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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“To better inform the action plan, we have invited input from all stakeholders. An online consultation to inform the plan was held in January. There was also an in-person event that was attended by more than 100 stakeholders from Departments, State bodies and NGOs. The plan is being drafted. It is anticipated that it will be published by the end of quarter 2 of this year. Since October of last year, I have written to and met with chief executives of local authorities to ensure that all necessary actions are taken to make sure that families longest in emergency accommodation are provided with housing solutions. I want to see them all utilising the various options open to local authorities, including HAP, RAS and the allocation of local authority and AHB homes, to exit these families from emergency accommodation.”
“It is also important that appropriate supports are provided to households exiting emergency accommodation to mitigate their risk of re-entering homelessness. With this in mind, the framework will have regard to the reasons for presentation to homelessness. In order to drive the development of the prevention framework, a steering group comprising senior departmental officials has been established. The framework will be in place this year. We are developing a child and family homelessness action plan, bringing together key stakeholders to drive the continued focus on preventing children and families entering emergency accommodation, providing enhanced supports for children experiencing homelessness, as well as measures to accelerate exits and reduce the time spent by children and their families in homeless emergency accommodation.”
“This includes the provision of social and affordable housing, HAP and homeless HAP and our strong tenancy protection legislation. In addition, we support local authorities in providing services prevention services through significant funding each year. The level of expenditure on prevention services rose from €15.4 million in 2021 to €24.7 million in 2024, an increase of €9.3 million. It is now 7% of the total homelessness budget. In order to ensure a fully aligned all-of-government approach under the plan, we are developing a national homelessness prevention framework within which homelessness can be prevented in a structured and planned way with tailored prevention measures for each potential at-risk cohort.”
“Within this broad framework, evidence-informed local authority HDAPs provide a detailed picture of the quantum, type, size, and location of social homes to be delivered by local authorities and AHBs. Learning from the first round of these plans will help to inform and strengthen the next iteration of plans and set clear targets against which local authority and AHB delivery will be benchmarked to 2030. This will include minimum targets for quantity, type and size of social homes and, for example, identifying housing for priority groups, including disabled persons. Prevention of homelessness in the first instance is an absolute priority. In that context, there are many preventions initiatives already under way in my Department and across the Government.”
“I do not accept this as the status quo . In order to see the number of people experiencing homelessness fall, there must be an increased availability of homes for households at risk of homelessness, not only as an exit pathway but also to prevent people from needing to access emergency accommodation in the first place. I am working with each local authority to examine how the allocations of these new social homes will best address the needs of households experiencing homelessness and, in particular, families with children. Under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, each local authority will prepare a new housing delivery action plan, HDAP, reflecting local need identified, including within the housing needs and demand assessment framework.”
“It is real work that has been done by local authorities, as supported by staff and working with many charities and NGOs in the area who do incredible work to provide pathways for people to engage with services in an appropriate way for each individual case. It is extremely sensitive work. In addition to this, more than 9,000 adults were prevented from entering emergency accommodation in the same period, including through significant investment in tenant in situ acquisitions and tenancy sustainment measures. The housing plan recognises that delivery alone is not enough. Despite a significant increase in new homes being delivered and the high number of people supported to exit homelessness, the number of households, including families with children in homeless emergency accommodation, has continued to rise.”
“In addition, the regulation of short-term lets will bring back a proportion of the houses and apartments which are being used for short-term letting purposes to the traditional long-term rental market, thereby helping to ease the accommodation shortage pressures. Measures and actions already under way are having an impact and I want to see more and faster. I am determined to get this right as quickly as possible for every single person and their family in a precarious living situation or accessing homelessness supports in the State. Supported by the increased social housing delivery and supports such as HAP, more than 6,500 adults were helped to exit emergency accommodation in the last two years. This is important to recognise.”
