Results 381-400 of 631 for speaker:Grace Boland

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services (29 May 2025)

Grace Boland: 17. To ask the Minister for Finance the progress to date in implementing the national financial literacy plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27605/25]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Information and Communications Technology (29 May 2025)

Grace Boland: 105. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the safeguards in place for public personal information and data on account of the use of cloud computing resources by the civil and public service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27691/25]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Contracts (29 May 2025)

Grace Boland: 118. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform whether the new public procurement strategy will encourage social enterprises to bid for Government business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27692/25]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (29 May 2025)

Grace Boland: 226. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there are plans in place to recruit more staff for the Passport Office in Balbriggan to accommodate the higher need for passports in the summer months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27354/25]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Equality Issues (29 May 2025)

Grace Boland: 244. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the measures Ireland is taking to support women and girls in the developing world; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27353/25]

Committee on Transport: National Transport Authority: Engagement (28 May 2025)

Grace Boland: I thank the witnesses for coming in to talk to us today. I really appreciate it. My home constituency is Dublin Fingal West. We have a large population that is rapidly increasing so public transport and connectivity are important. It will come as no surprise that I want to focus on the national fare strategy which was agreed in 2023. The aim of it is very laudable, namely, to provide...

Committee on Transport: National Transport Authority: Engagement (28 May 2025)

Grace Boland: I appreciate all the detail Mr. Creegan provided. I will continue to advocate for the people of Balbriggan and Skerries. If we are telling them the fares are fair, they need to be fair. They should not be paying the same to travel to Drogheda as someone who is travelling from Dublin Pearse Station. In the short time I have left I also want to mention the payment system. Mr. Creegan...

Committee on Transport: National Transport Authority: Engagement (28 May 2025)

Grace Boland: I thank Mr. Creegan.

Committee on Transport: National Transport Authority: Engagement (28 May 2025)

Grace Boland: The northern commuter line is closed again this bank holiday weekend, which has become standard for every bank holiday weekend for the past couple of years. It is essential to ensure we can move people from Dublin Fingal West in north County Dublin into the city centre and further north up to Drogheda. Can the witnesses confirm to what this closure relates? Is it in preparation for DART+...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Grace Boland: I welcome the Minister and thank her very much for coming in. I really look forward to working with her. The two areas we really need to make progress on in order to achieve equality are childcare and the equalisation of statutory leave for both parents. On childcare, I represent Dublin Fingal West, which is one of the youngest areas in the country. The Minister has heard this several...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Grace Boland: I really appreciate that and I welcome the Minister's comments, particularly around the planning guidelines and a strategic focus. In terms of the building blocks capital programme, while it was great to see, it was a very small amount. I know the Minister is doing her best and the previous Minister was doing his best but €25 million was not enough. There were only six weeks to...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Grace Boland: That was my point about the eligibility. Part of it was that was only applicable to public providers but in my area, it is nearly all private providers. We do not have public providers so we were not doing anything to support existing providers. The funding was not fully drawn down. Only €23.2 million has been provided for and €25 million was not a lot to start with so we...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Grace Boland: I know that but it was not even fully allocated. I got a response to a parliamentary question telling me that only €23.2 million has been allocated. That should have been fully allocated. We need to look at that again and make absolutely sure that everything we have is fully allocated.

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Grace Boland: I really appreciate that. I will now turn to equality legislation. I am a lawyer and have worked in this space a lot. The Equality Acts are completely inaccessible and very difficult to navigate. They are difficult to navigate for a lawyer, someone who has worked in this space for a long time. People who try to use the Equality Acts generally are referred to the WRC where they do not get...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Grace Boland: Is that general scheme for codification or is it a separate Bill?

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Grace Boland: I welcome that but it is going to be yet another Act in a hotchpotch patchwork of legislation, which is not appropriate for the space we are in.

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Energy Conservation (10 Jun 2025)

Grace Boland: 139. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if a breakdown can be provided, by county, on the uptake of the home energy upgrade loan scheme in its first year of operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30064/25]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Climate Action Plan (10 Jun 2025)

Grace Boland: 146. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if the State is on track to meet the target of 500,000 retrofit upgrades by 2030; the number of upgrades that would need to be carried out in each of the years to 2030 to meet the target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30065/25]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Pension Provisions (10 Jun 2025)

Grace Boland: 259. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if there has been any progress in processing the EirGrid pension increment for retired employees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30572/25]

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Pension Provisions (10 Jun 2025)

Grace Boland: 260. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of increments have been made to the EirGrid pension in the past twelve years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30573/25]