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 thank the Deputy for raising this question in relation to the unaffordability of cost rentals. As the Deputy is aware, the cost-rental scheme was introduced by this Government under the previous housing plan and is continued and expanded in the new plan. It is designed to address the affordability challenge in the rental sector and to provide secure, long-term homes for moderate-income households. This is why, under the new Delivering Homes, Building Communities plan, we have committed to growing the provision of affordable cost-rental properties. Though cost rental was only introduced in 2021, over 4,500 new homes were delivered by quarter 3 of last year and a substantial pipeline is now in place. There is huge demand for these homes as they become available.”
“Is the Deputy going to let me speak? I thank the Deputy. It is the highest number of new-build social homes in the history of the State but we came from a very low standing start. As Deputy Sheehan will know, the last time the Labour Party had the Department of housing-----”
“The consistent Sinn Féin tactic is whenever I say something they do not want to hear, they start shouting me down. The Deputy has to have respect. He does not have to like what I have to say but he has to listen to me.”
“What we did last year was deliver 9,089 new-build social homes. That is an increase of 1,256 homes, or 16% compared to 2024. This is the highest number of social homes newly built in the history of the State. That shows the Government's commitment to new-build social home delivery.”
“I do not accept that the new legislation is going to drive up homelessness. We know that notices to quit are the single greatest driver of homelessness. We know that the average tenancy is about 3.6 years. The new six-year tenancies of minimum duration will, I have no doubt, drive that 3.6 years significantly longer and reduce notices to quit, with people coming in and needing housing under new tenancies. In regard to last year, just over 36,000 new homes were built. Some 25% of those were new-build social homes. That shows the Government is fully committed. Most local authorities are now stepping up to the mark in delivering social homes but we need every local authority stepping up to meet its targets because the funding is there for those local authorities to deliver on those social homes.”
“We have also introduced a revamped renewal programme focused on tackling dereliction and vacancy in social housing; expanding the role and remit of the Land Development Agency; expanding and streamlining the operation of the land acquisition fund; financially incentivising local authorities to exceed annual own-build social housing targets; and funding ring-fenced social and affordable new-build housing delivery teams in each local authority. In addition, the housing activation office will identify and seek to address barriers to the delivery of public infrastructure projects required to enable housing development and support increased delivery of the national development plan. Record levels of funding have been committed for new social and affordable housing totalling almost €20 billion.”
“In conjunction with growing cost-rental delivery, it puts the State in a very strong position to meet, over time, the Housing Commission recommendation that social and cost-rental housing should comprise at least 20% of the entire housing stock. I am confident that the new social and affordable targets set out in Delivering Homes, Building Communities can be achieved, supported by tangible measures set out in the plan, including streamlining and expanding affordable housing supports; the new single approval process for all new-build social housing projects up to a value of €200 million; mandating the use of standard house layouts and specification for social housing; and facilitating the use of modern methods of construction through standardised design approaches.”
“I thank the Deputy. Under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, the Government is targeting the delivery of 300,000 new homes by 2030, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable supports. The latest Central Statistics Office, CSO, figures released show that a total of 36,284 new dwellings were completed in 2025, an increase of 20% year on year, the highest annual total since the dataset years began in 2011. Record level of social and affordable housing delivery have been achieved in recent years, with preliminary 2025 figures indicating further record levels of delivery. Since 2019, new-build social housing delivery by the State has been tracking in and around 25% of the overall housing output, which is a very significant investment by the State in the provision of social housing.”
“That has now been brought in. The only way a landlord can increase their rent with an existing tenant leaving is if that tenant voluntarily leaves and the Deputy is very much aware of that as well. We have to drive the supply. The Deputy is finding all sorts of accusations in relation to our proposals but he is not putting any forward himself other than calcifying the crisis in permanency.”
“I have set out numerous new measures we have announced in the past number of months to address homelessness. We know the only way we are ultimately going to address the housing, rental and homelessness crises is through increasing supply and not calcifying these crises in permanency, as is proposed by Sinn Féin with its measures. In the new tenancy legislation, we have some of the strongest, if not the strongest, tenancy protection measures in the European Union. We have security of tenure - people know how long they can stay in their homes. This was introduced for the first time in the history of the State. We have effectively ended no-fault evictions for the majority of tenants.”
“We saw a significant increase in homes being delivered last year, more than 36,000 homes and a 20% increase in housing delivery. We are stepping up even further in homeless prevention and exits and have significantly increased the amount of capital funding available to exit people longest on our homeless lists out of homelessness as well.”