“Previously, the Minister of State, Deputy O’Sullivan, spoke to the actions in the plan focused on increasing supply, with over €9 billion in capital funding being made available for housing in 2026 alone. In addition, we are progressing significant measures to improve both security of tenure and supply in the rental market through the new rental legislation and the regulation of short term lets. The new rental legislation has introduced significantly stronger tenant protections by massively restricting no-fault evictions for new tenancies created on or after 1 March 2026. The current provision for tenancies of unlimited duration has been strengthened by the incorporation of tenancies of minimum duration of six years.”
“To meet this commitment, Delivering Homes, Building Communities was developed as an integrated housing and homelessness plan. I was determined to ensure that how we tackle homelessness was at the heart of the work of the action plan. It has to be and I feel very strongly about that. The new housing action plan is based on two key pillars: activating the supply of 300,000 more homes and supporting people to have a home of their own. The plan will ensure that the funding and the strategies deployed to address housing and homelessness are fully aligned at all times. Increased supply is key to addressing homelessness. This Government is focused on making sure that everyone has access to quality, affordable, warm, safe and secure homes that suit their needs.”
“I thank the Senators for their very significant contributions on the last day and again today. It is a very difficult topic because it is one that is very close to every single one of us as elected representatives and it impacts on every corner of the country in many ways. I really appreciate the time taken by people to give voice to people impacted by precarious living, homelessness and a lack of secure tenancy. Those voices are fundamental to any discussion on this issue. I want to be very clear, as I believe I always am with this issue, that addressing homelessness and increasing the supply of homes required to do that is my absolute priority. The programme for Government recommitted to working towards ending homelessness by 2030.”
“It is due to the stewardship of our country by this Government and previous governments that we have been in a position to act decisively with financial supports. Over the past five years our State has experienced the effects of global wars in Ukraine and on the edge of Europe, the war in Iran and the pandemic, which have, in turn, placed systemic pressures on how we do business. The Government has responded robustly but we must do so in a sustainable way. As Minister for housing and local government, I thank our fire services and our local authorities, which stepped up in very difficult circumstances over the past couple of weeks.”
“If we ever needed reminding as to our status as an open economy on the edge of Europe, the war on Iran has once again confirmed it for us all, even after Ukraine, Brexit and Covid. This Government has been elected with the task of managing these impacts and being responsible in our response to them as they arise but also with an eye to how each and every action and measure we take has consequences. We have to manage as elected representatives the impact of rising oil prices. We need to act robustly to protect jobs and futures to ensure we fund our key services and supports, to deliver safe and secure housing for our people and to invest proactively and sustainably to get costs down for ordinary people. This is our job. It is one each of us has been elected to do and to take seriously. We have the resources.”
“I welcome this discussion today and the opportunity to speak in full confidence in the Government and its leadership. There is no doubt the Dáil and every single one of us here, all of us elected representatives, are experiencing in our constituencies the impact of global political uncertainty on real people, families and businesses. Events that seem so far away geographically have a very immediate impact on everyday costs for people, from food to fuel and the very basics. We can all acknowledge this is a deeply challenging period but it is also a period that demands that we work together in the House rather than against each other to ensure we protect the State and our people to the best of our ability.”
“I thank the Deputy and the other Deputies in Donegal for their work in this area. I have met with the families and seen the videos. We know flood relief schemes take a considerable time. That relocation proposal needs to be advanced. I will continue to work with the residents and with the Deputies from Donegal on coming up with a scheme as quickly as possible. The current legislation did not necessarily envisage relocations but we have brought forward new regulations that will allow a relocation model in very limited circumstances.”
“The residents are understandably concerned about the length of time before the flood works would be completed and have asked that consideration be given to relocation options. I appreciate the genuine concerns of residents based on their experience of recent years; indeed, I have seen the videos myself. Therefore, I am disposed towards finding solutions to the flooding issue based on the needs of those affected and to finding a workable solution. In the past, the OPW has used relocation schemes in some small and specific circumstances and I have asked officials in my Department to find a method of relocating the families that come under the scheme.”
