Ken O'Flynn

663. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any portion of the €2 billion Contingency Reserve Fund—of which 48% was previously allocated to the Department of Children, Disability and Equality—has now been reallocated to his Department following the recent functional transfer; if so, to outline the purposes for which those funds are intended to be used; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37741/25]

664. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether he intends to ring-fence any specific funding for integration support measures within the justice sector or its affiliated agencies following the assumption of responsibility for immigration and integration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37742/25]

665. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the oversight and accountability mechanisms his Department is putting in place to ensure transparent expenditure and effective governance in relation to the immigration and integration functions transferred from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37743/25]

718. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality how the transfer of integration and immigration functions to her Department has impacted the residual budget allocations and responsibilities of the Department, particularly in the context of early learning and childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37740/25]

50. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department is aware of properties being retrofitted or acquired for IPAS use in advance of planning or public notification; and whether he will commit to a register of sites under assessment, to be shared with local authorities and Deputies. [35227/25]

226. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware that some secondary schools are encouraging parents to incur financial debt by requiring the purchase of specific iPads, which cost on average €600; if she is further aware that these schools stipulate the exact make and model, limiting open market choice, and in many cases are directing parents to local credit unions to take out loans for this purpose; and if she will outline the steps she is taking to monitor and regulate such practices, to protect families from unnecessary financial strain. [36852/25]

227. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware that despite the Department’s circulars advising schools to reduce the cost of school uniforms by avoiding the use of branded or crested items, many primary and secondary schools continue to require expensive branded uniforms that can only be purchased from a single designated supplier, thereby limiting affordability and competition; and if she will confirm what enforcement mechanisms or follow-up actions are in place to ensure schools comply with the Department’s cost-reduction guidelines. [36853/25]

283. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the quality assurance mechanisms his Department has in place to monitor the implementation of the Hot School Meals Programme; if he will confirm whether any inspections or audits were carried out during the 2024–2025 academic year; if his Department intends to publish the findings of these inspections; and if he will outline the enforcement procedures that exist in instances of non-compliance by providers. [36854/25]

284. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he is satisfied that the meals served under the Hot School Meals Programme align with national and international nutritional guidelines for children; if his Department has conducted any independent assessments of the meals provided; and if he will outline the specific steps taken to address the prevalence of ultra-processed foods, such as chips, pizza, processed meats, and carbonara in participating schools. [36855/25]

285. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will outline the steps his Department has taken to ensure that children with coeliac disease and other medical dietary requirements are fully and equally included in the Hot School Meals Programme; if he has engaged with relevant advocacy groups (details supplied); and whether his Department is preparing reforms to provide medically safe, inclusive meal options for all pupils, regardless of dietary need. [36856/25]

286. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has conducted any assessment of the levels of food waste generated under the Hot School Meals Programme; whether any formal cost-benefit or value-for-money analysis has been carried out; and if he will indicate whether infrastructural investment or centralised food preparation models are being considered to improve sustainability and efficiency ahead of the programme’s national expansion. [36857/25]

287. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the scope, methodology, and reporting timeline of the current review of the Hot School Meals Programme; to confirm whether nutritionists, school management bodies, and parent organisations will be consulted as part of the process; and to indicate whether his Department is satisfied that sufficient quality control and supplier capacity exist to meet the standards expected in the forthcoming expansion of the programme to all primary schools. [36858/25]

289. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of applications for asylum or a protection order that were determined to be fraudulent, and the number of prosecutions initiated in this regard, in each of the years from 2020 to 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36679/25]

301. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will provide a detailed report on the current average processing times for visa applications submitted by Irish citizens for their non-EEA spouses; the number of such applications presently awaiting a decision; the total number of spousal visa applications submitted by Irish citizens over the past 24 months; the number of personnel currently assigned to process these applications; and if he will outline the reasons for the significant delays being experienced—delays which in many cases exceed 15 months—causing considerable emotional and logistical hardship for Irish citizens and their families seeking to reunite with their lawful spouses. [36870/25]

185. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the way his Department determines an applicant’s country of origin in cases where no identification is presented at the time of application; and the way his Department ensures that an applicant has not travelled from a country designated as safe while seeking asylum under the UN Refugee Convention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36650/25]

186. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of applicants for asylum or for a protection order that have been convicted for the destruction of identity documents prior to, or during, the application process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36651/25]

498. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline, in light of recent reports concerning the status of the tenant in situ scheme in Cork city and Cork county, the number of acquisitions currently paused or delayed due to funding constraints in each of these local authorities; whether he intends to provide supplementary funding to address the reported €1.7 million shortfall that is preventing both Cork City Council and Cork County Council from completing purchase agreements already initiated under the scheme; whether his Department will consider reallocating underutilised funds from other local authorities to areas of acute need such as Cork; the measures being taken to ensure that local authorities can continue to use the scheme effectively as a homelessness-prevention tool in 2025 and beyond; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36221/25]

545. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the assessment that is made of the socio-economic impact of placing large-scale, single-gender IPAS centres in smaller communities; and whether local schools, GP practices and Gardaí are consulted in advance of such placements. [35229/25]

546. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide an update on the current backlog of asylum applications in Ireland; the average processing time; and the steps being taken to expedite decisions while preserving the integrity of the system. [35230/25]

547. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his views on recent figures showing significant early resignations within An Garda Síochána; the analysis his Department has conducted on morale within the force; and whether targeted retention and support measures are being developed. [35231/25]

548. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether emergency planning powers or Ministerial discretion have been used in the past 12 months to bypass public consultation in the approval of accommodation for international protection applicants; and whether he will publish a record of such interventions. [35232/25]

549. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether he accepts there has been a marked deterioration in public safety and street-level crime in major cities such as Dublin, Cork, and Limerick; and whether the current community safety partnership model is fit for purpose. [35233/25]

550. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the safeguards in place to ensure a balanced gender and age profile in IPAS centres, particularly in smaller towns; and whether his Department has assessed the community impact of accommodating large cohorts of single adult males. [35234/25]

322. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to provide a list of any meetings she attended with health professional representative bodies, voluntary organisations, NGOs, lobby groups and other stakeholders (excluding the HSE) relating to or featuring issues regarding termination of pregnancy, from January 2025 to date, in tabular form, including dates, and organisations represented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35030/25]

144. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if his Department is engaged in any negotiations, planning, or contractual arrangements for the use of the Old Rectory site in Glanmire, County Cork, as a location for an IPAS centre or for the accommodation of international protection applicants; if so, when this site was identified; the proposed capacity and timeline; whether local representatives and the community have been informed or consulted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34860/25]