities and AHBs progress Social Housing projects through is the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF). CALF funding is capital support provided to AHBs by local authorities to facilitate the funding of construction, acquisition or refurbishment of new social housing units. The local authority issues the CALF monies to the AHB and the local authority, in turn, recoups same from the Department.
All funding provided to AHBs to support social housing is made available by my Department through Local Authorities. Indeed, Local Authorities, as the statutory housing authorities, are the decision makers in relation to the suitability of a proposed social housing project. For example, local authorities are required to ensure that any project appropriately reflects the housing need in that particular area and that there is sufficient need in the area to support the units over time; provide a level of assurance around the costs associated with projects; the properties comply with relevant standards and regulatory requirements; and the objectives of creating and maintaining sustainable communities are being met.
It is a matter for Donegal County Council to determine the most appropriate response to the need for social housing supports and to progress the purchase of any second hand acquisitions or new turnkey developments in line with parameters set out by my Department.
In relation to the specific housing development in Milford, Co. Donegal, mentioned in your correspondence, I can confirm that the Local Authority had previously received Department funding support following a Turnkey procurement process run by Donegal County Council in 2018. An uplift to the original tender was sought post-covid and the Council issued a revised offer in March 2023 to reflect an eligible cost increase. The Local Authority informed the Department that the developer withdrew from the process at that stage.
My Department subsequently received a CALF application for the 17 homes in July 2025 from Cooperative Housing Ireland (CHI). After detailed consideration of all the parameters (including the previous funding approval, the increased costs now sought from the exchequer, the previous occupation of the units and the length of time since completion) it was communicated to the relevant AHB that this project would not be eligible for CALF funding.
510. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures his Department is taking to address delays in the planning system that are slowing down the delivery of housing in Cork north-west; if he will provide additional resources or supports to Cork County Council to speed up the progression of both social and private housing projects in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65222/25]
View answerThe Planning and Development Act 2024 (Act of 2024) was enacted in October 2024 and is in the process of being commenced. The Act of 2024 introduces a range of measures to streamline the planning process.
The Act of 2024 introduces statutory time periods for decision making for An Coimisiún Pleanála (An Coimisiún) for the first time. The headline time periods for An Coimisiún will range from 18 weeks for appeals of decisions of planning authorities to 48 weeks for larger-scale Strategic Infrastructure Developments. The varying timelines reflect the differing complexities of applications dealt with by An Coimisiún.
The Act of 2024 also makes important reforms in relation to Judicial Review (JR). It:
• removes the requirement to apply for leave to apply for JR proceedings which reduces time and removes unnecessary additional legal costs to all parties.
• requires that an application for JR may only be made on the grounds of challenge raised by the applicant in the statement of grounds filed with their application and sets out limited criteria by which the Court may allow subsequent amendments to that statement of grounds.
• provides that an applicant for JR will not be permitted to plead a ground in JR proceedings unless they have a sufficient interest in the matter to which the ground relates.
The Act of 2024 introduces a new procedure to deal with “spurious” planning submissions and appeals, set out at Section 588. Submissions on planning applications, appeals of applications and judicial reviews must be accompanied by a statutory declaration stating that the submission or appeal is not being done for the purposes of delaying a development or for receiving a payment. A declaration must also be made when withdrawing a submission, appeal or a judicial review. Penalties are also introduced in respect of anyone making a false declaration.
I am satisfied that the new statutory time periods for An Coimisiún, along with the JR reforms and mandatory declaration procedures set out at section 588 of the Act of 2024 will contribute significantly to the operation of the planning process.
My Department is in the process of commencing of the Act of 2024 on a phased basis to facilitate the transition to the new legislation across the planning system, taking into account the need to liaise with local authorities, planning bodies and other stakeholders. It should be noted that the existing provisions in the Act of 2000 will remain in place until repealed and the relevant provisions in the Act of 2024 are commenced. A detailed implementation plan is available at www.gov.ie/planning.
My Department is currently working on a number of measures to increase staffing levels in the local government planning sector. In this regard, my Department is collaborating with the Local Government Management Agency on the delivery of a programme of supports to planning authorities. These supports include the provision of staffing resources and expertise to enable planning authorities to perform their functions efficiently and effectively.
In October 2023, my Department conveyed approval to the filling of an initial 100 posts, subsequently increased to 101 posts, in the local authority planning sector under the first tranche of a programme of supports for planning resources. A further approval issued in January 2025 for 56 graduate planner posts and 56 staff officer posts to support the Planning function within local authorities.
