James Browne
Wexford · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“I cannot accept amendments Nos. 10 and 11. The interpretation of "lawfully resident" and "habitually resident" is construed in accordance with section 20A, which sets out the new residency requirements for social housing applicants.”
“The safety net provision is to be provided by the local authority on a night-to-night basis, and this is to allow local authorities to reassess the circumstances each day to determine whether the safety net should still be provided.”
“I cannot accept amendment No. 21. This amendment proposes the introduction of a social housing passport allowing households to transfer between local authority areas while retaining their original waiting list or transfer list position. The amendment as it stands is well-intentioned.”
“No one factor is intended to be decisive and it is not necessary for a person to score strongly on all five factors outlined in section 20A(7) in order to get a positive decision. However, the local authority decision-maker must be confident that there is strong evidence that it is the applicant's main centre of interest.”
“In relation to Senator McCarthy’s amendment, while it was a very well intentioned and constructed amendment, it has been disallowed. It was not my decision on those matters. I am satisfied the safeguards and safety net are there for those who are not entitled by way of legal or habitual residence.”
“In practical terms, if an Irish citizen has severed ties abroad and has decided to return home, the process of establishing habitual residency could be determined from day one.”
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“I very much welcome the opportunity to speak to the Seanad on the response to Storm Éowyn. It allows me to bring some clarity to the co-ordinated response led by my Department. First, I will clarify the role of my Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which is the lead Government Department for the response to severe weather events. This means it is responsible for the co-ordination of the response to events such as Storm Éowyn across the whole of government, local authorities, agencies, utilities and the voluntary sector. The co-ordinating role is essential to ensure full situational awareness, effective communication, cross-sectoral collaboration and prioritisation of resources as the response to these events transitions from the response phase to recovery phase.”
“Housing needs are varied and we have a multifaceted response to them. We have seen much progress in the delivery of homes; however, we know we need to do much more and we are committed to doing what is needed.”
“This would not have happened in the absence of non-bank funding. Overall, it is clear that in order to continue to make progress we need investment from multiple sources, both private and public. Our mix of policies must reflect that. The State is doing more than it ever has before. An unprecedented level of public resources is being directed at housing. That is the right thing to do and the Government will continue to do it. However, we cannot do it alone. We need more housing of every type – social, affordable and private. This can be achieved only through the public and private sectors working together and their respective strengths. The Government is firmly focused on the delivery of more homes for families, individuals, those who need support from the State, private owners, renters and right-sizers.”
“Capital from well-established investors, including pension and insurance funds, is a normal facet of housing systems in many of our European neighbours and beyond. External sources of finance will be needed to bridge the gap between the overall funding requirements to build 50,000 homes each year and that provided via direct Exchequer funding, State borrowing, HBFI and the domestic banking sector. Apartment development in particular is capital-intensive. The forward investment provided by institutional finance has been a key enabler by unlocking the development capital required, enabling construction to proceed and to deliver much-needed supply. Many of these homes would not be available today without that investment. Since 2019, apartments as a proportion of overall completions have risen from 16% to 33%.”
“Through the updated modelling undertaken by the Department of Finance, it is estimated that €20 billion of development funding per annum, comprising both debt and equity, will be required to develop the 50,000 homes per year that we need. While a portion of this will come from our domestic banks, the majority of private development finance will be acquired from international sources. Institutional investment, such as investment by Irish and European pension funds, is critically important in generating the additional supply of homes we need. Without this investment, activity in the housing market would be much reduced and would increase the significant pressure already facing renters and prospective homeowners.”
“In that respect, simplifications are not constructive. They do not build homes and they set public opinion against channels that do. We must be clear on our purpose in attracting private capital; it is to increase the supply of housing. While we hear a lot of high-level remarks in here and a lot of ideology, we do not hear how we will increase that supply of housing and how we will get to those houses that we need delivered. While Housing for All is backed by unprecedented State investment of more than €6 billion per annum, developing homes will require a significant amount of investment capital. The Government cannot deliver on this programme alone.”
“I thank everybody who has contributed to this very important debate. As my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, stated at the outset, this Government is absolutely committed to building more homes in Ireland. We are working continuously to meet the challenge to design and implement policies that shift the dial on delivery and to review and improve our approach where we identify obstacles to meet our targets. In that regard, we want to work collectively with Deputies throughout the House to bring forward solutions to the challenges that we face. This requires addressing the many challenges around housing delivery to achieve that shared goal rather than creating further obstacles or difficulties. Addressing Ireland's housing shortage requires a substantial increase in the supply of new homes for purchase and rent.”
