James Geoghegan
Ceist:58. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure will next meet [61554/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraCabinet Committees
Ceisteanna (58)
Freagraí scríofa
The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure works to drive infrastructure delivery, accountability and value-for-money, including the preparation and now the implementation of the revised National Development Plan.
Membership of the Cabinet Committee comprises the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment and for Transport, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, and Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport.
As set out in the Programme for Government, Government is prioritising the delivery of critical, growth enhancing infrastructure. We have a responsibility to invest in the future, and delivery of modern, sustainable infrastructure is vital for our national competitiveness, fostering regional development, delivering housing and meeting social needs.
In Budget 2026 we announced €19.1 billion in exchequer capital investment, an increase of €2 billion on 2025. This represents the highest annual spend in the history of the state. The revised National Development Plan committed over €275 billion to investment in infrastructure over the coming decade. The Cabinet Committee will oversee both the investment and the reforms required to maximise the efficiency with which it is delivered.
The last meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure took place on Monday 3 November 2025. The Committee is due to meet again in the coming weeks
Questions Nos. 59 to 65, inclusive, resubmitted.
Cabinet Committees
Ceisteanna (66)
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:66. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Housing will next meet. [61885/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Cabinet Committee on Housing works to ensure a coordinated, cross Government, approach to the implementation of Programme for Government commitments regarding housing policy.
The Programme for Government sets out our ambition to accelerate housing supply, building on progress already achieved, recognising housing as a major social and economic challenge.
Earlier this month, Government launched the new National Housing Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, which aims to speed up the delivery of new homes and tackle homelessness. The plan targets the construction of 300,000 homes, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable housing supports. Building on the progress of Housing for All, which saw 137,000 homes delivered since 2021, the new plan will enable the State, public bodies, and the private sector to further play a critical part in accelerating delivery.
The Cabinet Committee on Housing last met on Monday, 10th November, and is scheduled to meet again on Monday, 15th December
Cabinet Committees
Ceisteanna (67)
Paul Lawless
Ceist:67. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Housing will next meet. [61888/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Cabinet Committee on Housing works to ensure a coordinated, cross Government, approach to the implementation of Programme for Government commitments regarding housing policy.
The Programme for Government sets out our ambition to accelerate housing supply, building on progress already achieved, recognising housing as a major social and economic challenge.
Earlier this month, Government launched the new National Housing Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, which aims to speed up the delivery of new homes and tackle homelessness. The plan targets the construction of 300,000 homes, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable housing supports. Building on the progress of Housing for All, which saw 137,000 homes delivered since 2021, the new plan will enable the State, public bodies, and the private sector to further play a critical part in accelerating delivery.
The Cabinet Committee on Housing last met on Monday, 10th November, and is scheduled to meet again on Monday, 15th December.
Questions Nos. 68 to 86, inclusive, resubmitted.
Child Poverty
Ceisteanna (87)
Roderic O'Gorman
Ceist:87. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Taoiseach whether, in the context of the Government’s child-poverty target of reducing consistent child poverty to 3 percent or less by 2030, the statistic for “children experiencing consistent poverty” as published by the Central Statistics Office (or other measurement body) includes children who are living in emergency accommodation (including family homelessness or temporary emergency housing); if not, the number of such children; and whether there are plans to incorporate them into the measure to ensure the target covers all children in vulnerable housing situations. [61985/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) is the primary source of comparable statistics on income, poverty, and living conditions across EU Member States. The survey is conducted annually under Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which establishes the EU framework for the collection and compilation of such data. In Ireland, the EU-SILC is implemented by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The survey’s sampling frame is based on private residential households, and it collects information on individuals living in private households. The population covered therefore excludes persons residing in communal establishments, collective, institutional, or non-private accommodation.
For the purposes of EU-SILC, a “private household” is defined as a group of persons sharing the same dwelling and jointly managing household affairs, or a single person living independently in a private dwelling. Persons living in communal establishments, such as care homes, prisons, hospitals, shelters, refuges, or emergency accommodation, are therefore not part of the EU-SILC target population.
This exclusion is mainly for practical and methodological reasons: it’s very difficult to conduct detailed surveys in temporary or collective accommodation, and the same standards must apply across the EU to ensure consistency and comparability between countries.
In Ireland, the consistent poverty measure combines two pieces of information that both come from EU-SILC: first, whether a person’s equivalised disposable income is below 60 per cent of the national median, and second, whether they experience enforced deprivation of basic items. Because both of these measures are based on data from the private household sample, people who are living in emergency accommodation aren’t captured by the SILC survey. That means that children in emergency accommodation are not included in the official consistent poverty estimates.
While EU-SILC cannot provide data on children who are living in emergency accommodation, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage publishes monthly reports on homelessness, which include data on adults and dependent children residing in emergency accommodation.
Question No. 88 resubmitted.
Cabinet Committees
Ceisteanna (89)
Ivana Bacik
Ceist:89. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure will next meet. [65265/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure works to drive infrastructure delivery, accountability and value-for-money, including the preparation and now the implementation of the revised National Development Plan.
Membership of the Cabinet Committee comprises the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment and for Transport, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, and Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport.
As set out in the Programme for Government, Government is prioritising the delivery of critical, growth enhancing infrastructure. We have a responsibility to invest in the future, and delivery of modern, sustainable infrastructure is vital for our national competitiveness, fostering regional development, delivering housing and meeting social needs.
In Budget 2026 we announced €19.1 billion in exchequer capital investment, an increase of €2 billion on 2025. This represents the highest annual spend in the history of the state. The revised National Development Plan committed over €275 billion to investment in infrastructure over the coming decade. The Cabinet Committee will oversee both the investment and the reforms required to maximise the efficiency with which it is delivered.
The last meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure took place on Monday 3 November 2025. The Committee is due to meet again in the coming weeks