To date, under these supports, the following additional planning staff were approved for Cork City Council and Cork County Council:
Cork City Council
Phase 1: 4 Staff
Phase 2a: 2 Graduate Planners
Phase 2b: 2 Staff Officers
Cork County Council
Phase 1: 5 Staff
Phase 2a: 3 Graduate Planners
Phase 2b: 3 Staff Officers
Consideration is currently being given to a business case received by the LGMA for a phase 3 of supports for further planning positions within the local government sector which will include a summer internship programme in 2026. Discussions are ongoing in this regard.
On 15 October 2024, my Department published a Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources to respond to capacity challenges in the planning sector. This Action Plan provides a detailed roadmap to increase the pool of planning and related expertise needed to ensure a planning system fit for future needs. It sets out 14 high-level actions that provide a coordinated pathway to ensure a sustainable pipeline of planning and related expertise into the future, addressing the areas of education, recruitment and retention, as well as measures to encourage greater innovation and efficiency.
Funding was secured in Budget 2025 to support delivery of the Action Plan and a Steering Group was established to coordinate and oversee the development of this Action Plan. This group remains in place to oversee the implementation and ongoing review of the Action Plan. Five Working Groups, the members of which are key stakeholders, have been established to progress grouped actions in the areas of education, national recruitment, international recruitment, system reform and innovation and efficiency. All of these working groups have met a number of times and the work of the groups is progressing well.
A copy of the Action Plan can be accessed on my Department’s website at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/51194-ministerial-action-plan-on-planning-resources-october-2024/
I have also established a Housing Activation Office in my Department. The team comprises senior and experienced staff from within my Department, in addition to senior specialists seconded from Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks, the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the local government sector. The Office is actively engaged in identifying barriers to housing delivery and is coordinating with local authorities and infrastructure agencies to address these barriers.
In the coming months I will be bringing forward a new Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund, with multiyear funding being made available to support direct investment in critical housing infrastructure where it can be accelerated and delivered in the short term. This new fund will operate in addition to existing investment programmes such as the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund and the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, which will continue to play a key role alongside the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund.
This joined-up approach will help accelerate housing delivery by unblocking infrastructure constraints and ensuring that investment is targeted to where it can have the greatest impact.
In addition, Delivering Homes, Building Communities commits to supporting local authorities by financially supporting fully resourced and ring fenced housing delivery teams in each authority focused exclusively on new build social and affordable housing projects. This builds on the commitment in Housing for All to strengthen the capacity of local authorities to initiate, design, plan, develop and manage housing projects.
Following extensive work undertaken to identify the additional capital staff resources required by local authorities to deliver the social housing targets set out in Housing for All, funding was approved for 250 technical and administrative housing posts in local authorities nationally to support social housing delivery. Of these posts, Cork City Council received funding approval for eleven and Cork County Council received funding approval for nine.
My Department has worked with the Housing Delivery Coordination Office and the County and City Management Association to identify additional staffing resources required by local authorities to support affordable housing delivery programmes. Funding provision has been made and sanction granted for a complement of 140.5 additional specialist and administrative positions across 27 local authorities to help ramp up affordable housing delivery. These posts are solely dedicated to affordable housing delivery and equip local authorities with increased levels of in-house expertise in key areas such as design, procurement, surveying, engineering and administration. Cork City and Cork County in particular have each been granted a complement of 10 additional specialist and administrative staff positions all of which have been filled.
The Government and the Department is providing the necessary funding and supports for local authorities to address the challenges they face in delivering affordable housing at scale. Local authorities continue to work proactively, in conjunction with all delivery partners, to expand and develop affordable housing delivery programmes and to ensure an effective response to the affordable housing needs identified within their functional areas.
It should be noted that, under Section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he/she is responsible including progressing appointments that have been sanctioned by my Department as appropriate. My Department oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, including the monitoring of local government sector employment levels.
In order to support the new Housing Plan, almost €25bn in NDP funding has been allocated to Housing Capital Programmes over the lifetime of the NDP. The Social Housing programmes will deliver an average of 12,000 new build Social Homes per annum to 2031. It will include an enhanced €500m Land Acquisition Fund. This fund will be reformed, streamlined and expanded to ensure it is fit for purpose and can support the level of ambition reflected in the new projections. The Social Housing Programme will also include a second hand social housing acquisitions programme out to 2031 which will be targeted at households in the most precarious of housing situations.