“I have already outlined the several of the measures we are taking. Through our national homeless action committee along with homeless organisations, we are developing new strategies around child and family homelessness, and there are also our programmes around other homeless prevention. What the Deputy does not mention when he mentions the 55,000 figure is how many we have prevented going into homelessness or how many we have exited from homelessness. Since 2014 this country's population has increased by some 800,000 people. That is a challenge. We acknowledge there is a housing crisis in this country. What we are doing is trying to ensure people have the homes they need in their local community. There has been a challenge in driving the supply to meet the demand in this country over the past number of years.”
“This includes the provision of social and affordable housing, HAP, homeless HAP and our strong tenancy protection legislation in order to ensure a fully aligned all-of-government approach under the plan. The programme for Government includes a commitment to a holistic cross-departmental approach to homeless prevention. Work has commenced on developing a national homeless prevention framework to ensure all possible measures are being taken across Government to prevent homelessness. It is intended that this framework will be in place later this year. Addressing family homelessness is absolute priority for me. Under the new housing plan, we will develop a dedicated child and family homeless action plan as well.”
“Ensuring the implementation of these measures will be a priority for me in 2026. Meeting the Government commitment to eradicate homelessness requires a whole-of-government response. The national homeless action committee, NHAC, which I chair, supports the co-ordination of this response by Government, local authorities and their service delivery partners. The most recent meeting of NHAC took place yesterday, on Wednesday, 4 March. I will continue to work with the committee to ensure a renewed emphasis is brought to collaborating across Government to implement actions in the new housing plan. Prevention of homelessness in the first instance is an absolute priority. There are many prevention initiatives already under way in my Department and across Government.”
“I thank the Deputy for his question in relation to my plans to address the month on month rise in homelessness. Addressing homelessness is a priority for my office, the Department and this Government. Our new housing plan is an integrated housing and homeless plan based on two key pillars: activating the supply of 300,000 more homes; and supporting people to have a home of their own. Increased supply is key to addressing homelessness. The Government is focused on making sure everyone has access to a good quality and affordable, secure home that suits their needs in their local community. More than €9 billion in capital funding will be made available for housing in 2026. Our new plan recognises that homelessness is the single most pressing social issue we face and introduces a number of key measures to address homelessness.”
“I acknowledge the importance of delivering on the needs of Gaeltacht communities, particularly through the supply of housing and the protection and promotion of the Irish language. My Department will continue to engage in this important work in conjunction with key stakeholders. Go raibh maith agaibh.”
“This draft statement will align with the introduction of the short-term letting Bill by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, whereby all short-term letting accommodation providers will be required to register with Fáilte Ireland and to confirm that they are planning compliant. I continue to engage regularly with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, on matters that affect Gaeltacht areas, and my Department works closely with officials in the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, and with Uisce Éireann, local authorities and Údarás na Gaeltachta, to support the delivery of enabling infrastructure and housing in Gaeltacht areas.”
“Where there is a Gaeltacht area within the planning authority’s administrative area, the development plan strategy must include objectives for “the protection of the linguistic and cultural heritage, including the promotion of Irish as the community language”. Where a development plan sets out settlement-specific objectives in respect of any Gaeltacht area, a priority area plan will subsequently be required for that Gaeltacht area to guide its development, renewal or regeneration, and to specify how the relevant settlement-specific objectives in the development plan are to be implemented. My Department is preparing a draft national planning statement which will provide guidance for local authorities when deciding on planning applications for short-term letting.”
“These guidelines also give guidance on the inclusion of local development policies reflecting language-planning areas, which are a separate designation under the Gaeltacht Act 2012 and relate to language planning, for which my colleague, the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, holds functional responsibility. In addition, the Planning and Development Act 2024, which is being commenced on a phased basis, sets out the obligation for planning authorities to prepare strategies and include objectives, which must be addressed in the drafting of their development plans, governing local development policies in respect of any Gaeltacht area.”
“When the statement is finalised and issued, it will be required to be applied consistently by planning authorities and An Coimisiún Pleanála in the performance of their functions under the planning Acts. In advance of the national planning statement being finalised, the development plans guidelines for planning authorities that were issued in 2022 give guidance to local authorities on the preparation of housing strategies with particular regard to the needs of Gaeltacht residents and to ensuring development proposals in Gaeltacht areas have a positive impact on the linguistic and cultural heritage that can be robustly assessed at planning application stage.”
“This includes the intention to publish a national planning statement on rural housing in the second half of 2026 in order to provide a more consistent approach by all planning authorities to rural housing. The plan also includes a specific recognition that the availability of an appropriate mix of suitable housing is key to the sustainability of thriving Gaeltacht and island communities. The plan commits to the publication of a national planning statement in relation to housing in Gaeltacht areas in the first half of 2027 to provide clarity and consistency within the planning system in relation to the protection of the Irish language. The development of this national planning statement is being informed by the work of an interdepartmental group.”