“I thank the Deputy for the question, which relates to Elm Park in Buncrana and advancement of the plans to relocate families. The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 commenced on 22 June 2023. It underpins the current grant scheme and the related regulations that were adopted on 29 June 2023. I visited Donegal last year and met with many of the affected residents. I understand the flooding issue pertaining to Elm Park, where nine homeowners are particularly affected. Some of the homeowners impacted are eligible to avail of the defective concrete blocks scheme funded by my Department but they are understandably worried about availing of the scheme and remediating their homes without the flood risk being addressed. The OPW has a plan to undertake flood relief works.”
“I am very conscious of the distressing situation people in Donegal and other counties are going through. I have been to Donegal and spent considerable time listening to people and getting a better understanding of the distressing situation they are in. The wider review has to start on or before July 2026. It may start sooner if the review comes in in relation to IS 465/2018 being changed because that in itself triggers a review. There is another review in relation to the cost. It will be a question of the most effective way of getting the review of rates done.”
“We continuously keep the scheme under review through consistent and regular stakeholder engagement. An implementation steering group for the defective concrete blocks grant scheme has been in place since 2023 and comprises officials from relevant local authorities, my Department, the Housing Agency and homeowner liaison officers. This regular stakeholder engagement is augmented by regular meetings. We have done a review of the costings, implemented it and passed the legislation. I am looking at whether such a review will form part of the wider review this year or will be done as a separate review, but it will be done this year.”
“I have signed the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Act 2025 commencement order to give effect to these provisions, which came into operation on 25 February 2026, with related regulations also adopted on that date. As for provisions of section 51 of the 2022 Act, a full review of the Act will commence later this year following its first three years in operation. It will offer an opportunity to review various issues arising in terms of the remediation of defective concrete blocks. I will consider whether the area of rates should form part of that review or a separate review.”
“It was agreed the uplift in the rates would be applied retrospectively but primary legislation was required to amend the original Act to allow for this. The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill was initiated in Dáil Éireann on 2 October 2025, passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas and signed into law. The main provisions of the 2025 Act provide that increases in the grant scheme cap and rates from October and November 2024 can retrospectively benefit homeowners who incurred qualifying costs under the grant scheme since 29 March 2024.”
“I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn for raising this important issue with regard to the SCSI and the draft follow-up on construction costs under the defective concrete block grant scheme. My Department keeps costs relating to the defective concrete blocks scheme under continuous review. As the Deputy is aware, following updated costs reports from the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and advice from an expert group established to consider the matter, a further increase from the original grant rate set down in the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 was provided for on 23 October 2024. The scheme cap has risen by 10% to €462,000. Increases in the scheme grant rates of between 7.4% and 8.7%, as set out in the 2023 regulations, were also approved on 7 November 2024.”
“I recognise that the Deputy has raised this on many occasions. She has been very consistent on it. This protocol is coming. It would be welcome if, in anticipation of the protocol, local authorities accepted what they know is now going to come.”
“I assure the Deputy that there is no slippage on this. This will be established and implemented this year. Once the protocols are finalised, I will be issuing that direction to the local authorities to ensure that people can travel from one local authority to another when fleeing domestic violence without losing time spent on the first authority's list. In fairness, I have generally found my own local authority quite reasonable and understanding in this regard. However, there has been an inconsistency across local authorities. We want to ensure we are not dependent on the views of an individual director of services or head of housing. We want consistency right across every local authority so that, when people are fleeing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, there will be a level of compassion and understanding.”
“Furthermore, in 2017, my Department issued policy and procedural guidance to local authorities on the role they can play in assisting victims and survivors of domestic violence. The issuing of this 2017 policy guidance was a significant action under the section national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, which was for the period 2016 to 2021. It has since played an important role in addressing the housing needs of victims.”