In Budget 2026, the total Exchequer funding being made available for the delivery of housing programmes is €7.21bn, comprising:
o Capital Funding - €5.19bn
o Current Funding - €2.021bn
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.
511. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the supports being made available to ensure that towns and villages in Cork north-west have adequate serviced land and infrastructure required for new housing development; if his Department will work with Cork County Council to address gaps in wastewater and water capacity that are limiting housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65223/25]
View answerI have established a Housing Activation Office in my Department to coordinate and accelerate the delivery of infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development on zoned lands.
The Office is actively engaged in identifying barriers to housing delivery and is coordinating with local authorities and infrastructure agencies to address these barriers.
In the coming months I will be bringing forward a €1 billion Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund to support direct investment in housing infrastructure. This new fund will complement investment by infrastructure agencies, such as Uisce Éireann and ESB Networks, as part of a more coordinated approach.
While I cannot comment on individual sites in advance of the opening of the Housing Infrastructure Investment fund, the HAO has been working closely with Cork County Council, to identify the infrastructure projects needed to unlock key housing sites.
My Department is aware that wastewater capacity constraints are affecting housing delivery in a number of settlements across the country. Through the updated National Development Plan 2026–2030, the Government has committed an unprecedented €12.2 billion to invest in water services.
Arrangements have been put in place that enable private sector developers to establish temporary wastewater treatment infrastructure in certain circumstances where there are network constraints to facilitate the connection of a housing development to the Uisce Éireann network.
The new Government-approved developer-led wastewater framework expands on this approach and provides a route for developers to deliver wastewater treatment infrastructure in unsewered settlements, including in Cork County - subject to Uisce Éireann’s technical oversight and EPA authorisation. These assets will transfer to the ownership of Uisce Éireann on completion for their long-term operation.
Investment under the Housing Activation Office and in water services will help to unlock housing in areas where infrastructure has been a barrier to development.
512. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a list of all local authority areas currently active in the cost rental tenant-in-situ scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65249/25]
View answerThe Cost Rental Tenant In-Situ (CRTiS) scheme was introduced on 1 April 2023 for tenants in private rental homes who are not in receipt of social housing supports but are at risk of homelessness because a landlord has served a valid Notice of Termination due to an intention to sell the property. The Local Authority conducts the initial assessment for eligibility of the tenant for this scheme and refers potential cases to the Housing Agency, which is responsible for administering and managing the scheme on behalf of my Department.
My Department regularly publishes programme-level statistics on affordable housing delivery activity by Local Authorities (including the CRTiS scheme), and by delivery partners in each Local Authority area. Data for 2022 up to Q2 2025 is published on my Department’s website, at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/collections/overall-social-and-affordable-housing-provision/
513. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department, Uisce Éireann and local authorities are prepared to enter into discussions with companies with expertise in the building of modular treatment plants for water and wastewater in rural areas, and which companies are prepared to finance, build and maintain these treatment plants for a period of ten years from date of completion of construction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65255/25]
View answerThe provision of safe and reliable water and wastewater services in rural areas is a priority for Government.
I have recently outlined new arrangements to allow privately funded wastewater treatment systems to be constructed. Any such infrastructure must meet Uisce Éireann’s design, construction and commissioning standards, and must comply with EPA regulatory obligations. Uisce Éireann will take over ownership and responsibility for the operation of such assets. These arrangements are intended to support housing delivery in areas where wastewater capacity has constrained development while ensuring that environmental and regulatory standards are protected.
The potential for deployment of modular treatment plants in such circumstances is a best discussed by the promoters of such solutions and Uisce Éireann.
514. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the longest waiting time on the social housing waiting list for one, two, and three bed dwellings for local authorities nationwide, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65281/25]
View answer515. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the longest waiting time on the social housing waiting list for one, two, and three bed dwellings in the four Dublin local authorities, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65282/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 514 and 515 together.
Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area is provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA).
The most recently published summary for all counties, conducted in November 2024, is available on my Department's website, along with all summaries since 2011 at https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/62486-summary-of-social-housing-assessments/
Details on the length of time spent on the respective lists of each local authority are included in tables 2.8 and A1.8 in the report. It does not provide a breakdown of the number of years beyond the category of more than 7 years. Data regarding the number of housing applicants requesting particular sized accommodation is not held by my Department. However, tables 2.4 and A1.4 of the report provide details on household size.
