Ken O'Flynn

472. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether his Department has received any briefings, reports, or risk assessments from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission regarding cartel behaviour or bid-rigging in public procurement for State-funded projects; the dates of any such briefings since 2022; the sectors concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9320/26]

473. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether his Department has undertaken or commissioned any assessment of the estimated cost to the Exchequer arising from cartel activity or bid-rigging in public procurement; whether any modelling exists estimating price inflation attributable to such practices; and if he will outline any findings available to his Department.. [9321/26]

474. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the legislative or policy measures are currently under consideration to strengthen the detection and deterrence of cartel behaviour in public procurement, including any proposals to enhance the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s access to procurement data held by public bodies; and the expected timeline for any such measures. [9322/26]

475. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether there is a formal interdepartmental framework in place between his Department, the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to address cartel behaviour in public procurement; when such arrangements were established; and the way accountability and reporting are structured. [9327/26]

630. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide a breakdown, by year and school level, of the number of reported incidents involving students bringing weapons onto school premises over the past five years; the number of suspensions and expulsions arising from such incidents; the guidance issued by her Department to schools in relation to disciplinary responses where weapons are involved; whether she is satisfied that the current approach adequately protects the safety of students and staff; whether consideration has been given to introducing a clear national zero tolerance policy for weapons in schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10213/26]

783. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether he or his Department have considered any legislative proposals aimed at strengthening sentencing outcomes for offences involving assaults on members of An Garda Síochána, in light of conviction and sentencing trends recorded by the Courts Service for the years 2021 to 2025; and if not, the reasons no such policy action has been taken. [9219/26]

786. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to set out the Department’s current projections for the annual cost of accommodating international protection applicants over the next five years, including any internal estimates indicating expenditure of up to €1.5 billion per annum referenced in briefing material prepared for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9382/26]

787. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the governance, compliance, and enforcement framework applying to private providers contracted to supply accommodation for international protection applicants, including the number of providers found to be non-compliant since 2022, the total contract value involved, and the sanctions applied; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9385/26]

788. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to detail the State’s reliance on emergency accommodation for international protection applicants, including the average nightly cost, average duration of stays, and total annual expenditure on emergency accommodation for each year since 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9386/26]

789. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether an impact assessment has been completed on the expected effect of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact on the number of international protection applications to Ireland from 2027 onwards, including any projections in the range of 22,000 to 24,000 applicants per annum, and the associated accommodation and budgetary implications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9387/26]

790. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department operates a defined accommodation capacity threshold for international protection applicants; if not, the rationale for the absence of such a threshold; the way in which intake levels are aligned with available accommodation capacity and public expenditure limits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9388/26]

791. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the absence of a disaggregated cost breakdown for expenditure on international protection accommodation and related supports exceeding €4 billion since 2022, including separation of payments to private accommodation providers, expenditure on State-owned accommodation, ancillary service costs, and administrative costs, is consistent with the public financial management and audit standards applicable to his Department; whether this matter has been raised with or examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9400/26]

792. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide the total number of private accommodation providers contracted by the International Protection Accommodation Service in each year from 2022 to date; the aggregate annual expenditure paid to private accommodation providers in each of those years; the number of providers accounting for the highest proportion of that expenditure; the average nightly cost per person paid under such contracts; the proportion of contracts entered into without an open competitive tender process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9401/26]

793. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether an average length of stay of 24.8 months in International Protection Accommodation Service accommodation is consistent with EU best practice and the objectives of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum; the target average length of stay envisaged under current Government policy; the estimated annual cost to the Exchequer of each additional month an international protection applicant remains in State-provided accommodation beyond that target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9402/26]

794. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the procurement reference number, procurement route, and approval pathway used by the Irish Prison Service for each engagement with podcasts, influencers, or media outlets between 1 January 2020 and 30 September 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9403/26]

795. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to specify, for each engagement by the Irish Prison Service with podcasts, influencers, or media outlets since 1 January 2020, whether the expenditure was procured through an Office of Government Procurement framework, an open competitive process, a competitive quotation process, or a sole supplier arrangement; and if he will provide the number of engagements under each category. [9404/26]

796. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the criteria applied by the Irish Prison Service in determining that a sole supplier arrangement was justified for any podcast, influencer, or media engagement since 1 January 2020; and to confirm whether written sole supplier justifications were completed in each such case. [9405/26]

797. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to confirm the grade and role of the approving officer within the Irish Prison Service or the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration who authorised each sole supplier engagement with podcasts, influencers, or media outlets since 1 January 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9406/26]

798. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Irish Prison Service applies expenditure aggregation rules across multiple payments to the same supplier within a financial year for the purposes of public procurement compliance; and if he will outline the way this policy was applied in respect of podcast, influencer, or media engagements since 2020. [9407/26]

799. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any internal audit, compliance review, or governance assurance process within the Department or the Irish Prison Service examined expenditure on podcasts, influencers, or media services since 1 January 2020; and if so, to specify the year in which each review occurred and its scope. [9408/26]

800. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to clarify the governance and oversight arrangements in place where the Irish Prison Service commissions or co-produces media content, including podcasts, as part of recruitment or rehabilitative initiatives; and to confirm whether such arrangements are treated as advertising expenditure or commissioned content for procurement purposes. [9409/26]

801. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the reasons an e-tender process commenced in 2025 in respect of services provided by experts by experience was paused; to specify the authority under which the pause occurred; and to confirm whether expenditure continued during the period in which the tender process was paused. [9410/26]

802. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Department has issued any guidance, circulars, or internal instructions to the Irish Prison Service since 2020 regarding the procurement of media, podcast, influencer, or public relations services; and if so, to specify the dates on which such guidance was issued. [9411/26]

803. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether he is satisfied that the governance, approval, and procurement controls applied by the Irish Prison Service to podcast, influencer, and media engagements since 1 January 2020 provide value for money and full compliance with public procurement requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9412/26]

880. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of inspections carried out by his Department, or on its behalf, relating specifically to the welfare of exotic animals kept as pets, including reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and non-domesticated mammals, in each of the years 2020 to 2025 inclusive; the number of non-compliances identified; the number of animals seized; and the number of prosecutions initiated arising from such inspections, in tabular form. [9496/26]