“Overall funding of €243 million has been approved for projects, including capital support for the multi-annual rural water programme from 2024 to 2026 to upgrade infrastructure, improve water quality, strengthen source protection and enhance resilience. The next call for applications launches in June, reinforcing the Government’s continued commitment to investment in rural and Gaeltacht water services. In addition, the private well grant and domestic wastewater treatment system grant schemes provide practical financial assistance to all households nationally, including in Gaeltacht areas, supporting one-off housing and ensuring environmental compliance where connection to a public system is not feasible. The supporting people pillar of the plan also includes a number of actions targeted at rural areas.”
“This €1 billion fund will underpin enhanced collaboration and co-ordination across infrastructure providers. These measures help to ensure that essential infrastructure keeps pace with housing needs and supports long-term community resilience. The State has also committed to significant investment in enabling infrastructure such as water and wastewater, underpinned by a record national development plan allocation of €12.2 billion for the water sector over the next five years. My Department’s rural water programme, delivered through the local authorities, provides investment in group water schemes and in water and wastewater infrastructure for rural towns and villages, ensuring safe, reliable and sustainable drinking water and wastewater services.”
“Under the national housing plan, each local authority will prepare a housing delivery action plan setting out its planned delivery of social and affordable housing to 2030 in line with targets that will be set by my Department in the first quarter of this year in order to ensure that 72,000 social homes will be delivered by 2030. In preparing its plan, each local authority will reflect local need to ensure the right mix of homes to respond to local need and priorities. The action plan also sets out the importance of infrastructure delivery in unlocking housing opportunities. The recent launch of the housing infrastructure investment fund by the housing activation office established in my Department demonstrates the Government’s commitment to tackling the barriers to housing delivery.”
“Under the croí cónaithe ready-to-build scheme, local authorities make serviced sites in towns and villages available to individual purchasers at a discount on market value for the building of a property for occupation as the principal private residence of the purchaser. This, coupled with the enhanced support under the croí cónaithe vacant property refurbishment grant for vacant or derelict properties and the number of significant investment schemes that are now aligned to advance the town centre first policy approach, will support increased housing supply and respond to the varying housing needs of rural areas, including Gaeltacht communities. In 2024 and 2025, there were 302 approved applications for the vacant property refurbishment grant within Gaeltacht areas.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí as ucht an rúin seo. Ní chuirfidh an Rialtas in aghaidh an rúin seo. Le comhaontú an Tí, leanfaidh mé ar aghaidh le mo ráiteas i mBéarla. The Government is not opposing this motion given the urgent need for housing and the Government's housing action plan, Delivering Homes, and Building Communities 2025-2030, which includes a range of actions aimed at increasing housing supply across all tenures and all parts of the country, including in rural and Gaeltacht areas. This includes financial supports for those seeking to buy or build new homes and to bring vacant and derelict properties back into use as homes, in addition to significant levels of capital investment in State-funded social and affordable housing.”
“The party created a kind of Faustian pact by whipping up anger among people. I ask that Members opposite deal with the issues at hand and stop trying to create bogeymen for vote-getting purposes That will solve nothing. Everyone on this side of the House wants to solve homelessness. I do not expect Members opposite to agree with our policies. That is not how it works or should work. Challenging us on policy, as Deputy Boyd Barrett often does on a very deep level, sharpens our policies and at least gets the debate going.”
“The Deputy is here to raise a Topical Issue; he is not here for this debate. We are seeing a race to the bottom with this Trump-style anger that is expressed only in the hope of getting elected if enough anger is created against the Government. The Labour Party did that in 2011, and where did it end up?”
“Members are regularly in other places around Leinster House doing work. We cannot always be in here, unfortunately. People at home do not know the workings of the Oireachtas but Deputies Hearne and Sheehan do know them. They are playing on the public's lack of knowledge of the workings of the Houses. They tried to whip up anger that I was not here for the start of the debate. I was doing my work as a member of the Cabinet at a Cabinet committee meeting. There is also no one here from Sinn Féin, the Labour Party or the Social Democrats. Members of those parties spent the past hour and a half being outraged about homelessness but they are not here in the Chamber for my closing statement.”
