William Aird

101. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the fuel allowance eligibility criteria in cases where a pensioner is deemed ineligible due to a non-dependent adult child residing in the household; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44574/26]

159. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the steps being taken to secure a new investor or occupier for a facility (details supplied) in Portlaoise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44583/26]

852. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Health the current status of the reimbursement application for givinostat for the treatment of boys living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy; the timeline for a decision following consideration by the HSE Drugs Group; the steps being taken to ensure that there are no further delays in access should reimbursement be approved; whether eligibility criteria will be aligned with those applied by NICE in Northern Ireland to ensure equitable access for Irish patients; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44974/26]

50. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Transport the actions he intends to take to strengthen national road-safety governance; if he will review the current distribution of responsibilities across agencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44584/26]

51. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Transport if he will establish a funded national programme to redesign and remediate the 50 highest-risk road sections identified through collision data; if he will publish timelines for delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44586/26]

52. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Transport his plans to expand the use of automated average-speed camera systems on high-risk national and regional routes; the expected timeline for deployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44587/26]

53. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider the establishment of a statutory road safety commissioner with defined legal authority, a dedicated budget and a clear mandate to oversee delivery of the State’s road-safety targets to 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44588/26]

54. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Transport if he will engage with Transport for Ireland (TFI) regarding the provision of a safer and more accessible bus pick-up point for a person (details supplied) where the current designated stop requires travel along a busy road despite the bus passing directly by the individual's home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44589/26]

55. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Transport if he will provide a list of all capital projects to include road, public transport, active travel, energy and environmental infrastructure projects delivered under the remit of his Departments, and bodies under their aegis (including the NTA, TII, Iarnród Éireann and Bus Éireann), which have been completed on time and within budget in County Laois in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44590/26]

56. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Transport to outline plans by his Department to encourage the transition to electric vehicles, the timelines for the implementation of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44591/26]

71. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the preparedness of Irish industry for the implementation of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM); the supports being provided to affected sectors, particularly SMEs and energy-intensive industries, to comply with reporting and cost implications arising from the transitional phase; the estimated impact on competitiveness and export performance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44599/26]

72. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to provide an update on the current national targets for employment participation of persons with disabilities in the open labour market; the baseline used for measuring progress; and the most recent data available on progress towards these targets, including the way in which this is being monitored across Government departments and agencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44600/26]

73. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether a formal cross-departmental implementation structure exists to ensure delivery of employment activation measures for persons with disabilities; the timelines for any forthcoming strategy updates or action plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44602/26]

74. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the way in which the findings of a report (details supplied) will inform Government policy on the future development of data centre capacity under the Large Energy User Action Plan, particularly in relation to ensuring alignment with energy security, grid capacity and climate objectives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44603/26]

149. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the specific measures that are currently in place to support and incentivise employers to recruit and retain persons with disabilities; whether any new initiatives are being considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44601/26]

159. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is satisfied that the data-sharing and data-processing provisions contained in the general scheme of the Social Welfare and Other Matters Bill 2026, comply with the principles of necessity and proportionality under the GDPR and constitutional privacy protections; whether a detailed assessment or justification has been undertaken in respect of the scale of personal and financial data processing proposed, particularly for fraud prevention purposes; the statutory safeguards that will be included in the legislation to protect citizens' personal data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44593/26]

160. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is satisfied that the proposed legislation in the general scheme of Social Welfare and Other Matters Bill 2026 provides sufficient transparency to social welfare recipients regarding how their personal data may be collected, shared, cross-checked, profiled or otherwise processed across State bodies; what measures are proposed to prevent "function creep", whereby data collected for the administration of social welfare schemes may subsequently be used for unrelated enforcement or monitoring purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44594/26]

161. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the assessment that has been undertaken of international experiences where automated decision-making systems, welfare analytics or fraud detection technologies resulted in wrongful suspensions, incorrect overpayments, or discriminatory outcomes; whether consideration has been given to the potential for algorithmic bias or indirect discrimination arising from increased automation in eligibility assessments or fraud detection processes under the proposed general scheme of Social Welfare and Other Matters Bill 2026, the safeguards that will be implemented to mitigate such risks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44595/26]

162. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is satisfied that the current oversight framework provides the Data Protection Commission with sufficient statutory powers and resources to effectively monitor compliance with large-scale interdepartmental welfare data-sharing arrangements; the way in which the Government intends to balance the legitimate objective of tackling welfare fraud with the privacy and constitutional rights of citizens who are fully compliant with the social protection system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44596/26]

163. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the latest data from the Central Statistics Office on trends in income inequality and poverty over the past decade; if the Gini coefficient has fallen from 32 to 27 between 2014 and 2024; whether the income quintile share ratio has declined over the same period; the changes in the at-risk-of-poverty rate and the consistent poverty rate since 2014; the way in which Ireland compares to other EU Member States on poverty and inequality indicators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44597/26]

164. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps his Department is taking to ensure that employees and employers fully understand their obligations and entitlements under the new auto-enrolment pension scheme in advance of the opt-out window coming into effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44598/26]

192. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current number of Garda members assigned to roads policing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44585/26]

335. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his engagement with Electric Ireland regarding recent and proposed electricity price increases; his assessment of the impact of such increases on households already facing cost-of-living pressures; the measures he has taken to encourage Electric Ireland and other energy suppliers to moderate or defer further price increases; if he has sought assurances from Electric Ireland regarding enhanced hardship supports and flexible repayment arrangements for customers in arrears; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43712/26]

336. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the steps being taken to implement the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation; the steps his Department will take to achieve a 5% reduction in packaging waste by 2030 and a 90% plastic bottle collection rate by 2029; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43713/26]

337. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the investment that will be provided to ensure nationwide full and enhanced separate textile collection by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43714/26]