Emer Currie

258. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport for an update on progress made to date and the plans for the future for the expansion of the night-time economy action plan for Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53483/25]

259. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the grants available through the Arts Council; the overall cost of these grants for 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53485/25]

260. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the number of grants and the cost of these grants under the latest stream of the cultural capital scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53486/25]

361. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the number of people in receipt of the living alone allowance per year from 2020 to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53261/25]

362. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of the living alone allowance, per year from 2020 to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53262/25]

363. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of expanding living alone allowance to all individuals over the age of 66; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53263/25]

429. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the progress of developing a new National Cyber Security Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53494/25]

499. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of children supported by income-assessed childcare subsidies, by county, in 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52927/25]

500. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average payment under income-assessed childcare in 2025. [52929/25]

501. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of pre-school places operating in the years 2020 to date in 2025, according to size such as <25, 25-49, 50-74, 75-99 and 100+. [52930/25]

502. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the status of a dedicated state agency for early learning and childcare, which would undertake functions currently carried out by Pobal Early Years, the 30 City and County Childcare Committees as well as operational functions currently undertaken by her Department. [52976/25]

514. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has any plans to expand the use of braille signage in public spaces; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53025/25]

515. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has received any proposals to expand the use of braille signage in supermarkets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53026/25]

683. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health whether her Department will include a medication (details supplied) in the drug payment scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53695/25]

708. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health to outline the progress to date on the Programme for Government commitment to make eye care services more accessible to everyone; and to review the National Clinical Programme for Ophthalmology; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53924/25]

709. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health whether data is currently compiled to track the number of patients currently travelling to Northern Ireland for cataract surgery; if that data is published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53925/25]

710. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health if her plans to build national capacity for clinical genetic testing includes the establishment of a public sector-run national genomics laboratory; if so, the anticipated timeline for this development; the level of funding required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53930/25]

711. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health her plans to introduce and expand access to medical retinal procedures within the public health system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53931/25]

712. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health the Irish public hospital laboratories that are accredited to ISO 15189:2022 standard to deliver for clinical genetic tests; if she will specify the clinical genetic tests for which they hold this accreditation; and if she will outline the average turnaround times for these laboratories in delivering results back to the requesting clinician and patient. [53932/25]

713. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health if she will address the current fragmented approach to ordering clinical genetic tests in Ireland; her plans to build national capacity to avoid the unnecessary practice of patient blood samples being sent abroad; the timeline for this capacity to be built; if it will be public sector centred; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53933/25]

714. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health if she will consider issuing national clinical genetic testing guidance to clinicians, similar to the guidance provided for medicines and medical technologies, advising which ISO 15189:2022 accredited commercial and public clinical genetic laboratories in Ireland are recommended, competent and appropriately accredited to conduct tests in-country and abroad, in the interest of realising efficiencies in the area of health expenditure and ensuring tests are conducted in accredited facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53934/25]

715. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health in view of 20,000 clinical genetic tests being sent to laboratories abroad, if she will clarify the way in which patient data is handled by each laboratory provider, in the interests of transparency and good governance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53935/25]

716. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health if she agrees with the HSE’s practice of using Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) as a postal conduit for a significant proportion of the approximately 20,0000 patient blood samples requiring genetic testing, particularly given that these samples are ultimately dispatched abroad to laboratory service providers in countries such as UK, Germany and Finland; if she will clarify how this arrangement can be justified in terms of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, patient data governance, given the availability of competent accredited laboratory capacity in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53936/25]

717. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Health her plans to drive cost efficiencies in view of the fact that 20,000 clinical tests are sent to laboratories in Germany, Finland, Spain, the UK, and the USA; if the HSE utilises existing capacity of Ireland-based accredited commercial clinical genetic testing laboratories for patients blood samples, including neurology, ophthalmology, and nephrology genetic tests; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53937/25]

732. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the progress of the expansion of apprenticeships since the publication of the action plan on apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53505/25]