“A photo was sent to me of Deputy Sheehan when he had barely finished speaking in the Chamber. He was at a Luas stop with a coat and jacket on, no doubt heading back to Limerick with his credibility left back here in the Dáil Chamber. Deputy Hearne was equally outraged that I was not here and that I would, as a Minister, dare to attend a Cabinet committee. The Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, explained why I was absent at the start of this debate. Again, the minute Deputy Hearne was finished speaking, he fled the building. It is fine to try to whip up anger; that is straight out of the Trump playbook. However, I am struck by the cynicism and shallowness of it. Deputies opposite did not come in to talk about policy or legislation. We cannot expect people at home to understand the workings of the Dáil Chamber and committees.”
“We might have different approaches to doing so but nobody in the Dáil has a monopoly on compassion. We must be constructive. Challenging policies and legislation is absolutely essential but whipping up false anger in a kind of performative effort is outrageous. I have pulled people in here up previously for just wanting to create social media clips. We have seen prime examples of that here today. There is only one housing spokesperson in the Chamber for my closing remarks, and that is Deputy Boyd Barrett. Deputy Sheehan was apparently outraged that I was not here earlier, which was because I was at a Cabinet committee meeting. It is outrageous, apparently, that a Minister should attend a Cabinet committee meeting. I do not control the scheduling of the business of the Dáil or of Cabinet committees.”
“Under the plan, the Department of Health will provide increased health support to households experiencing homelessness through the implementation of the HSE national strategic plan to improve the health of people experiencing homelessness. Under the youth homeless strategy in place for the past three years, we introduced a range of new measures, including housing support for use in shared accommodation schemes. Budget 2026 provides a total allocation of €563.5 million to address homelessness. This includes €513.5 million in current funding to ensure local authorities can provide sufficient emergency accommodation as well as essential related services. Housing First makes provision for homeless prevention supports and data services and tenancy sustainment measures. Everybody in this House wants to address homelessness.”
“To further support this effort, funding of €150 million has been ring-fenced for acquisitions that will support households the longest in emergency accommodation to exit homelessness accommodation. In addition, the new plan recognises that domestic violence can lead to family homelessness. A protocol will be agreed with local authorities to ensure victims of domestic violence can transfer previous time spent on a social housing waiting list to another local authority, subject to meeting all social housing eligibility requirements. Housing First is another key policy response in our efforts to reduce homelessness among our most vulnerable citizens. The new housing plan recognises that individuals experiencing homelessness with complex support needs often become entrenched in emergency homeless services.”
“We are also developing a child and family homelessness action plan, bringing together key stakeholders to drive the continued focus on preventing children and families from entering emergency accommodation and providing enhanced support for children experiencing homelessness, as well as measures to accelerate exits and reduce the time spent by children and their families in emergency accommodation. Since 6 October last year, I have written to and met with chief executives of local authorities asking that all necessary actions be taken to ensure families the longest in emergency combination are provided with housing solutions by utilising the various options available to local authorities, including HAP, RAS and allocations of local authority and AHB homes.”
“The level of expenditure on prevention services increased from €15.4 million in 2021 to €24.7 million in 2024, an increase of some €9.3 million, and now accounts for 7% of the total homeless budget. 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. This framework will be in place in 2026.”
“In order to see this number of people experiencing homelessness fall, there has to 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 access to emergency accommodation in the first place. Prevention of homelessness in the first instance is an absolute priority. There are many prevention initiatives already under way in my Department and across Government. They include the provision of social and affordable housing, the HAP and homeless HAP schemes and our strong tenancy protection legislation. In addition, we support local authorities to provide prevention services through significant funding each year.”
“In addition, the regulation of short-term lets will bring back a proportion of the houses and apartments being used for short-term letting purposes to the traditional long-term rental market. Ownership measures and actions already under way are having an impact. Supported by increased social housing delivery and supports such as HAP, more than 650,000 adults were helped to exit emergency accommodation in the past two years. However, the housing plan very much recognises that delivery alone is not enough. Despite a significant increase in the number of new homes being delivered and the high number of people being supported to exit homelessness, the numbers of households, including families with children, in homeless emergency accommodation has continued to rise.”
“The Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, spoke to the actions in the plan that are 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 will introduce stronger tenant protections by significantly restricting no-fault evictions. New tenancies created for the first time between parties on or after 1 March 2026 and the current provision for tenancies of unlimited duration will be strengthened by the incorporation of tenancies of a minimum duration of six years.”
“I thank all Deputies for their contributions. Addressing homelessness and increasing the supply of homes required to do so is my absolute priority. The programme for Government is committed to working towards ending homelessness by 2030. To meet this commitment, Delivering Homes, Building Communities was developed as an integrated housing and homeless plan. The new 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 strategies deployed to address housing and homelessness are fully aligned at all times. Increased supply is key to addressing homelessness. The Government is focused on making sure that everyone has access to good-quality, affordable and secure homes that suit their needs.”