“I thank the Social Democrats for tabling the motion. We all have a shared ambition of solving the housing crisis. We may come at it from different angles but keeping the debate going is very important. I will address the comment Deputy Bacik made yesterday on me not being present for Private Members' business last week. The Cabinet was sitting at the time. That is where I was, but two Ministers of State for housing were present. In relation to-----”
“My Department will commission a detailed review of the response to Storm Éowyn. This will be submitted to the Government task force on emergency planning, highlighting key findings and making recommendations which will be agreed and assigned to all relevant sectors for rapid implementation. There will be a key focus on planning, business continuity management and further strengthening the resilience of our infrastructure and essential services.”
“These organisations are core partners in the emergency management sphere and attend the National Emergency Co-ordination Group along with their respective parent Departments, where their assessment of the threat as well as their situation reports on damage and restoration efforts are key points of information. Once the threat to life had passed from Storm Éowyn, all efforts of the NECG were focused on supporting ESB Networks and Uisce Éireann to restore power and water supplies. There will be a lot to learn once we are all fully out of the response stage in respect of Storm Éowyn. The strategic emergency management framework overseen by the office of emergency planning in the Department of Defence will be reviewed through the Government task force on emergency planning.”
“The key priorities of the NECG remained, first, the restoration of power, water, telecommunications and other services to homes, farms and businesses and, second, the provision of humanitarian assistance to those worst affected by Storm Éowyn. Interdepartmental co-ordination, led by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, continues in respect of the full restoration of telecommunications and connectivity. The task of maintaining power supply and water and telecommunications services - what is termed critical infrastructure on which society depends - falls to the critical infrastructure operators.”
“The NECG had one sub-group dedicated to preparatory decisions in the education and transport sectors and a further three sub-groups dedicated to co-ordinating the recovery phase. These were the NECG sub-group on power infrastructure, the NECG sub-group on communications infrastructure and the NECG sub-group on humanitarian assistance. Working together, all members of the NECG were in a position to make key decisions and co-ordinate efforts to facilitate the recovery. The NECG and its relevant sub-groups met every day from the date of its establishment on 22 January until Monday, 10 February with Government information systems issuing NECG press releases every day containing important public information.”
“Furthermore, as part of the preparatory process in advance of Storm Éowyn, the NECG, the established Government platform for responding to national emergencies under the strategic emergency management framework, was also activated on the 22 January, and in this case it was chaired by my Department. It is mandatory that all Departments and key national agencies attend the NECG. NECG activation is notified through the office of emergency planning in the Department of Defence. The NECG oversaw the intensive work across government to restore power, water, telecommunications and other services to homes, farms and businesses. A key focus was to find ways to support power restoration works that would make the most impact in restoring water, communications and other essential services.”
“It facilitates co-ordinated leadership in the face of extreme and difficult conditions; rapid identification of key issues and the support necessary to ensure an effective response; and whole-of-government co-ordination supporting all local authorities which lead the response to severe weather events. Officials from the national directorate for fire and emergency management in my Department identified the potential for severe and destructive weather in advance of the naming of Storm Éowyn. They made advance contact with local authorities - the lead agencies in respect of severe weather - the ESB, EirGrid and Uisce Éireann on 22 January, giving them the opportunity to stand up their crisis management teams, activate response plans and have crews and equipment ready for immediate deployment as soon as it was safe.”
“Without you, it could not have been done. An emergency management system developed in accordance with the principles of good international emergency management practice which successfully co-ordinates a whole-of-government approach at both national and local levels has been developed and utilised in Ireland in the past decade. This emergency management system has been used to successfully manage several extreme weather events, including Storm Ophelia on 16 October 2017 and snow and Storm Emma between 27 February and 4 March 2018, in line with the Strategic Emergency Management National Structures and Framework published by the office of emergency planning in the Department of Defence in 2017.”
“The programme for Government includes a commitment to develop an extreme weather event assistance scheme for homes, community organisations, farmers and businesses. This will be brought forward as a matter of priority. Local authorities in affected areas continue to lead and co-ordinate a local level response to the needs of people who have been significantly affected by the storm. It has been claimed that there was a lack of a co-ordinated plan for dealing with Storm Éowyn. I put on record that that was not the case. I convey my thanks and those of the Government to everyone who was involved in the preparation for, response to and recovery from Storm Éowyn. We are incredibly grateful for your dedication and skills and your willingness to leave your families and homes to work to restore power to the families and homes of others.”
