Enacted 5 August 2026

Insurance (Disregard of Certain Medical History and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025

It would stop insurers from treating a past cancer diagnosis against someone when they apply for mortgage protection insurance on their main home, as long as they are within the cover limits set out in the law. It would also set the maximum amount of cover where this “right to be forgotten” applies, so survivors are not unfairly pushed into worse terms or turned away. Alongside that, it would update older insurance laws on winding up insurers and on payments into the Insurance Compensation Fund.

Enacted 30 July 2026

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2026

Aiming to smooth the switch to Ireland’s new planning system, this measure updates how development plans, regional strategies and local area plans are made and timed, including a move to 10-year city and county plans and clearer rules for key towns. It also speeds up planning appeals and judicial reviews, makes it easier to progress major infrastructure and apartment projects, and tidies up environmental assessment rules and other technical issues. Separately, it raises the Housing Finance Agency’s borrowing limit from €13.5 billion to €15 billion so it can support more housing finance.

Enacted 30 July 2026

Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026

A wide-ranging justice and public safety package, this measure would change several criminal and civil law rules at once. It would let prison officers use incapacitant spray in approved circumstances, allow Gardaí to arrest some extradition cases without a warrant, broaden community service orders, tighten handling of counselling records in sexual offence cases, update DNA rules for missing-person cases, create new offences for offering housing in return for sex, and put outdoor seating for pubs on a permanent footing. It also makes a series of smaller changes to court administration, citizenship proof, bail, anti-social behaviour orders, and other justice procedures.

Dáil 28 July 2026

Community Development Projects

The Minister directed the Deputy to departmental website tables detailing scheme funding approved for each local authority over the past decade.

Dáil 28 July 2026

Departmental Priorities

The Minister outlined CLÁR, Town and Village Renewal and LEADER funding for community gardens and allotments, noting applications are closed and calls are planned.

Dáil 28 July 2026

Education and Training Provision

Údarás na Gaeltachta is assessing tenders for a planned state-of-the-art multipurpose educational facility; details remain confidential to protect the process.

Enacted 28 July 2026

Development (Strategic Gas Reserve) Bill 2026

The legislation would create a special fast-track process for a strategic gas reserve near Cahiracon, Co. Clare, so the Minister can approve it directly to help protect Ireland’s energy supply in an emergency. It would set out public consultation, environmental checks, and a decision process with the planning rules normally used for major projects set aside for this one project, while still requiring environmental assessment and allowing court challenges. It matters because it is meant to speed up a potentially important energy-security project, but it also raises the stakes for how environmental concerns and public input are handled.

Enacted 28 July 2026

Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026

Social housing support would be limited to households where every member is lawfully resident and ordinarily living in Ireland, with some exceptions for children and a list of protected immigration and protection categories. It would also give people a right to appeal certain housing authority decisions, with rules for how appeals are made and decided. The rest of the bill updates the rules for private renting: it strengthens penalties and fixed-payment notices, tightens and clarifies eviction and rent-setting procedures, improves Residential Tenancies Board hearings and enforcement, and adds new powers for dealing with anti-social behaviour and rent-registration breaches.

Enacted 22 July 2026

Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026

The bill would give the Transport Minister power to lift or change the passenger limit at Dublin Airport if it is judged to be harming the economy, air links or Ireland’s reputation, while still requiring environmental checks first. It lets daa ask for that change, requires An Coimisiún Pleanála to assess possible impacts on the environment and protected habitats, and allows public submissions before any order is made. It also blocks future local planning bodies from reimposing a passenger cap, while keeping noise-related flight limits and related planning protections separate.

Defeated 24 September 2026

Waste Management (Single Household Waste Collection Service) Bill 2026

A local authority would take a more active role in organising household waste collection, using a competitive tendering system that gives one provider exclusive rights for a set area or period. It would also require an affordable hardship waiver for bin charges and let councils make rules making landlords responsible for ensuring tenants have proper waste collection arrangements. The aim is to make refuse services more consistent, fairer and available across every area.

Current 20 July 2026

Social Housing Passport Bill 2026

The Social Housing Passport Bill 2026 would let people on a local authority housing waiting list, or already receiving social housing support, move their housing application or support to another local authority without losing their time on the list. It is meant to help people who need to move for work, education, medical treatment, domestic or gender-based violence, or other exceptional reasons. It would also allow urgent cases to be prioritised and could eventually be extended across the island.

Dáil 16 July 2026

Waste Management (Single Household Waste Collection Service) Bill 2026: Second Stage [Private Members]

The Bill sought to let local authorities appoint a single household waste operator, set franchise terms, require landlords to ensure waste contracts, and provide hardship waivers. Labour, Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, the Greens and some independents backed it, arguing the current privatised system is costly, dysfunctional and worsens dumping, congestion and poor service in dense urban areas. The Minister of State opposed it, saying Government is already carrying out an independent feasibility study on franchise models and that major reform should wait for evidence-based review. The Bill did not get Government support at Second Stage.

Dáil 16 July 2026

Strategic Infrastructure

Swords’ rapid housing growth is being outpaced by transport, wastewater and community infrastructure, with calls for stronger co-ordination, while Government says major projects and funding are already under way to support sustainable development.

Dáil 16 July 2026

Schools Building Projects

St. John Bosco junior and senior boys’ schools and Mary, Help of Christians girls’ school’s long-delayed campus redevelopment remains under Department review, with co-education survey results prompting further engagement and the project to be considered in NDP prioritisation.