“While I appreciate that it has been put forward as a populist measure to give people who find themselves in distressing circumstances false hope, the reality is-----”
“This amendment proposing an eviction ban relying on Covid-19 legislation is just not credible. That legislation was to deal with a very serious public health emergency created by a contagious disease and where people were restricted in their movement. Whatever about arguing for an eviction ban, using Covid-19 legislation is an egregious approach. As for eviction bans in themselves, the housing crisis, the rental crisis and the homelessness crisis are all part of a supply crisis and unless we drive supply we will not solve any of those crises. That is what we are completely focused on, so people can have the homes they need - be those social, affordable, private, for purchase or for rent - in their local communities. What an eviction ban does is absolutely kill supply. It kills any hope of solving the housing crisis.”
“I do not want that comment going out there unchallenged. I have tried to address as many of the issues raised and I have addressed the amendments a second time. That is as much as I can say for the moment.”
“The solution for Laois is the kind of housing I have seen being driven by the local authority down there; social, affordable and private, with the social and affordable being backed by this Government, which is essential. I have just one comment for Senator Higgins. She referenced fire safety and standards being reduced and she should withdraw that comment. I do not know of any incident where fire safety standards have been reduced in recent years. I am not aware of any in that regard. We have changed specifications around apartments but nothing on fire safety. That is a very dangerous comment to put out there.”
“For student accommodation and our purpose-built student accommodation, we have put in the additional restriction that it can only be reset every three years but I know there are always particular challenges for students in those areas. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, is working very hard in that area. I was in Laois only last week and I have to give credit to the officials there because they are an exemplar for every local authority across the country in how they are driving social homes and affordable homes. It also sees itself as a full housing authority and is facilitating the delivery of private homes also. There was never a suggestion that large-scale apartments were the solution for Laois.”
“The reality is there are many local authorities that are not putting their rent from social homes back into social housing. The money is being used for other purposes. It is something I am examining very closely. I do not think a local authority can say on one hand that it does not have the funding for social housing maintenance while at the same time it does not put all its social housing rent back into social housing. That is not an issue with every local authority but certainly is with several local authorities I am examining closely. Rent should be kept in for social housing. It was a mistake that was made in the past under tenant purchase schemes, not so much with the houses being sold but that the money was not put back into more social housing in particular. It was a serious problem in the past.”
“When this legislation passes, whatever anybody thinks about the resetting, in only a few years we will have gone from probably one of the most laissez-faire approaches towards tenants in the western world to one of its most protective regimes. Most of the amendments cited went to strengthen tenants' rights and that is what we are doing in this as well. Whatever anybody thinks about resetting, the security of tenure here and the removal of no-fault evictions for the majority of tenants after 1 March who take up new tenancies will give us one of the strongest regimes in protecting tenants. That is something I am very proud of. I will hold officials to account where they are not delivering. I make no apologies for that, and it was raised in here.”
“I deal with that every single day of the week and if it is not housing, it is helping people to access their rights in healthcare and other areas as well. Everything I do, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents supporting the Government over here do every day, is to solve the housing crisis. How we solve it is not by freezing the existing crisis, but by increasing supply. That is the only way, namely, supply of more homes, including social homes, affordable homes, private homes for sale and for rent. When I think about renters, it is not just the people who are currently renting; it is people who are at home and who need somewhere to rent. That is why we are driving supply here and why I say these proposals are efficient.”
“I always get frustrated when I hear some members of the Opposition, not all by any means, again with invective and it is mostly Sinn Féin members who do this-----”
“The reality is, in 2024, our local authorities directly built more social homes than in any year since the mid-1970s, and I have no doubt 2025 is going to be even higher. We are delivering social homes, affordable homes and affordable measures. Affordability was raised by Senator Andrews. We are acutely aware of affordability, and that is why we brought in some significant measures to help people get their homes and be able to afford them, such as the first homes and help to buy schemes. Both schemes were opposed by Sinn Féin and I am almost curious whether Sinn Féin TDs and Senators tell people at their clinics that they do not really want those people to have the support that is out there. However, they are crucial supports for people to be able to buy their homes.”
“In respect of forecasts, I take it back to the population point I made earlier. Who was predicting in 2014 that the population would increase by 810,000? Nobody, absolutely nobody. Markets are dynamic, populations are dynamic and societies are dynamic in terms of what people need. We also see that families are smaller and so we need a lot more homes for the same amount of population we might have needed 20, 30 and 40 years ago. We always have to keep everything under assessment and review for what is needed and where. The increases in apartments are mostly driven in the cities. They are needed but the suggestion that somehow that is our only solution and the invective about vultures and landlords, I get it and the kind of misdirection put out there.”