The SSHA 2025 process is currently underway and I expect to publish the summary report before the end of Q1 2026.
516. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the supports which will be allocated for persons on lists for social local authority housing, whose income places them in danger of imminently disqualifying for public housing (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65517/25]
View answerThe baseline income thresholds increased by €5,000 for all local authorities with effect from 1 January 2023. The thresholds thus increased to €40,000, €35,000 and €30,000 for Bands 1, 2 and 3 respectively. These thresholds are net income thresholds, i.e. 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. The Policy provides for a range of income disregards and local authorities also 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.
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.
Affordability and the chance to own a home is at the heart of Government’s housing policy, as embodied within the new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025 – 2030. The Plan reinforces and expands the range of existing measures being implemented by Government to tackle the issues of supply and affordability, thereby supporting the increased provision of new homes to purchase and rent.
Government is investing an unprecedented level of funding to support housing supply, which will underpin, inter alia, the new Starter Homes Programme, delivering an average of 15,000 affordable housing supports annually to 2030.
In addition to a keen focus on tackling vacancy and dereliction, the plan provides for an expanded remit for the Land Development Agency, work to further extend the First Home and Help to Buy Schemes to 2030, an increase in affordable tenancies and an expanded local authority delivered starter homes for purchase programme.
With a strong focus on deliverability, the Plan will enable housing delivery partners to accelerate the supply of new starter home supports, providing thousands of individuals and families with increased access to secure and affordable housing solutions nationwide.
To note, eligibility criteria for affordable schemes differ from scheme to scheme with many not subject to any minimum income limits. Details on the schemes discussed below can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/campaigns/doors-open/.
Other measures such as the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Scheme, and the Ready to Build Scheme are also available to help make home ownership more affordable. These measures are primarily aimed at supporting affordability constrained households, first-time buyers and Fresh Start applicants. These supports are regularly reviewed by my Department. None of these additional measures have income limits.
517. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for clarity regarding the changes to rent pressure zone rules (details provided); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65539/25]
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.
For existing tenancies (i.e. those in place on 28 February 2026), landlords will continue to have the right to terminate a tenancy in line with the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2025 as they apply on 28 February 2026.
My Department consulted extensively with the Office on the Attorney General in relation to the proposed amendments to the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2025. On 14 October 2025, Government approved the General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025. This legislation is now subject to priority drafting by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage is currently conducting pre-legislative scrutiny.
A detailed communications campaign will be undertaken by my Department, in conjunction with the RTB, in advance of the introduction of the new legislative measures from 1 March 2026.
Further information is available at:
https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/collections/rental-market-reforms-information/
519. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his position regarding the prohibition of pet ownership in apartments owned by approved housing bodies which was raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65606/25]
View answerIn the case of a Cost Rental apartment owned by an Approved Housing Body, the management of the tenancy in almost all respects (apart from the setting of the rent) is governed by the general provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, which sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. It is important to note that Cost Rental housing is not a form of social housing, and in many ways the experience of renting a Cost Rental home is much closer to that of the private rental sector, except with cost-based rents and stronger security-of-tenure protections for tenants.
The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 makes no reference to animals, so it is generally “house rules” agreed between a landlord and a tenant at the start of a tenancy that might deal with keeping pets. Any relevant terms should be incorporated into the tenancy agreement.
However, there is an action in the Government's new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025–2030, to require that AHB social housing tenants are not precluded from living with domestic pets. A Working Group comprising of representatives of the Local Authority and AHB sectors, the Housing Agency, and my Department has been established to review the 2022 CCMA Code of Practice for nominations to social housing owned by AHBs. The Cost Rental team in my Department will review the outcome of this action since AHBs provide both Cost Rental homes and social housing.
520. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if fire-service capabilities have been evaluated in respect of large-scale battery-storage fires; if national guidance exists regarding the extinguishing, containment, and post-incident environmental management of such fires; and if he will provide reports commissioned by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management on this matter. [65620/25]
View answer589. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is satisfied that the Fire Service has adequate training, equipment, and response capability for large-scale BESS incidents; and if capability-gap reviews can be published. [66758/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 520 and 589 together.
My Department, through the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM), supports fire authorities by establishing fire service policy, setting national standards for fire safety and fire service provision, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects. The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Act, 1981.
