Parliamentary questions

Fire Service

Ruairí Ó Murchú

61. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform when the necessary legislative amendments to facilitate an extension of the mandatory age of retirement for uniformed services up to the age of 62 years to include full-time and retained fire service personnel will be ready; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17788/24]

Flood Risk Management

Ruairí Ó Murchú

68. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the progress made to date in 2024 in relation to the CFRAM scheme for County Louth; the current timelines for the delivery of the projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17789/24]

Sports Funding

Ruairí Ó Murchú

24. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will provide an update on this year's sports capital grants and a timeline on when decisions will be made; if she will outline future funding plans for large-scale sports infrastructure funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16984/24]

Film Industry

Ruairí Ó Murchú

41. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will provide an update on the work of the stakeholders' forum, one of the recommendations of the recent report on section 481 produced by the Oireachtas budget scrutiny committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16983/24]

Small and Medium Enterprises

Ruairí Ó Murchú

64. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will outline the work that is being carried out by his Department to provide supports for micro, small and medium-sized businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16985/24]

Export Controls

Ruairí Ó Murchú

66. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will outline the process his Department uses to assess the granting of export licences for dual-use goods to Israel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16986/24]

Cabinet Committees

Ruairí Ó Murchú

5. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change will meet next. [13013/24]

Cabinet Committees

Ruairí Ó Murchú

10. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change will meet next. [16355/24]

Cabinet Committees

Ruairí Ó Murchú

12. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the economy and investment will next meet. [13014/24]

Cabinet Committees

Ruairí Ó Murchú

17. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the economy and investment will next meet. [15165/24]

Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements

Ruairí Ó Murchú

27. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the 60th annual Munich Security Conference. [16356/24]

Special Educational Needs

Ruairí Ó Murchú

112. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Education if she will provide an update on the progress being made to open additional autism units for children for September 2024 at primary and second level in County Louth; the number of places she expects to be available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16357/24]

Special Educational Needs

Ruairí Ó Murchú

115. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Education if she will provide details of the review process that is underway for any school that is not happy with its SET hours allocation; the number of reviews received and the outcome of those reviews; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16358/24]

Grant Payments

Ruairí Ó Murchú

27. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the results and plans for implementation of the review completed by his Department on local authority adaptation grants and when the new measures contained in the review will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15164/24]

Public Sector Staff

Ruairí Ó Murchú

41. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of the impending mandatory retirement of a retained firefighter in Louth (details supplied); if plans to raise the mandatory retirement age will be finalised in time to allow him to remain on working; if he will consider issuing a circular to local authorities about the raising of the retirement age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15163/24]

Public Sector Staff

Ruairí Ó Murchú

93. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage what is the timeline for raising the mandatory retirement age for retained firefighters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15161/24]

Public Sector Staff

Ruairí Ó Murchú

94. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of the impending mandatory retirement of a retained firefighter in County Louth (details supplied); if plans to raise the mandatory retirement age will be finalised in time to allow him to remain on working; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15162/24]

Road Projects

Ruairí Ó Murchú

135. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there is a mechanism available to deal with a sight line issue during the construction of a major road project in Dundalk (details supplied), if it is under consideration by his Department; if his Department has been in contact with other Government departments in order to find a solution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13269/24]

Grant Payments

Ruairí Ó Murchú

136. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration is being given to provide a grant scheme, independent of the disabled persons grants administered by local authorities, for building or capital works for homeowners who have family members with significant disabilities that mean their homes are not suitable for the person to live in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9353/24]

Insurance Industry

Ruairí Ó Murchú

17. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Finance to provide an update on the work of the Office for the Promotion of Competition in the Insurance Market, particularly in relation to reducing the cost of public liability insurance; to outline his Department’s recent engagement with insurance companies, including new insurance companies, about the high cost of public liability insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15158/24]

Flexible Work Practices

Ruairí Ó Murchú

38. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide an update on the survey that was carried out related to cross Border workers and the issues they face in relation to working from home, income tax and social protection; if his Department has had any recent engagement with the Assembly or the British Government on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15157/24]

Special Educational Needs

Ruairí Ó Murchú

512. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Education the reason a school (details supplied) is not able to open an additional autism unit at the school in September 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14810/24]

Housing Schemes

Ruairí Ó Murchú

599. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there is a mechanism available to a council tenant who was allocated an OPD property that was not specially adapted and whose circumstances have now changed after getting married, to purchase the property under the tenant incremental purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13660/24]

Housing Schemes

Ruairí Ó Murchú

636. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will detail the sources of, and definition of, reckonable income for the purposes of local authorities' assessment of applications under the tenant incremental purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14283/24]

