Written answers
Wednesday, 23 September 2026
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Passport Services
1. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a child's passport application (details supplied) applied for in July 2026 will be processed on time for a trave date of 23 September 2026....
- Department of Environment, Community and Local Government
- Energy Policy
2. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the Government’s commitment to achieving 80% renewable electricity by 2030 and the rapidly increasing...
- Departmental Data
7. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government to provide details if Ardnacrusha generation station failed to produce electricity in the years 2022 to 2025 and to date in...
- Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
- Departmental Projects
11. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to PQ64566/26 of 16 September 2026, to provide the report (details supplied) including timelines for projected delivery and cost;...
- Tax Strategy Group
12. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if consideration has been given to the implementation of a temporary road tax for tourist vehicles, as these vehicles are contributing to...
- National Transport Authority
13. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will request the National Transport Authority to clarify when the Galway city bus services 410, 411 and 412 are put out to tender in...
- Bus Services
14. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the way in which his Department plans to address the number of areas in Dublin Fingal East that have seen significant building since the...
- Public Transport
15. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to provide a full copy of the research showing the relationship between passenger fares and public transport usage recently discussed at...
- Driver Licences
16. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to urgently review the decision to refuse driver's licence exchange for returning Irish emigrants; and if he will make a statement on the...
- Departmental Schemes
17. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport for an update on the road transporters support scheme application for a person (details supplied); and the timeframe for payment from the...
- Departmental Funding
18. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the total funding provided to TFI Local Link Laois Offaly in each of the years 2023 to 2025 and to date in 2026; the number of routes and...
- School Transport
20. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will work with the Minister for Education and Youth and Bus Éireann, to identify opportunities to improve public transport...
- Legislative Programme
21. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 285 of 24 February 2026, the reason the LPSV (Large Public Service Vehicles) Reform Bill has not...
- Rail Network
22. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the efforts made by this Department, Iarnród Éireann and the NTA to address overcrowding on trains arriving into and departing...
- Bus Services
23. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department will consider introducing additional local link routes in Cavan and Monaghan; and if such additional services will be...
- Rail Network
25. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the actions taken by Iarnród Éireann in response to complaints regarding overcrowding and passenger safety on the morning...
- Department of Finance
- Vehicle Registration
26. To ask the Minister for Finance further to the ongoing work of the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles concerning false and non-compliant vehicle registration plates, whether the regulatory...
- Financial Services
30. To ask the Minister for Finance if his Department is tracking international developments in terms of support for tokenisation, such as the latest announcement by the UK Financial Conduct...
- Banking Sector
32. To ask the Minister for Finance the actions being taken to improve competition in the retail banking sector following recent market consolidation; and the measures being considered to...
- Fuel Prices
33. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will assess the potential impact of a reduction in the VAT rate on wood fuels on domestic producers and suppliers, including businesses operating in...
- Business Supports
37. To ask the Minister for Finance the measures being considered to support the sustainability of rural pubs, given their important social, cultural and economic role in rural communities and...
- Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
- Office of Public Works
38. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 924 of 7 September 2026, the proportion of earned revenue that is reinvested in the Iveagh Gardens;...
- Pension Provisions
40. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if there are plans to re-instate the supplementary pension for members of uniformed services which was abolished under the post-2013...
- Office of Public Works
41. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to confirm if a location (details supplied) is in the charge of the OPW; the agency which is responsible for its maintenance; and if he...
- Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
- Workplace Relations Commission
42. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will intervene in a dispute (details supplied); and if he will urge the board of management of the credit union to attend the...
- Rental Sector
43. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he expects to implement the Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025 by the end of the year. [67404/26]
- Budget 2027
44. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to identify the actions being taken by Government to support indigenous Irish retailers operating in regional Ireland, many of whom...
- Living Wage
46. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has engaged with the Low Pay Commission regarding concerns that the current methodology for calculating the living wage, based...
- Labour Activation Measures
47. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the measures being taken to encourage employers to recruit and retain younger workers in the retail sector; and whether targeted...
- Labour Market
48. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has carried out an analysis of the effect of rising labour costs on employment levels and investment decisions...
- Export Controls
52. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason reported warnings from officials (details supplied) about the potential end use of weapons were overlooked in the approval...
- Department of Education and Skills
- Schools Amalgamation
54. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to amalgamate two schools (details supplied) into a co-education school. [67347/26]
- Schools Building Projects
55. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the new campus for schools (details supplied); and if she will provide a projected date for completion of the...