The NDFEM has developed a suite of Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs) addressing many areas of fire safety. SOG 5.1 ‘Incidents Involving Electricity’ examines the hazards, risks and controls that relate to incidents that involve electricity. A SOG looking at new technologies has now been commenced following a recent meeting of the SOGs project team with the final version targeted to be released in Q3 of 2026. The core training that operational personnel receive through national courses and locally adopted SOGs underpins a risk based approach to safe working at incidents involving Electricity.
Fire Services operate an Incident Command System with risk management protocols and specialised equipment when dealing with incidents involving electricity, ensuring the safety of firefighters working in such hazardous conditions. Firefighters are highly trained in effective and safe firefighting operations.
521. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if environmental impact assessment requirements for solar farms and associated battery-storage facilities include mandatory analysis of contamination risks from fire-water run-off, air emissions, and soil or groundwater pollution; and if he will provide the relevant regulatory documents or inspectorate guidance. [65621/25]
View answerAs Minister for Housing, Local Government & Heritage, my role in relation to the planning system is, primarily, to provide a policy and legislative framework under which the planning authorities, including An Coimisiún Pleanála (the Commission) and the Office of the Planning Regulator (the OPR) perform their statutory planning functions.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive specifies projects which, by virtue of their nature, size or location are likely to have significant effects on the environment and should be subject to EIA. The Directive requires projects listed in Annex I of the Directive to be subject to mandatory EIA and provides that Member States may determine whether projects listed in Annex II of the Directive shall be subject to EIA.
Projects requiring an EIA by a planning authority or An Coimisiún Pleanála (the Commission), as appropriate, in respect of an application for planning consent are listed in Part 1 and Part 2 of Schedule 5 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (the Regulations), as amended, which transpose the list of projects in Annex I and II of the EIA Directive into planning legislation.
Neither stationary battery energy storage systems nor solar farms are listed as an EIA project in either Annex I or II of the EIA Directive.
However, it is not necessarily the case that neither type of development could never require EIA. Circumstances may arise in which such a project may be subject to a requirement for EIA if, for example, one or more aspects of the project potentially comes within the scope of any of the project classes listed in Annex I or Annex II of the Directive and consequently, Part 1 and Part 2 of Schedule 5 to the Regulations, also noting the criteria for sub-threshold development as set out in Schedule 7 of the Regulations.
It would be a matter for a Planning Authorities or An Coimisiún Pleanála to assess a planning application for a proposed stationary battery energy storage development or proposed solar farm development in accordance with the requirements of the EIA Directive and transposing legislation, and determine if an EIA is required or not.
522. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a person still paying a shared ownership loan can close off such a loan; the methods available in relation to same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65668/25]
View answer523. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of shared ownership loans still administered, by each local authority; the number of loans in negative equity, by each local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65669/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 522 and 523 together.
The "Shared Ownership Scheme" was a national scheme introduced by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in 1992. Local authorities administered the Scheme in each of their administrative areas. The Shared Ownership Scheme was discontinued in June 2011 by the then Government.
The Shared Ownership Scheme was a housing scheme which facilitated access to full home ownership in two or more stages to persons who could not afford full ownership immediately. The applicant initially acquired a share of between 40% and 75% in a dwelling and rented the remainder from the local authority with an undertaking to acquire the remaining equity within a 25/30 year period. This share is known as the Rental Equity Balance.
There were two types of shared ownership loans. "Pre-2002 Index Linked shared ownership loans" and ‘post-2002 shared ownership loans’. Loans comprised a loan portion and a rental (leased) portion – most were a 50/50 split. Monthly payments are made on the loan borrowing and also a rental amount was paid. The two schemes differed in how the rental payments are calculated and the effect they have on the underlying rental equity portion outstanding.
Under the Index Linked Shared Ownership Scheme which operated from 1999 until 2002 rent paid did not reduce the rental equity balance. Amendments, which came into effect on 1 July 2015, had the effect of reducing the monthly cost for borrowers and avoid increases in the rental equity balance.
The more recent shared ownership scheme that operated from 2003 to 2011 sought to address the issue of paying down the rental equity balance by providing a formalised mechanism for the borrower to pay off the rental equity portion over the course of the term of the loan agreement. In effect payments on the loan that exceed the interest rate charged go towards paying off the rental equity balance.
A loan under this scheme and the associated Rental Equity Balance can be redeemed directly from the Local Authority by repaying the outstanding balances as provided for in the individual Shared Ownership Lease Agreements entered into by borrowers.