“Helplines were established for those in need of assistance which provided advice and direction to available supports, including the Department of Social Protection’s humanitarian assistance scheme. Support and equipment were provided to those most in need, where possible. Local authorities shared available resources and a central national database was established to support this work. Local authorities ensured that all appropriate local and national organisations were co-ordinated in responding to individual and community needs and, most important, the needs of the most vulnerable were prioritised. The Government continues to support those severely affected, including individuals, families, communities, businesses and sports clubs through the Department of Social Protection’s humanitarian assistance scheme.”
“I also take this opportunity to convey my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Kacper Dudek on their tragic loss. As soon as it was possible to do so, local authorities working with the support of the other members of the National Emergency Co-ordination Group, NECG, sub-group on humanitarian assistance, led and co-ordinated a local level response to the needs of people who had been significantly affected by the storm. Emergency response hubs were activated to assist people with basic needs such as water, hot food, phone charging, broadband access and shower facilities, with approximately 380 hubs established at the peak of the response.”
“It is recognised that Ireland experienced one of the most dangerous and destructive storms in living memory on Friday, 24 January 2025 when Storm Éowyn made landfall. Unprecedented damage was done by the storm, leaving approximately 768,000 homes, farms and businesses without power, with the knock-on impacts of 84,000 customers without access to water, a further 200,000 supplies at risk, a severely impacted transport system and the loss of connectivity and broadband for more than 1 million customers. The Government recognises the hardship and distress that has been experienced by many families and the disruption caused to farms, businesses, schools, families and wider society as a result of the impacts of Storm Éowyn.”
“First, I will clarify the role the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which is the lead Department for the response to severe weather events. This means it is responsible for the co-ordination of the response to events such as Storm Éowyn across the Government, local authorities, agencies, utilities and the voluntary sector. The co-ordinating role is essential to ensure full situational awareness, effective communication, cross-sectoral collaboration and prioritisation of resources as the response transitions to the restoration phase. This co-ordinated approach to handling emergencies and their aftermath is activated frequently in response to Atlantic winter storms.”
“I move amendment No. 1: To delete all the words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "commends the rapid response by local authorities, Electricity Supply Board (ESB) Networks, Uisce Éireann, Community Welfare Officers and others, following Storm Éowyn; and this response, supported by the Defence Forces, Government agencies, Civil Defence and the Voluntary Emergency Services, working with community volunteers, non-governmental organisations and community organisations, is an example of the collaborative approach we have in place to ensure a rapid response during such events; acknowledges and appreciates the solidarity shown by our European Union neighbours in the activation of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and subsequent donations of generators to provide additional power and resilience to assist restoration across key sectors; extends sincere thanks to crews from Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom (UK), Austria, Finland, Germany, Scotland, France and Norway who came to the aid of our ESB crews to support the recovery effort, and to those ESB crews and skilled ESB retirees who deployed to the most impacted areas in response to the damage caused by Storm Éowyn; commends all voluntary and community initiatives supporting individuals, families, communities and businesses through this exceptional and difficult time; recognises the contribution of the media, both local and national, in providing effective safety messaging and information to the public prior to, during and after Storm Éowyn; and notes that: — Storm Éowyn was named, by the UK Met Office on Tuesday, 21st January, 2025, the fifth named storm of the 2024-2025 windstorm season; widespread Red and Orange weather warnings were issued across Ireland and the UK ahead of the rapidly strengthening storm; Ireland experienced gale/storm force winds, including severe damaging and destructive gusts of over 183 kilometres per hour, a record for Ireland; and this unprecedented storm caused extensive damage and destruction to critical infrastructure, communications and broadband infrastructure; — an Emergency Management system, developed in accordance with the principles of good international Emergency Management practice, and which successfully co-ordinates a 'whole of Government' approach at both national and local level, has been developed and utilised in Ireland over the past decade; — this Emergency Management system has been used successfully to manage several extreme weather events, including Ophelia on 16th October, 2017 and Snow/Storm Emma from 27th February to 4th March, 2018, in line with the Strategic Emergency Management Framework (2017) published by the Office of Emergency Planning in the Department of Defence and has fostered: — co-ordinated leadership in the face of extreme and difficult conditions; — rapid identification of key issues and the support necessary to ensure an effective response; and — whole of Government co-ordination supporting all local authorities who lead in the response to severe weather events; — the National Emergency Co-ordination Group was in session daily from when it was first convened on Wednesday, 22nd January, 2025 until Monday, 10th February, 2025, with a dedicated team from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Lead Government Department responsible for co-ordinating the response to severe weather events across the whole of Government, local authorities, agencies, utilities and the voluntary sector; the co-ordinating role is essential to ensure full situational awareness, effective communication, cross sectoral collaboration and prioritisation of resources as