- Departmental Schemes
56. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the 2026 funding allocations from the climate action summer works scheme (details supplied). [67331/26]
- Departmental Funding
57. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will advise an organisation (details supplied) as to how they can secure funding for a dedicated youth worker; if she accepts that the work...
- School Transport
58. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a child (details supplied) is unable to secure a place on school transport. [67366/26]
- Schools Building Projects
59. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for the latest update on the delivery of a project (details supplied). [67400/26]
- Special Educational Needs
60. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to confirm when a decision will be made on the submission from WALK to extend and expand the WALK Peer Programme over the next four years. [67482/26]
- Schools Building Projects
65. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when the construction phase will commence for a school (details supplied). [67441/26]
- School Staff
67. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the proposed 1% local bargaining payment due to post-primary teachers from 1 September 2025; when this will be paid; and to...
- School Transport
68. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will examine a situation that is affecting school students in the Killorglin area (details supplied). [67668/26]
- Department of Culture, Communications and Sport
- Departmental Data
71. To ask the Minister for Culture, Culture, Communications and Sport if he is aware of concerns about geoblocking for listeners (details supplied) in this State considering that a Memorandum...
- Telecommunications Services
72. To ask the Minister for Culture, Culture, Communications and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the widespread concerns in Northern Ireland in relation to limited access to RTÉ...
- Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
- House Prices
73. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps being taken to regulate online bidding in housing sales to ensure that bids are genuine and not being used to...
- Pension Provisions
74. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will set out the statutory basis under which Irish Water (Uisce Éireann) may award pension increases to members of...
- Referendum Campaigns
75. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the Governement plans to hold a referendum on the public ownership of water. [67375/26]
- Planning Issues
76. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when he expects the new planning regulations in relation to childcare planning to be published that will update the 2001...
- Defective Building Materials
77. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if, given the increasing cost of building materials, he and his Department will consider increasing the maximum grant payable...
- Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
- School Meals Programme
84. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if his Department will engage with a school (details supplied) to roll out the School Meals Programme. [67300/26]
- Social Insurance
85. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the income disregards by €1 in each of the social insurance schemes where income...
- Social Welfare Schemes
86. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection If he will review the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will provide an update on the application. [67401/26]
- Pension Provisions
87. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the final number of participants in MyFutureFund eligible to opt out during the first opt-out window ending on 31 August 2026;...
- Social Welfare Schemes
88. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason working family payment recipients cannot access the fuel allowance in two lump sums; and if he will consider this...
- Social Welfare Payments
93. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the time limits for backdating all social welfare payments under the remit of his Department, in tabular form. [67438/26]
- School Meals Programme
94. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the data his Department holds on food waste and single-use packaging arising from the Hot School Meals Programme; whether a...
- Tax Exemptions
98. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection whether consideration has been given to introducing a zero rate of employer PRSI for employees under 25 years of age, similar...
- Department of Justice and Equality
- Seized Property
100. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of firearms, prohibited weapons and items of ammunition seized by An Garda Síochána in each of the past...
- Departmental Reviews
101. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to commission an independent review of the relocation process for residents (details supplied), to include...
- State Assets
105. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of revenue generated from the disposal of confiscated or forfeited assets in each of the past ten years; and the...
- Seized Property
106. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of complaints and investigations undertaken by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission in the past ten...
- Residency Permits
109. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality If he will expedite a decision on an appeal against the refusal of a residence card application for a person (details...
- International Protection
114. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the details of all assessments and inspections carried out in respect of accommodation at a location (details supplied),...
- Citizenship Applications
118. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of two citizenship applications (details supplied); the reason for the continued delay in issuing approval letters...
- Departmental Schemes
119. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of funding allocated to a scheme (details supplied) by year from 2020 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form....
- Legal Aid
121. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality whether his Department has examined the impact on the administration of justice of the reported 93% reduction in the number of...
- Family Law Cases
122. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to the High Court declaration (details supplied) the number of complaints of perjury, or of attempting to pervert the...
- Immigration Status
123. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons found to be unlawfully present in the State due to overstaying a visa or residence permission in each of...
- Citizenship Applications
124. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality If any concessions under the new citizenship laws are going to be made for Belarussians, who since 2023 have been banned from...
- International Protection
125. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of international protection applicants who are currently employed in the State; whether his Department collects or...
- Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
- Animal Welfare
126. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration will be given to introducing a targeted financial support or grant to assist older people and pensioners living...
- Control of Dogs
127. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of dogs euthanised in local authority dog pounds in each of the years 2022 to 2024, by local authority including the...
- Poultry Sector
131. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of veterinary inspections carried out in 2025 specifically to observe poultry catching and loading (details supplied); if...
- Animal Welfare
132. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason his Department does not collect data on incidences in the egg industry of osteoporosis, peritonitis, egg binding and...
- Forestry Sector
135. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on a replanting order (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67427/26]
- Harbours and Piers
136. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total capital funding sought, allocated and drawn down for harbours and piers in each county in each of the years 2021 to 2025...
- Department of Children, Disability and Equality
- Social Welfare Code
138. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on her Department's progress regarding the Programme for Government commitment to introduce paid surrogacy...
- Childcare Services
139. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will urgently review (details supplied), given that the service remains in serious financial difficulty; if she will clarify...
- Defective Building Materials
140. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether a formal protocol exists between her Department, Pobal and County Childcare Committees regarding the management of childcare...
- Planning Issues
144. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when she expects the new planning regulations in relation to childcare planning to be published, that will update the 2001 planning...
- Departmental Policies
145. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the work of the steering group for the development of a national policy regarding Kinship Care; and if a timeline...
- Disability Services
146. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the waiting lists for and approved staffing complement of Waterford South City Children's Disability Network Team at 31 August 2026;...
- Department of Health
- Home Help Service
148. To ask the Minister for Health the number of additional home support hours that have been assessed as clinically required but remain undelivered nationally, and by county. [67229/26]
- Health Services Staff
149. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 866 of 6 May 2026, and the HSE response, if she is aware that certified athletic therapists are qualified to manage...
- Home Help Service
150. To ask the Minister for Health the number of home-support hours approved but undelivered due to workforce shortages. [67240/26]
- Ambulance Service
155. To ask the Minister for Health the current NAS policy governing eligibility for shift allowance or shift premium for paramedics, including the minimum number and type of qualifying shifts...
- Medicinal Products
156. To ask the Minister for Health the status of a medication (details supplied) for the treatment of Phenylketonuria (PKU) in Ireland. [67252/26]
- Health Services
157. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the chronic disease management programme and implementation across all areas; the number of GPs providing services in each area; the number of...
- Hospital Appointments Status
158. To ask the Minister for Health If she will ensure an urgent surgery appointment is expedited for a patient (details supplied). [67346/26]
- Medical Aids and Appliances
159. To ask the Minister for Health whether she has considered adding a home INR monitoring system (details supplied) to the HSE reimbursement list for patients who require regular...
- Health Services
160. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 587 of 5 March 2026, for an update on the formal business case concerning orthodontic staffing in HSE South West; whether...
- Health Services Staff
167. To ask the Minister for Health the average hourly rate paid to frontline home-support workers employed by private providers contracted by the HSE. [67234/26]
- Health Service Executive
168. To ask the Minister for Health the criteria used by the HSE when deciding to decommission administrative posts; and whether the option of recommissioning the existing administrative role in...
- Primary Care Centres
169. To ask the Minister for Health whether the HSE has undertaken any review of primary care service provision in East Mayo; and if she will address concerns that the withdrawal of...
- Health Services Waiting Lists
170. To ask the Minister for Health the steps being taken to resolve administrative and multidisciplinary assessment delays for a child (details supplied) caught between the HSE primary care and...
- Pharmacy Services
171. To ask the Minister for Health for an update on the implementation of the Programme for Government commitments regarding pharmacists and pharmacy services. [67415/26]
- Health Services
172. To ask the Minister for Health if she will commit to completing and publishing a national model of care for acute and chronic pain services, together with a funded, time-bound implementation...
- Health Service Executive
176. To ask the Minister for Health if she will request the HSE to release an outstanding assessment report to a child's parent (details supplied); the reasons it was omitted from the disclosure...
- Health Strategies
177. To ask the Minister for Health if she plans to begin implementation of the National Diabetes Strategy by providing funding to create a regional diabetes clinical lead post in each HSE health...
- Medical Qualifications
181. To ask the Minister for Health the reason for recent changes to the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland’s (RCPI) Basic Specialist Training recruitment process; to respond to...
