Questions

701. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on plans to make above the shop development easier, including through changes to fire regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48895/25]

702. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the Castlebar historic core reactivation initiative project and the Castlebar military barracks project in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48917/25]

703. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Castlebar historic core reactivation initiative project and the Castlebar military barracks project have moved beyond the detailed project briefs and procurement strategies stage; the current stage of these projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48918/25]

704. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a detailed timeline for the completion of the Castlebar historic core reactivation initiative project and the Castlebar military barracks project; specifically, when the construction tender stage is expected to commence for these projects; the estimated completion date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4…

705. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the sub-projects within the Castlebar historic core reactivation initiative project, particularly the old post office sub-project; the status of this subproject; the way it fits within the overall timeline of the historic core project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48920/25]

706. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the legislative observations made by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in relation to the general scheme of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024; if he is aware of the Commission’s recommendation (details supplied); the steps or actions his Department has taken in view of …

707. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the legislative observations made by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in relation to the general scheme of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024; if he is aware of the Commission’s recommendations (details supplied); the steps or actions including engagement with the Commi…

708. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No.1308 of 8 September 2025, if the number of I-WeBS sites surveyed set-out in the previous reply refers to unique sites as listed on the I-WeBS website, or also contains sub-site of the same site listed on the website; the number of the sites surveyed in each year that were special protection…

709. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the proposals submitted by his Department to the EU Commission on the review of the Nitrates Directive that is currently taking place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49074/25]

710. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures being taken to reduce delays in the water connection process; whether Uisce Éireann has specific targets or service standards in place for private household connections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49156/25]

711. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the proposed new fire station in Killarney, County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49178/25]

712. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the timeline for the Cork Events Centre project, including the expected dates for the publication of the prior information notice, the call for expressions of interest, the formal tender, and the anticipated award of contract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49192/25]

713. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current estimated cost of the Cork Events Centre project, including construction, consultancy, and procurement phases; the amount expended to date; the measures in place to prevent further cost overruns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49193/25]

714. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the membership and remit of the newly established Cork Events Centre Project Development Board; the frequency of its meetings; the way in which responsibility is allocated between the local authority, Government Departments, and external consultants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49194/25]

715. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures being taken to ensure full compliance with European Union procurement law and State aid rules in respect of the Cork Events Centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49195/25]

716. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the proposed operator model for the Cork Events Centre, whether public, private, or hybrid; the criteria being applied in the procurement of an operator; the means by which the public interest will be safeguarded in the contractual arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49196/25]

717. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the demand and market analysis carried out to determine the scale, design, and financial sustainability of the Cork Events Centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49197/25]

718. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the arrangements in place for public reporting and parliamentary oversight of the Cork Events Centre project during its procurement and delivery phases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49198/25]

719. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 257 of 3 July 2025, to provide details of the seven projects approved for funding under measure A8 of the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme; the number of premises to be addressed under each of the seven projects; the number of full pilot projects completed to date; if any further funding app…

720. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection to confirm the project's public spending code stage gates and sanctioning approvals, including any value-for-money assessments comparing in-house build versus managed service; and to publish the value-for-money report. [48749/25]

721. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing weakly income threshold from €527 to €735 class employer PRSI threshold for entering the 11.15% rate. [49247/25]

722. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on the work being carried out to resolve the problem of bogus self-employment in the building sector; if he will provide an assessment of the way in which the building sector is being impacted; the way in which it is intended to resolve this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47589/25]

723. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide the web links to his Department’s Q1 2025 and Q2 2025 published reports of procurement-related payments or purchase orders over €20,000 (in line with the FOI model publication scheme requirements); to confirm whether these reports have been published in full and are publicly accessible; and to state the planned publication date for the Q3 20…

724. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department will publish the procurement related payment reports (details supplied) in machine-readable formats such as CSV or excel on a quarterly basis, in line with open data standards; if not, the legal, technical, or operational constraints that prevent compliance with the requirement under S.I. No. 376/2021 to provide such documents in open…

725. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection the supports being made available to school workers who are directly affected by the current strikes that is, bus escorts, who will not be in receipt of payment for the duration of the ongoing strikes by school secretaries and caretakers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47786/25]