UNSIGNED PREVIEW — not a promoted public release.
Actor: Darragh O'Brien TD
insufficient_evidenceTopic: housing
Office: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Evidence: 19 events
Sources: 19
This promise by Darragh O'Brien TD has INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE for a rating. Only 19 evidence events were found. More research is needed before a reliable assessment can be made.
This promise is SPECIFIC (vagueness score: 20/100). It includes measurable targets or deadlines that make it trackable. Specific promises are easier to verify as kept or broken.
Issue category: housing
People Before Profit introduced the Eviction Ban 2022 bill, declaring a housing emergency for 12 months during which tenants could not be evicted without fault (except for anti-social behaviour or property damage). The bill included a clause for the Minister to extend the emergency ban.
A previous temporary eviction moratorium (winter 2022/2023) slowed the growth of homelessness, especially among children and families, according to analysis by the Simon Community. Around 2,700 notices to quit were paused before the ban lapsed in March 2023.
In 2024, the government supported nearly 54,000 home energy upgrades through SEAI. Since 2019, 186,000 homes have benefited from more than €1.2 billion in government-funded home energy upgrade supports.
The Acute Hospital Inpatient Bed Capacity Expansion Plan 2024–2031 was published on 29 May 2024 by then-Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, targeting 4,367 acute hospital beds by 2031. It was described by the government as the largest planned expansion of public acute hospital inpatient capacity in decades.
Iarnród Éireann lodged a Railway Order application with An Bord Pleanála in July 2024 to seek permission to extend the electrified DART network from Malahide to Drogheda.
SEAI reported 11,910 home energy upgrades in Q1 2025, up 2% year-on-year. By early 2026, over 257,000 home energy upgrades had been delivered since 2019 with over €1.7 billion in government funding.
The 2025 Programme for Government pledges to ramp up targets to deliver more B2-equivalent home retrofits each year from 2026 to 2030. Meeting the 500,000 target will require an average annual retrofit of approximately 63,444 homes.
Ireland is reportedly falling behind on its goal to ensure 500,000 existing homes undergo deep energy efficiency upgrades by 2030, facing financial, structural, and policy-related barriers.
An Coimisiún Pleanála approved the Railway Order for the DART+ Coastal North project, granting planning permission to extend the electrified DART network from Malahide to Drogheda MacBride Station, covering 37 km of the Northern Line.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill officially launched the HSE Health App on 25 February 2025.
The Programme for Government includes a commitment to expand free GP services to children up to at least 12 years. Children under 8 already have automatic free GP visits. Extension to ages 8-12 would cover approximately 200,000 additional children.
Free GP care is currently available to all children under 8 in Ireland. The government plans to extend GP visit card eligibility to children aged 8 to 12 in 2026, covering approximately 200,000 additional children.
PBP highlighted RTB data showing eviction notices increased by 41%, with nearly 60% of evictions occurring because landlords want to sell the property. PBP called the housing and homelessness crisis 'out of control'.
The Minister for Health published the Waiting Time Action Plan 2026, setting Sláintecare targets of 10 weeks for outpatient appointments and 12 weeks for inpatient/day case treatment. Long waits over 12 months fell 58% since 2021.
GP referral access (85% of referrals) is being added to the app, with specialist referrals planned for mid-2026. The Minister for Health welcomed growing adoption rates.
Hospital waiting lists grew by 86,300 patients in 2025, with 7,540 adults and 510 children waiting 18 months or more — significantly breaching Sláintecare targets.
People Before Profit representatives campaigned for and introduced a Bill in the Dáil for a three-year ban on no-fault evictions, led by figures including Richard Boyd Barrett TD and Mick Barry TD (Solidarity–People Before Profit).
A new four-year Framework Agreement was signed between the Irish Government and IPHA with a 180-day target for HSE reimbursement decisions. Ireland also struck new five-year drug pricing deals aimed at accelerating patient access to innovative treatments.
€303 million made available for the delivery of homeless services in 2025.
Ireland has among the lowest rates of access to new cancer medicines in Western Europe, and its drug reimbursement system has been called 'fundamentally broken' by deputies.