- Dental Services
184. To ask the Minister for Health to ensure adequate funding and resources are allocated to the Dental Health Foundation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67474/26]
- Medical Cards
185. To ask the Minister for Health the reason contracted printers are used to print medical cards; the yearly cost of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67533/26]
- Primary Care Services
186. To ask the Minister for Health the number of people waiting for an initial appointment across primary and community care services at 31 August 2025 and 2026, nationally, by HSE health...
- Hospital Services
187. To ask the Minister for Health the number of emergency department attendances; the average time to admission; the waiting-time distribution; the number and percentage of patients waiting...
- Home Care Packages
189. To ask the Minister for Health to provide the current waiting list figures for home care, both new packages and additional hours being sought, in County Roscommon and County Galway; the...
- Departmental Data
190. To ask the Minister for Health the number of people waiting for diagnostic scans and other centrally reported diagnostic tests, at 31 August nationally, by HSE Health Region and by hospital...
- Hospital Services
193. To ask the Minister for Health the status of outsourcing arrangements for children's spinal surgery and paediatric orthopaedics; the participating hospitals, including international...
- Ambulance Service
194. To ask the Minister for Health the number and percentage of ambulance handovers completed within 20 minutes and the number and percentage taking more than 30 minutes, 60 minutes and 120...
- Departmental Data
196. To ask the Minister for Health the number of assaults recorded against healthcare workers and patients for the period 1 January to 31 August in each of the years 2022 to 2026, nationally,...
- Health Services
201. To ask the Minister for Health the expenditure by the HSE and public hospitals on privately provided MRI, CT, ultrasound, endoscopy and colonoscopy services in each year 2022 to 2025 and to...
- Departmental Data
202. To ask the Minister for Health the overtime expenditure and overtime hours in each public and voluntary acute hospital for each year 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, broken down by staff...
- Medicinal Products
204. To ask the Minister for Health the number of medicines which entered the HSE reimbursement process in each year 2021 to 2025 and to date in 2026; the number which received a final...
- Hospital Services
205. To ask the Minister for Health to address the issue that patients in Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar will not have access to nurse led clinics provided from the Diabetes Day Centre due...
- Health Screening Programmes
206. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons eligible, invited and screened in each of the years 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026 in respect of BreastCheck, CervicalCheck and...
- Data Protection
208. To ask the Minister for Health the number of personal-data breaches recorded by the HSE and public and voluntary hospitals for each of the years 2021 to 2025 and to date in 2026, nationally,...
- Patient Safety
209. To ask the Minister for Health the number of serious reportable events and other serious patient-safety incidents recorded in each of the years 2021 to 2025 and to date in 2026, nationally...
- Hospital Staff
210. To ask the Minister for Health the number of hospitals and clinical sites required to certify compliance with the Public-Only Consultant Contract 2023; the number which have completed such...
- Departmental Expenditure
213. To ask the Minister for Health the total expenditure by the HSE and each Section 38 organisation on management consultancy and external professional services for each full year 2021 to 2025...
- Medical Cards
214. To ask the Minister for Health if she will clarify whether a GP practice may charge a medical card or doctor visit card holder a “New Patient Appointment Fee” (details...
- General Practitioner Services
215. To ask the Minister for Health the number of requests received for assistance with assignment to a GP or dentist from medical card holders, GP visit card holders and persons without such...
- Dental Services
216. To ask the Minister for Health the number of patients waiting for access to dental treatment under sedation or general anaesthetic at 31 August 2025 and 31 August 2026, broken down by...
- Health Services Staff
217. To ask the Minister for Health the number of newly qualified nurses who completed their internships in 2026 and subsequently applied for nursing positions within the HSE; the number offered...
- Dental Services
218. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children eligible and scheduled for school dental screening, the number actually screened, the number and percentage of eligible children not...
- Health Services Staff
222. To ask the Minister for Health the number of funded or sanctioned posts for which recruitment, appointment or commencement has been paused, delayed, refused or otherwise restricted as a...
- Department of Education and Skills
- Departmental Schemes
229. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether he will review the SUSI eligibility criteria that classify mature students living in the parental home as dependent students for grant...
- Education and Training Boards
232. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No's 6899/26 and 50256/26 to confirm that Cavan/Monaghan ETB's FET College Major Capital Project will be...
- Adult Education Provision
233. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of adult international protection applicants enrolled in PLC courses, apprenticeships, undergraduate courses and postgraduate courses...