the response transitions to the restoration phase; and this co-ordinated approach to handling emergencies and their aftermath is activated frequently in response to Atlantic winter storms; — in accordance with the established interdepartmental arrangements under the Strategic Emergency Management Framework, the final phase of recovery and restoration is being led by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications; and a cross-departmental recovery group has been established and it will continue to co-ordinate intensive efforts to restore power, telecommunications and broadband connectivity to those who continue to experience outages; — specific energy-related actions have been prioritised to be delivered once the initial storm response has been completed: — an enhanced Winter 2025 Grid Resilience Plan; — a full review by ESB Networks and the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) of the planned grid enhancement and priorities within the next five-year price review process; and — a final decision on the CRU's Strategic Workforce Plan 2025-2027 to be taken by end of the first quarter of 2025; — the Government approved €4 billion investment in the onshore electricity grid for 2021-2025; a baseline investment of €10.1 billion for 2026-2030 has been sought by ESB Networks in the onshore grid, with scope to rise to €13.4 billion; a final decision on this is expected from the CRU in the third quarter of 2025; and this includes increased spending on asset management, underground cables and replacement of aging overhead lines and poles and ESB Networks plans to massively scale up its timber-cutting programme; — Uisce Éireann is committed to protecting and future-proofing Ireland's water infrastructure; the impact of incidents such as Storm Éowyn are actively reviewed and lessons taken from them to ensure they can increase resilience; and as part of this review, Uisce Éireann will examine requirements for additional generators and alternative power solutions (solar, turbines and battery storage) and will continue to work with all the relevant Government Departments and State agencies to ensure enhanced levels of readiness for extreme weather events in future; — the Government continues to support those individuals and families severely impacted, including through the Department of Social Protection's Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, and the Programme for Government 2025 - Securing Ireland's Future includes a commitment to develop an Extreme Weather Event Assistance Scheme for homes and community organisations, farmers and businesses which will be brought forward as a matter of priority; — it is recognised that the challenges, the scale and severity of Storm Éowyn were unprecedented, with sustained hurricane force winds recorded along the western seaboard; and the Government's response was timely, given the circumstances, and every effort was made to minimise disruption to all those affected to the greatest degree possible; and — as is the case with all severe storms, following the conclusion of the response, all aspects of the State's response will be fully reviewed, with a view to identifying the key lessons across all sectors and the implementation of recommendations; and this will include a continuing focus on planning for such events, business continuity management and building resilience and readiness across all sectors." I welcome the Private Members' motion on the response to Storm Éowyn tabled by Sinn Féin, especially as it allows me to bring some clarity to the co-ordinated response led by my Department.”
“I assure the Deputy that the URDF, like the RRDF, is crucial to towns and villages across the country. The programme for Government provides for an expanded URDF programme under what would be known as the towns and cities infrastructure investment fund. The programme is very important and will be launched as soon as we can get it ready.”
“These conversations are not for today while crews remain out on the ground repairing infrastructure. Once the response to this event has concluded, however, a systematic review of the co-ordinated responses to Storm Éowyn will be conducted and submitted to the Government task force on emergency planning.”
“There is an understandable frustration at the pace of full service restoration. I reassure all of those affected that the local authority-led co-ordination groups will continue to ensure practical supports are available to communities experiencing a prolonged loss of services through the established community hubs. There are currently 326 hubs in operation. The exceptional scale of the damage caused by Storm Éowyn, which led to widespread destruction across all essential services, bringing extreme hardship to households throughout the country, is a warning of how damaging severe weather events are becoming, with such events likely to increase in frequency and in intensity. There is now a strong focus on resilience and how we might have approached this event differently.”
“For this reason, two additional NECG subgroups were established to co-ordinate recovery efforts, one covering communications infrastructure and one covering humanitarian assistance. With regard to power restoration, we are now in the “long tail” phase and dealing with the most difficult and resource-heavy reconnections, with a complete infrastructure rebuild necessary in some locations where the local transmission network has been completely destroyed. Every effort continues to be made. Uisce Éireann reported a peak of 200,000 without water. There are currently fewer than 300 premises remaining without water supply. The focus of the NECG will remain on the full restoration of power, water and telecommunications infrastructure until all services have resumed normal operations.”
“There is no mechanism for the EU to demand support from other EU countries for any country. Eighteen generators of varying sizes were offered to Ireland by Denmark and Luxembourg and also from a rescEU stockpile based in Poland. These generators have been made available to Uisce Éireann and telecoms providers to bolster the resilience of their infrastructure. The NECG and relevant subgroups have continued to meet daily, with Government press releases containing important public information released following each meeting. The key priorities of the NECG remain the restoration of power, water, telecommunications and other services to homes, farms and businesses, and the provision of humanitarian assistance to those worst affected by Storm Éowyn.”