“This includes a dedicated group of local authority directors of housing, which is working with my Department to ensure the protocol is workable, meets the needs of those who can benefit from it and is finalised as soon as possible. Notwithstanding this commitment, local authorities will prioritise allocations to those households they consider to be most in need at any moment in time. Local authorities may also provide for exceptional or emergency cases, allowing immediate housing for qualified households outside of normal waiting list priorities should circumstances require. Households may also move and relocate between housing authority areas under the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme where the household income is within the relevant income limits.”
“It is currently not possible for a household that was previously on one social housing waiting list to carry over the time spent on that list when applying to another local authority. However, in line with a commitment in the housing plan, a protocol to allow households fleeing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence to transfer time spent on a social housing waiting list to another local authority will be established and implemented this year. My Department has already engaged with local authorities and the County and City Management Association to develop this protocol. The structures to progress this commitment are in place.”
“I thank the Deputy for her question in relation to this matter. Supporting individuals and families who are experiencing or are at risk of experiencing homelessness, including victims and survivors of domestic abuse, is very much a priority for me, my Department and the Government. The response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a cross-departmental multi-agency issue, with the Department of justice co-ordinating overall policy. Responsibility for the development and provision of services to support victims rests with my colleague the Minister for justice, working in conjunction with Cuan, the statutory domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency, which is under the remit of the Department of justice.”
“It needs to happen in terms of ensuring people have the quality homes, updated homes and upgraded homes they deserve to live in, instead of it being made about density, which Deputy Ó Broin has made it about and so has the local authority in the past.”
“It has been made about density instead of being about regeneration. We fully support and will fund the regeneration. It needs to happen. It could have happened by now. We want it to happen at speed-----”
“I very much do understand the scale of the problem. The funding is available to address every one of those issues and they need to be addressed because it is totally unacceptable that people are living in these types of conditions, but it has been made about-----”
“We are moving at speed but we need the local authorities to put forward plans that meet the Department's requirements for what we will fund, which is regeneration but not losing homes. We cannot afford to lose homes in the current situation of a housing crisis.”
“I thank Deputy Ó Broin and I am surprised at his comments. The national regeneration and refurbishment programme is the largest regeneration programme in terms of funds in the history of the State. The remediation of local authority social housing estates and flat complexes in the country's most disadvantaged communities is one of my key priorities. This includes those defined by the most extreme social exclusion, unemployment and other issues in these local communities. That said, given the critical shortage of housing across the State, unnecessary or unjustified reductions in density are not supported where such reductions result in a significant loss of homes. We cannot stand over or justify this. The local authorities know the Department's position.”
“My Department is working with the council on a remedial works programme for four existing blocks in Pearse House. A funding proposal is with my officials for review, with a decision to be made in the coming weeks. The Department is also working with Dublin City Council on a proposal for remedial works on three blocks in Oliver Bond House and for the future regeneration of the remaining blocks. The Department remains committed to the regeneration of flat complexes in Dublin city and will continue to support well-conceived regeneration projects put forward by the city council.”
“Dublin City Council has completed a number of regeneration projects, including 72 units at Dominick Street east and 100 units as part of Dolphin House regeneration. The council has contractors on site for a number of other regeneration projects, such as Constitution Hill and Dorset Street and mixed-tenure redevelopments including the Donore project at St. Teresa's Gardens, An Droichead Órga at St. Michael's Estate and the Montpelier development at O'Devaney Gardens. These three mixed-tenure regeneration projects will deliver over 2,000 homes once all phases are completed. I have provided funding approval for a number of regeneration projects where the council is working on the design, planning and tendering, including Dolphin House phase 1b, School Street, Constitution Hill and Glovers Court.”
