8. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the pathways that exist for students at relevant third level courses in Ireland to secure an internship with her Department or related agency in order to gain experience in diplomacy, international relations and Irish foreign policy; the positions are advertised and where, if there is an email address or a point of contact to make applic…
51. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the difficulties being experienced by graduates and students of the graduate diploma in physical education at Portobello Institute whose qualifications have reportedly not been accepted by the Teaching Council for the purposes of registration as teachers of physical education; when the Teaching Council first…
52. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of individuals affected by the non-recognition of credits obtained through the graduate diploma in physical education at Portobello Institute; and whether the Teaching Council is considering transitional arrangements, alternative pathways to registration, or other remedies for affected students who relied on assurances that the pro…
53. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether an organisation (details supplied) had at any stage recognised, approved, or otherwise indicated that the Graduate Diploma in Physical Education delivered by an organisation met the curricular subject requirements for registration as a post-primary teacher of physical education; and whether her attention has been drawn to reports that…
107. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will clarify the eligibility criteria for the €500 cost of disability payment announced in Budget 2027; whether persons who were formerly in receipt of disability allowance but who were required to transfer to the State Pension (Non-Contributory) on reaching pension age are excluded from the payment; the number of such pensioners affecte…
110. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has engaged with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications regarding the financial position of low-income households and family carers who borrowed funds to install solar PV systems prior to the introduction of the enhanced SEAI grant supports for carer's allowance recipients; whether additional supports are being cons…
112. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is aware of concerns that older persons with significant disabilities who have transitioned from disability allowance to the State Pension (Non-Contributory) may face substantial additional costs arising from disability, including transport to essential medical appointments and ongoing care needs, but are excluded from the €500 cost of d…
121. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on the application by a person (details supplied) to be appointed as a peace commissioner; whether it is still being processed; whether it is likely to be approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74661/26]
148. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the date on which the decision was made to introduce a restriction limiting preschool rooms to one maintenance of reduced ratio arrangement; when the decision was approved by the Department; where and when the policy was formally published prior to its communication to providers through the Early Years Hive on 25 August 2026; w…
149. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the extent to which the potential reduction in ECCE capacity influenced the decision to restrict maintenance of reduced ratio arrangements to one per room; whether consideration was given to circumstances in which a smaller group size may provide a more appropriate support than the addition of further adult assistance; and the …
150. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether an assessment was undertaken of the impact of the restriction limiting preschool rooms to a single maintenance of reduced ratio arrangement on children with additional needs for whom reduced group size is itself an essential support, including children experiencing sensory overload, communication difficulties, hearing-r…
151. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the evidence, research, consultation findings or needs-based assessment that informed the decision to limit the approval of maintenance of reduced ratio (MRR) arrangements under the access and inclusion model (AIM) to one MRR per preschool room; and the basis upon which it was determined that no further MRR arrangement may be a…
152. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she has considered extending statutory paid paternity leave from the current entitlement of two weeks to at least eight weeks; if her Department has undertaken any assessment of the social, economic and family benefits associated with longer periods of paternity leave, including impacts on child development, maternal we…
156. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration is being given to extending the revised childcare fee cap, or introducing alternative cost-reduction measures, for families using childcare services operating within Band F (50+ hours per week); if she is aware of concerns that many childcare providers in areas such as Lucan operate exclusively within Band F an…
157. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will clarify whether the €550 monthly childcare fee cap announced in Budget 2027 applies solely to childcare services operating within Band E (40-49.9 hours per week) under the core funding scheme; and if she will provide details of the number of childcare providers operating within Bands E and F, respectively. [74685/26…
497. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether any discretionary mechanism exists whereby a school that does not fall within the current staffing appeal criteria may seek a review of a teacher allocation decision based on exceptional circumstances, including serving families residing in an IPAS accommodation centre and a women's refuge, experiencing sustained enrolment growth, an…
498. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Youth if consideration will be given to the level of additional educational needs within a school (details supplied) when determining its staffing allocation. [74491/26]
500. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Youth the measures that are in place to ensure that teacher allocation decisions adequately take account of schools located in rapidly expanding communities with significant levels of new housing development; and if enrolment growth occurring immediately after the annual staffing cut-off date can be considered as part of staffing reviews. [74490/2…
501. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will urgently review the decision to reduce the mainstream teaching allocation of a school (details supplied). [74489/26]
762. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Health the steps being taken to recruit and retain public health nurses to support the school vaccination programme; and whether a workforce assessment has been undertaken to determine the number of additional nurses required to ensure the timely delivery of school-based immunisations nationwide. [71761/26]
763. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Health the extent to which shortages of public health nurses have affected the delivery of the school vaccination programme, including the HPV, Tdap, MenACWY and other routine school-based vaccinations, in each of the past three school years; and the number of schools where vaccination clinics were postponed or delayed due to staffing shortages. [71760/26]
766. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Health the number of sanctioned public health nurse posts that are currently vacant, by CHO7 health region; the number of vacancies specifically affecting the delivery of the school immunisation programme; and the measures being taken to address staffing shortages. [71763/26]
767. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Health if she will provide a breakdown, by HSE CHO7 region, of the number of public health nurses assigned to the school vaccination programme; the recommended staffing levels for each region; and the current staffing deficit. [71762/26]
773. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Health the measures being taken to ensure consistency in eligibility criteria among providers of a service (details supplied) funded by the HSE, particularly in relation to geographic catchment areas and access to services by older persons living near catchment boundaries. [71786/26]
774. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Health the number of HSE-funded providers of a service (details supplied) operating in Dublin; the catchment area applicable to each provider; and whether such catchment areas are mandated by the HSE or determined locally. [71785/26]