“I have to make clear that it is not possible to act in a “just in case” situation. Any suggestion that generators or other supports could have been put in place before the storm hit is incorrect. It is not an EU competence so it is not possible to demand that such a thing be done. The NECG, working with the sectors affected by Storm Éowyn, prioritised impact assessment at the early stage of the recovery phase, once it was safe to deploy front-line staff. The NECG subgroup on infrastructure identified the need for large-capacity generator support, which was relayed through the common emergency communications and information system on the afternoon of Saturday, 25 January. Again, this is not an EU competence. All the EU and Commissioner Lahbib can do is take our request and pass it on to other EU countries.”
“Arrangements were put in place on Friday evening to make personnel and equipment from the Defence Forces, Coillte, the Civil Defence and the National Parks and Wildlife Service available to ESB Networks to help with power restoration. Ireland has been actively working with colleagues in the EU civil protection mechanism and requested an initial damage assessment through the Copernicus mapping satellite. When severe emergencies occur, national authorities are required by the EU to first develop an overview of the situation and make a request based on identified needs. Needs assessments are essential to ensure appropriate and detailed requests can be made for limited shared resources and ensure that the necessary logistics and transport can be actioned effectively.”
“Uisce Éireann reported that 200,000 premises were without water and it was carefully watching other supplies that could be under threat if power outages were prolonged. Crews from Uisce Éireann have been on the ground since it has been safe to do so, restoring supply and ensuring that where supply was threatened, generators were in place to provide resilience, as well as putting in place safeguarding measures with regard to wastewater treatment, working with group water scheme users to ensure safe reconnection and providing generators, where possible, to secure threatened supplies. Local authority services were stood up, with outdoor crews deployed to undertake road clearing operations as soon as it was safe to do so.”
“The emphasis was on supporting ESB Networks and ensuring local authorities and Transport Infrastructure Ireland could commence road-clearing operations rapidly. It was noted that people across all communities heard the communications from the NECG and acted on the public safety message of sheltering in place, with reports of little traffic across the road network. Storm Éowyn caused significant structural damage across the country. At its peak, ESB Networks reported that customer outages reached 768,000, which is unprecedented. ESB Networks and EirGrid immediately began using remote links to bring back trip circuits that were not damaged, and standby crews were deployed to begin damage assessment and effect repairs as soon as it was safe to do so.”
“The initial objective for the group was to ensure the safety of all communities and put in place appropriate response measures. Following the second NECG meeting at the national emergency co-ordination centre, Agriculture House, on Thursday, 23 January, a press briefing was held to further emphasise the key public safety messaging. A third NECG meeting took place at 9 a.m. on Friday, 24 January, while Storm Éowyn was crossing the country, to begin the assessment of the disruption and damage caused and to co-ordinate and prioritise the allocation of resources necessary from across Government to restore power, water, telecommunications and other services to homes, farms and businesses.”
“A crucial part of this early preparation was the advance contact with the ESB, EirGrid and Uisce Éireann from 22 January, giving these utilities the opportunity to stand up crisis management teams, put response plans in place and have personnel ready to deploy and effect repairs as soon as it was safe to do so. In advance of Storm Éowyn, the national emergency co-ordination group, NECG, the established Government platform for responding to national-level emergencies under the strategic emergency management framework, was activated. The NDFEM also activated two NECG subgroups in advance of Storm Éowyn, namely, the NECG subgroup on power infrastructure and the NECG subgroup on transport and education. Two full NECG meetings were convened in advance of Storm Éowyn on Wednesday and Thursday, 22 and 23 January.”
“We have seen local authority personnel clearing and making safe our roads, collaboratively working with the ESB, Uisce Éireann and other providers to access key infrastructure and effect repairs and reconnection, and this work continues. My Department is designated as the lead Government Department in the case of severe weather events and this means it is responsible for the co-ordination of the whole-of-government response related to weather emergencies. The crisis management team of the national directorate for fire and emergency management, NDFEM, had identified the potential severe weather in advance of the naming of Storm Éowyn and began liaising with Met Éireann on Monday, 20 January, to track its progress and prepare for the onset.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity, as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, to make this statement to the Dáil following one of the most dangerous and destructive wind storms experienced in living memory. First, I acknowledge the extreme hardship experienced by many people across the country who had to deal with power and water outages for extended periods. Unfortunately, there are still households with no power today, although I know ESB Networks is working tirelessly until every customer's supply is restored. I want to place on record my sincere appreciation to all of those who have been involved in the response and recovery efforts for more than 12 days now. This has not only been a whole-of-government response but a whole-of-society response.”