Ged Nash

1304. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if it is the current policy of his private office/Department to formally invite or notify all local Oireachtas members of constituency events at which Ministers are in attendance in the course of performing their ministerial duties and functions; if he will provide the Department's current policy or protocol on this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30599/26]

1305. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide a list of all events across every constituency attended by the Minister in the course of his ministerial duties since 1 January 2026, where formal invitations/notifications to attend were not issued by his office to all local Oireachtas members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30617/26]

1321. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if it is the current policy of his private office/Department to formally invite or notify all local Oireachtas members of constituency events at which Ministers are in attendance in the course of performing their ministerial duties and functions; if he will provide the Department's current policy or protocol on this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30604/26]

1322. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to provide a list of all events across every constituency attended by the Minister in the course of his ministerial duties since 1 January 2026, where formal invitations/notifications to attend were not issued by his office to all local Oireachtas members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30622/26]

237. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his plans for a new savings and investment scheme for retail investors; the estimated cost to the Exchequer in terms of tax foregone in the first five years of the new scheme under preparation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26421/26]

261. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his Department’s up-to-date estimate of the cost of the reduced rate of VAT for the hospitality sector for the remainder of 2026; the estimated full year cost for 2027; if he will review this decision in light of the rising cost of fossil fuels and given the need for additional targeted supports for households and business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26422/26]

333. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Taoiseach the role and function of the Civil Service Management Board; the composition of the board; and the number of meetings of the Civil Service Management Boards in 2024 and 2025. [28287/26]

205. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will consider reviewing the VAT registration threshold for self-employed musicians whose core business is live performances at weddings and other such events and occasions either individually or as part of ensembles; if he will consider introducing a lower rate of VAT for such undertakings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27774/26]

886. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he is considering a policy change that will extend a VAT rebate scheme on diesel, equivalent to the scheme available for hauliers, that would cover the commercial coach sector; the estimated cost of such a rebate for the remainder of 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23748/26]

1283. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason no schools in Drogheda, County Louth have been selected for inclusion in the DEIS Plus programme; the precise criteria that was used to identify the schools that have been successfully included in the scheme; if an appeal can be made by a school that has not been included; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24219/26]

1418. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason seven schools in Drogheda (details supplied) are excluded from the Deis Plus scheme; the criteria used to make this decision; the basis on which these schools were judged to not meet those criteria; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25557/26]

1419. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will outline the appeals process for schools excluded from the DEIS Plus scheme; and the way in which appeals will be evaluated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25558/26]

1420. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide the precise score for each school that was successfully awarded DEIS+ status as per her announcement in March; if she will provide the precise scoring achieved by schools in Drogheda (details supplied) using the new DEIS+ identification model and the Pobal HP Deprivation Index, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25559/26]

1909. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department plans to extend the free travel companion scheme to all cases where a persons disability requires them to travel with a companion on public transport (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25712/26]

2033. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his plans to extend the common travel area to people who have valid visas to enter the UK; if he has given any consideration to this matter recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24781/26]

2034. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his assessment of the impact of extending the common travel area to migrants in the North who have valid visas to remain in the UK, to reduce barriers to access Dublin airport and visit the south for tourism purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24782/26]

2095. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide details on the precise purpose for which a hotel (details supplied) will now be used by IPAS, under the terms of the recent contract extension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25573/26]

2096. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration when the extension to the contract for a hotel (details supplied) to continue operating as an IPAS centre was signed; the duration of that contract; the value of that contract; the end date for that contract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25574/26]

2097. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of people housed at the IPAS Centre at a hotel (details supplied) each month since April 2024 to date, in tabular form [25575/26]

2098. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if the extension of the contract for a hotel (details supplied) to continue to be an IPAS centre for a further 12 months will be the final extension of this contract; if the hotel will return to general public use after the end date of that extension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25576/26]

2430. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the recently revised assessment of need framework, limits or reduces access to cognitive assessment for children, including in cases where intellectual disability is not suspected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24600/26]

2431. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the way in which the revised assessment of need framework ensures that children with uneven developmental profiles, including those who may be gifted or twice-exceptional (i.e. children with both high ability and additional needs such as autism, ADHD, or dyslexia), will be appropriately identified within the system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24601/26]

2432. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has conducted any impact assessment on the way in which the revised assessment of need model may affect the identification of children whose needs are masked by high cognitive ability or compensatory functioning; the safeguards in place to prevent under-identification of such children, particularly in light of evidence that twice-exceptional children are already under-recognised within Irish education and disability services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24602/26]

2433. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will clarify if access to cognitive or psychological assessment remains available where there is evidence of significant intra-individual discrepancy, asynchronous development, or unexplained underachievement; if consideration has been given to the potential for increased reliance on private assessments arising from any restriction in public access to cognitive assessment, and the implications this may have for equity of access; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24603/26]

2434. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the training or guidance being provided to assessment officers and multidisciplinary teams to ensure that complex presentations, including masking and twice-exceptionality, are recognised under the revised model; if he will confirm whether his Department plans to review the implementation of the revised assessment of need framework, to ensure that no cohort of children is excluded from identification due to the streamlining of assessment processes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24604/26]