“Within the programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland's Future, a commitment was specifically made to continue to accelerate social housing regeneration schemes in Dublin. This commitment is reiterated in the new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. Where local authorities propose the complete redevelopment of flat complexes such as O'Devaney Gardens and St. Teresa's Gardens, my Department is making a number of funding channels available to local authorities and approved housing bodies for such regeneration, including the social housing investment programme, the affordable housing fund, the capital advance leasing facility and cost-rental equity loans. For flat complexes proposed for refurbishment and remedial works, my Department is making funding available through our estate regeneration programme.”
“Short-term protectionism is only exacerbating this situation. I want to give people hope. We delivered over 36,000 new homes last year. That is the highest number of homes since Housing for All came in. We delivered an awful lot more homes 20 years ago. In my view, the kind of protectionism we brought in has undermined the supply of those homes. We need to get back to delivering at least 50,000 homes a year. Going back 20 years, at one stage it was 90,000. I think those numbers were questionable, which is why we now rely on CSO data. There was still significantly more than we are delivering now. We need to ensure we have that framework and deliver the supply of homes people need right across the country. We are in a housing crisis. I am the first to admit it.”
“We do have a lot to say to people. We have already delivered a record number of homes last year. Since Housing for All came in, we delivered 36,000 homes last year. We have provided tax breaks for renters as well. We know the only way we can address the homeless crisis, the rent crisis and the housing crisis is through increasing the supply. We cannot calcify the current situation forever. I know it is popular for Deputies opposite to say they want an eviction ban and to freeze rents. They are just going to exacerbate the situation as the population increases as a result of more people coming into this country, which is fantastic. The diversity is wonderful for our country but we have to drive the supply. The State cannot provide all homes to deliver that.”
“The lowering of VAT on new apartments to 9% under budget 2026 will also assist in the delivery of new homes into the cost-rental sector at lower cost. The Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 2026 came into effect on 1 March, introducing a new national rent control for all tenancies which limits rent increases to inflation as measured by the consumer price index up to a maximum of 2%. For new-build apartments and student-specific accommodation, however, rent increases are capped at the level of inflation CPI only. These changes were introduced to promote greater investment in the rental market, to increase supply of rental properties.”
“The programme for Government commits to extending it. Record levels of social and affordable housing delivery have been achieved in recent years, with preliminary 2025 figures indicating further record levels of delivery. I am providing substantial funding to local authorities, the Land Development Agency and to approved housing bodies to support increased delivery. The national development plan has committed record levels of funding for new social and affordable housing, totalling almost €20 billion. Since the launch of cost rental in 2021, around €2.25 billion in Exchequer funding has been approved for cost rental projects. Beyond my Department, very significant loan funding is also being provided from the State's Housing Finance Agency.”
“Affordability very much is at the heart of the Government's housing policy, as embodied within the new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030. The Government is targeting the delivery of 300,000 new homes by 2030, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable supports. 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. Further Government measures introduced to support renters include the increase in the tax credit for renters under budget 2025 to a maximum of €1,000 for each renter in a household. Budget 2026 extends the rent tax credit, which was due to expire at the end of 2025, for a further three years to the end of 2028.”
“I thank the Deputy. As I said, we have had our task force and we have the implementation group. Many measures have already been implemented and the rest of those measures are being implemented at pace. I am happy with the work the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is doing in this area. I am reviewing the new report that has come from the ESRI to see if further measures are needed on top of that and I will make those decisions. Where measures are needed, I will implement them.”
“The Government has accepted there are issues. That is why it set up the expert group. The programme for Government committed to a broad package of measures to assist home buyers under the home buyers help package, many of which have already been progressed by the implementation group of the task force on conveyancing and probate, arising from the previous actions under Housing for All. The ESRI report itself focused on behavioural aspects of the Irish housing transaction system within the current supply and demand context, and with studies showing how aspects of the system influence buyers' and sellers' behaviour. The task force was set up. There is an implementation group. Those measures are being implemented. We are also continuing to review in the Department what is happening in terms of the home buyers' market.”