Dáil 16 July 2026

Luas extension for Dunsink

Deputy O'Gorman argued that a Luas green line extension is essential to support planned housing at Dunsink. The Tánaiste said he would raise the case with the Transport Minister and look at possible capital funding routes.

Dáil 16 July 2026

Domestic abuse refuge in Portlaoise

Deputy Stanley urged urgent capital funding to open an eight-unit refuge, citing escalating domestic abuse and multiple women killed. The Tánaiste backed the need for action and said domestic, sexual and gender-based violence must have full attention.

Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community 16 July 2026

Traveller Accommodation: Discussion (Resumed)

Witnesses said Traveller accommodation in Wexford is undermined by poor reporting, weak consultation and a largely ineffective LTACC. They called for stronger national oversight, an independent or longer-term chair, mandatory regular meetings, proper agendas and minutes, and real accountability for delivery and spending. Personal testimony highlighted homelessness, overcrowding, cultural needs around family living and mobility, and the failure of choice-based letting to work for many Travellers, especially older people and those with literacy or digital access difficulties. Members broadly accepted that the current system is too fragmented and that the LTACC needs structural reform rather than more empty consultation.

Seanad 16 July 2026

Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 9(2)) (Amount of Financial Contribution) Order 2025 (Revocation) Order 2026: Motion

Seanad Éireann considered revoking the 2025 financial contribution order, while an opposition amendment sought tighter means-testing and restrictions on the Accommodation Recognition Payment scheme to avoid further distorting the rental market.

Dáil 16 July 2026

Defence Forces

The Minister reported modest recruitment growth to 7,823 personnel, 289 inductions so far in 2025 and 16,510 applications, while pledging further investment in housing, pensions, equipment and infrastructure, including the Curragh.

Seanad 16 July 2026

Bessborough site

Senator Harmon urged action on Bessborough in Cork, including possible negotiation, compulsory purchase, publication of burial records and an inquest. Senators Higgins and O'Reilly voiced support.

Seanad 16 July 2026

LNG Bill guillotine and childcare

Senator Higgins criticised the guillotining of the LNG Bill, arguing it should not be rushed and should receive proper scrutiny. She then raised childcare, citing an early years affordability roadmap from SIPTU and the need for quality jobs and better services.

Seanad 16 July 2026

Accommodation recognition payment cut

Senator McCarthy warned that reducing the accommodation recognition payment for Ukrainians could have human consequences, noting rising pressure at a homeless café and concern from the Irish Red Cross.

Seanad 16 July 2026

Accommodation payment and housing

Senator Andrews proposed an amendment on winding down the accommodation recognition payment scheme, then the exchange broadened into a lengthy row with Senator Fitzpatrick over housing delivery, Glass Bottle, affordable housing and homelessness. The Leas-Chathaoirleach repeatedly intervened on interruptions and speaking time, and the item ended with Andrews confirming the amendment details and a final summer good wish.

Seanad 16 July 2026

Order of Business

The Leader outlined the motions due to be taken later, and Senators Fitzpatrick and McDowell criticised aspects of recent public policy and the planning regulations process.

Current 24 September 2026

Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021

When a property is put on the market, the seller would have to prepare a legal information pack and advertise it with the property for buyers to see. The aim is to give buyers key facts up front, so fewer sales fall through, delays are reduced, and the buying process becomes more transparent and less stressful. The pack is meant to shift much of the legal checking to the start of the process, which could also cut wasted costs and help properties move faster.

Seanad 6 May 2026

Home care support delay

Senator Tully described a Cavan woman's difficulty getting home care support despite disability and a shoulder injury, leaving her dependent on family assistance.

Seanad 6 May 2026

Text scam fraud

Senator Scahill described the rise in scam texts, WhatsApp messages and emails, saying fraud is now affecting a large share of the public.

Current 22 April 2026

Life Annuity (Ireland) Bill 2026

Creates a regulated way for older homeowners to sell the value of their home while staying there for life, in return for a lump sum and/or regular payments. It sets out safeguards such as independent legal and financial advice, a cooling-off period, clear disclosure rules, and oversight by the Central Bank to make the arrangements fairer and more transparent than current equity-release products. It matters because it could give people more financial security in later life without forcing them to move.

Current 27 March 2026

Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Right to Housing) Bill 2026

The proposed constitutional change would put a right to adequate housing into the Irish Constitution, recognising that having a home is central to dignity, family life, health and full participation in society. It would require the State, as far as practicable, to protect and uphold that right for every citizen, reflecting the scale of Ireland’s housing and homelessness crisis and the view that housing should be treated as a basic human right.

Current 25 March 2026

Planning and Development (Material Interest) Bill 2026

The bill would stop planning objections and appeals from being used by people who have no real connection to a proposed development, so only those with a material interest — plus certain public authorities — could make them. It also protects personal information submitted just to prove that interest, so it would not be made public. Its aim is to reduce delays and let planning decisions move ahead more quickly for the people and communities who stand to benefit.

Current 19 March 2026

Housing Loans Regulations (Fresh Start - Buyout) (Amendment) Bill 2026

The bill would change the housing loan rules so that someone who stays in the family home after a divorce or legal separation can apply to their local authority for a housing loan to buy out their former partner’s share. It matters because it gives people in that situation a way to keep the home without having to leave simply because they cannot get mortgage finance elsewhere.