Questions

747. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will support calls for an accelerated capital allowance for slurry storage and associated equipment (LESS), due to expire at the end of December 2025, to be extended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51383/25]

748. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the adverse weather conditions experienced in September 2025, if he will consider extending the slurry spreading deadline by two weeks in order to assist farmers in managing slurry and ensuring compliance with regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51594/25]

749. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if all contracting authorities under the aegis of his Department are in full compliance with Circular 05/2023, in particular the mandatory requirement to publish contract award notices for all contracts above €25,000; and if he will provide details of the monitoring or enforcement arrangements in place to ensure this requirement is met. …

750. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures in place within his Department, and across contracting authorities under its aegis, to ensure that mini-competitions conducted under public procurement frameworks are run strictly in accordance with the published award criteria and the provisions of S.I. No. 284/2016; if he will report on the oversight mechanisms in place to…

751. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if contracting authorities under the aegis operating frameworks are required under Regulation 55 of S.I. No. 284/2016 to provide unsuccessful tenderers with written debriefs, including scoring breakdowns, the name of the winning tenderer, and the relative advantages of the successful tender; and the way in which compliance with these obl…

752. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he will take to expedite an aquaculture licence application in respect of persons (details supplied) to ensure that jobs are secured with this shovel ready project; his views that the ongoing delays in the processing of licences is not acceptable, prevents local companies from expanding, costs jobs and is detrimental to the l…

753. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress toward achieving the target of 400,000 ha, in tillage as set out by the Climate Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51798/25]

754. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is aware that farmers in an area (details supplied) are receiving letters from his Department seeking to reduce their BISS due to an incident outside of their control; if he will ensure farmers are not punished and that these reductions in farm payments are disregarded and payments are made as normal; and if he will make a statem…

755. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of vacant retail units in each fisheries harbour centre under the remit of his Department, and the current condition of each unit, in tabular form. [51837/25]

756. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if food that is recalled for reason of an outbreak of disease, or suspicion of an outbreak of disease, is disposed of; how it is disposed of; and if there is transparent oversight of its disposal. [51894/25]

757. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to extend the slurry spreading period by a week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51908/25]

758. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration will be given to a review being undertaken on the current TB income supplement scheme, in particular in respect of the criteria where income supplement is payable in cases where disease breakdown results in the removal of at least 9.5% of dairy cows in a herd in the relevant restriction period, given that this percentage t…

759. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if regular reviews are being undertaken by his Department on the criteria, terms and conditions of TB compensation schemes, in view of the prevalence of TB outbreaks nationally and the increased need for financial supports for affected farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51984/25]

760. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline the Government’s plans in relation to chicken welfare; if his Department has a specific roadmap for aligning with European Food Safety Agency’s proposed poultry welfare standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52122/25]

761. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of applications to date received for the mother and baby payments scheme; the number of applications approved; the amount paid to date on payments alone, excluding medical cards, administration, operational costs, communications, publicity and legal costs; the total amount to date paid out in medical cards; and if she wi…

762. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the 12 month review of the mother and baby payments scheme will commence; the make up the review panel; if she is considering expanding the scheme to include those previously excluded; the length of time she envisages the review will take; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51139/25]

763. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the numbers of new general foster carers approved in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, Jan to June 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51274/25]

764. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the numbers of general foster carers who left fostering in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, Jan to June 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51275/25]

765. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of new relative foster carers in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, Jan to June 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51276/25]

766. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the numbers of relative foster carers who left fostering in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, Jan to June 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51277/25]

767. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of foster carers that have moved from Tusla, to a private agency in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, Jan to June 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51278/25]

768. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current number of approved general foster carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51279/25]

769. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current number of approved relative foster carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51280/25]

770. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to ensure that all public buildings, GP surgeries, churches, bars, restaurants, etc. have adequate accessible toilets, i.e raised toilet seats; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51341/25]

771. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the amount expended on cloud storage solutions in the past five years and to date in 2025; and if she will provide the data storage supplier, in tabular form. [51357/25]