“Any reform proposals will require deeper examination, including assessing impacts on the balance of rights of sellers and buyers in areas such as when a bid becomes legally binding; the rights of buyers to get an independent survey after bid acceptance; where legal responsibility for repair sits after the sale of a property; the merits, drawbacks and implications of closed versus open bid models; and the pros and cons of the various methods that auctioneers capture when displaying updates on bids. I have asked my officials to consider further reform in respect of the regulation of property service providers and the wider recommendations in the report.”
“Furthermore, where the Property Services Regulatory Authority receives a complaint alleging fake bids, it has powers to request a copy of all bids received - the record of bids document - and has investigative powers to ensure those bids are genuine. The ESRI published a report last month, Buying and Selling Property in Ireland, which outlines how aspects of the Irish housing transaction system influence buyer and seller behaviour and provides insights on features of the Irish market that warrant consideration for reform. The matters raised in the report overlap policy, legislative and regulatory areas across the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and my Department. Along with my colleague, the Minister for justice, who has responsibility for the conveyancing process, I will reflect on the recommendations in the report.”
“I thank the Deputy for his question, which centres on the home-buying process including ghost bids, gazumping and bidding wars. I recently took over responsibility for the Property Services Regulatory Authority from the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. It regulates property service providers, including estate agents. Estate agents already have to comply with key statutory obligations regulating the home bidding process under the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011, which provides they shall not imply to any person that an offer has been received unless it has in fact been received; they must retain for a period of six years a record of all bids received; and they must confirm in writing to all potential purchasers receipt of their submitted bid.”
“I very much have answered the question. We are always assessing the various schemes that come under the Department of housing to ensure there is availability for people at various levels of income. These schemes are way oversubscribed. We need even more cost-rental properties. That indicates there are people who fall into that bracket. We need to ensure, as I said, there are social, affordable, cost-rental and other schemes, whatever they may be, and the private supports we provide to people to be able to buy homes. I keep all those things constantly under review to keep a balance and that is what I will continue to do. I will continue to keep it under assessment.”
“I am trying to ensure - I am keeping a close eye on this all the time - that there is a scaling in affordability so that people can access the homes they need in line with what they can afford, whether that is through social housing, affordable purchase, cost rental or helping people to be able to buy homes with the help-to-buy scheme and the first home scheme under which people can purchase homes themselves. That is what we are looking to do on the affordable side and we are always monitoring the various schemes.”
“The visit to Oscar Traynor Road was a huge day. It was great to see a huge turnout. As the Deputy will be aware, the scheme has a mix of social, affordable and cost-rental units. It is a significant mix. If I recall, there are approximately 850 homes being delivered there in total and they are being delivered ahead of schedule. It is one of many large schemes now being delivered by Dublin City Council. Cost-rental schemes are oversubscribed.”
“We are providing substantial funding to local councils, the LDA and the approved housing bodies, AHBs. Since the launch of cost rental in 2021, approximately €2.25 billion in Exchequer funding has been approved for cost-rental projects. Beyond my Department, significant funding is also being provided by the State's Housing Finance Agency. The lowering of VAT on new apartments to 9% in budget 2026 will also assist in delivering new homes to the cost-rental sector, with lower costs meaning lower rents. The nature of my Department's funding in the form of non-repayable grants and investments and long-term loans at extremely low rates means rents can be set below full cost recovery levels and far below comparable rents in the private market.”
“While we are not yet at the stage of supplying as many as are needed, we are getting there. The cost-rental homes already delivered and those in the pipeline are meeting a real demand, are incredibly popular and are providing a much needed, secure and affordable element in the rental sector. Let us be clear that cost-rental housing did not exist in this country five years ago. From a standing start in 2021 to now, because of the action of this Government and the unprecedented levels of funding provided in successive budgets, rental properties are being made available at heavy discounts to the private market rental rates. This State intervention is ensuring those on moderate incomes who would otherwise not be able to afford to rent are moving into decent homes with monthly rents they can afford.”