Social Welfare Eligibility

Ruairí Ó Murchú

729. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to allowing the payment of children's allowance to all students over 18 who are still in school, from when they turned 18, and their children's allowance was stopped; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13659/24]

Disability Services

Ruairí Ó Murchú

1693. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the progress being made into the review of the provision of services to students with disabilities at further and higher education centres; the areas that are being reviewed; when the review is expected to be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14187/24]

Defence Forces

Ruairí Ó Murchú

47. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on the progress being made to raise the mandatory retirement age in the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13226/24]

Middle East

Ruairí Ó Murchú

59. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on the current situation in South Lebanon; the current activities of the Defence Forces on the UNIFIL mission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13227/24]

Road Network

Ruairí Ó Murchú

86. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Question No. 23 of 15 October 2023, given that Louth County Council has indicated that if work was to be funded by his Department at this location (details supplied), it would have to be done under the locations of interest (LOIs) scheme, the locations for which are decided by his Department, if he will consider this or other solutions to the serious issue of crashes happening at this location, including incidents where the family home at this location has been hit by cars; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13270/24]

Middle East

Ruairí Ó Murchú

56. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs for an update on his and his Department’s recent interactions with European states and with the United States of America about Gaza; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11114/24]

Energy Policy

Ruairí Ó Murchú

89. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if consideration has been given to the creation of a funding mechanism to assist with the conversation of fossil fuel-run community district heating systems, details supplied, into more sustainable fuel-run systems and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11190/24]

Recycling Policy

Ruairí Ó Murchú

122. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will provide an update on the first month of the operation of the deposit return scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11189/24]

Nuclear Waste

Ruairí Ó Murchú

129. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if any efforts are being made to commission an independent or third-party assessment of Sellafield’s operations as a response to media reports, in order to avoid bias or investigative limitations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11113/24]

North-South Implementation Bodies

Ruairí Ó Murchú

137. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline his recent engagement with the British government in relation to the re-establishment of the Northern Ireland Executive. [5277/24]

Flood Relief Schemes

Ruairí Ó Murchú

71. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide an update on any engagement her Department has had with the Department of Transport and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in relation to the enhancement of the LIS allocations for counties affected by recent flooding, particularly County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10356/24]

General Practitioner Services

Ruairí Ó Murchú

17. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health his plans to deal with the shortage of GPs in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9369/24]

Medical Aids and Appliances

Ruairí Ó Murchú

36. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the proposed changes to the funding model for post-mastectomy products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9368/24]

Community Welfare Services

Ruairí Ó Murchú

145. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide an update on the ongoing situation with an organisation (details supplied) that has stated that it will transfer care services to the HSE by August 2024; the interactions that have happened between his Department and other Government Departments about the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9352/24]

Adult Education Provision

Ruairí Ó Murchú

13. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if there are plans to include courses for adults with intellectual disabilities such as the level 3 certificate in skills for independent living at Dundalk IT under the SUSI grant scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8724/24]

Further and Higher Education

Ruairí Ó Murchú

42. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide an update on the plans to enhance disability supports for students at further and higher education centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8725/24]

Cabinet Committees

Ruairí Ó Murchú

9. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs will next meet [5276/24]

Legislative Programme

Ruairí Ó Murchú

46. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the legislative programme. [6306/24]

Social Welfare Payments

Ruairí Ó Murchú

56. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the establishment of an interdepartmental working group with the Department of Health to examine and review the system of means testing for carer payments and related schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7231/24]

Departmental Schemes

Ruairí Ó Murchú

69. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the work to operationalise the recommendations in the review of the reasonable accommodation fund and the disability awareness support scheme, and the plans to launch a reformed scheme this year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7230/24]

Tourism Promotion

Ruairí Ó Murchú

16. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will outline the marketing strategy employed by Tourism Ireland to promote Brigid 1500 abroad; whether it was deemed to be successful; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6366/24]

Film Industry

Ruairí Ó Murchú

46. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will provide an update following the recent holding of Stakeholders Forum for Section 481; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6365/24]

Housing Provision

Ruairí Ó Murchú

114. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how many affordable houses will be made available in 2024 in Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6364/24]

Departmental Reviews

Ruairí Ó Murchú

116. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the review completed by his Department on local authority adaptation grants; how long it is expected to be under consideration by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform; when he expects it to be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6363/24]

Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements

Ruairí Ó Murchú

11. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach to report on his recent engagement with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. [3957/24]

Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements

Ruairí Ó Murchú

18. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach to report on his visit to the western Balkans. [3958/24]