Questions

251. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary questions No.437 of 13 May 2025, No. 318 of 15 July 2025 and No. 501 of 29 July 2025, if the National Vehicle and Driver File Bill 2025 has now been drafted; if the Bill has been approved by the Oireachtas and targeted for enactment before the end of 2025, which includes a provision to strengthen the legislative basis for all agencies i…

252. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Transport the current status of the Kilkenny Northern Transport Project (formerly the Kilkenny Northern Ring Road Extension), including the stage reached under the infrastructure guidelines/public spending code; the expected timeline and key milestones to complete the options stage and proceed to planning; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52894/25]

253. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Transport if the €44 million announced in July 2013 for completion of the Kilkenny ring road was formally allocated, drawn down or ring-fenced; if not, when and why that position changed; and to provide a chronology of Departmental and TII decisions from 2013 to date, including the effect of the 2014 An Bord Pleanála approval and subsequent legal proceedings on project r…

254. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Transport if he will publish the strategic assessment report, the updated project outline document and any 2024-2025 traffic and junction analyses for the Butts Green area; and to place these documents in the Oireachtas Library and Research Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52896/25]

255. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Transport the amounts allocated to the Kilkenny Northern Transport Project in each of the years 2024, 2025 and projected for 2026; the specific deliverables attached to the €200,000 provided in 2025; whether multi-annual funding will be committed to bring the project through options selection, environmental surveys and statutory planning; and if he will make a statement …

256. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Transport the reason a project is now titled the 'Kilkenny Northern Transport Project'; whether its scope extends beyond a ring road link (such as active travel or public transport components); if any change in scope has contributed to the restart at early appraisal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52898/25]

257. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Transport if he will outline his Department's and TII's engagement with Kilkenny County Council since 2022, including direction given on compliance with updated infrastructure guidelines and the transport appraisal framework; if he will provide target dates agreed with the council for submission of the preferred option; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [528…

258. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Transport the measures under active travel which will be considered for the village of Boolavogue, County Wexford, particularly to enhance school safety. [52906/25]

259. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Transport the measures under active travel which will be considered for the village of Ballycanew, County Wexford, particularly to enhance school safety. [52907/25]

260. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Transport to provide an update on the completion of the M11 motorway to Rosslare. [52908/25]

261. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Transport the reason the Bus Éireann route 132 serving Bunclody to Dublin is frequently cancelled; his views on whether the service is being well managed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52909/25]

262. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Finance if he accepts that Ireland's fiscal policy must be cognisant of risks surrounding indexation on corporate tax, introduces to our ability to fund the day-to-day running of the State or our investment ambition; his views that such a narrow base across and within tax heads leaves us vulnerable to any shock which would hit the internationally traded sector or sectors…

263. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the percentage of new residential properties which were exempt from stamp duty; the total number of residential properties where stamp duty was paid; and the average amount paid and the total amount collected by the State in 2024, in tabular form. [52685/25]

264. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Finance the position regarding the life insurance premium levy; if the recommendations in relation to this levy, outlined in the report titled ‘Funds Sector 2030 Report’, are under consideration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52702/25]

265. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Finance his plans regarding life assurance exit tax (LAET), including consideration of reducing the current 41% rate, abolishing the 1% Government levy, and reviewing the eighth-year deemed disposal rule; and if he will confirm whether reform of LAET will be progressed separately to wider work on exit tax and ETFs as part of the funds review implementation plan. [5271…

266. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Finance if he has conducted an assessment of the likely impact on Irish pharmaceutical exports and State tax receipts of recent tariff announcements by the United States administration; and the contingency measures being considered in Budget 2026 to mitigate any fiscal risk arising from changes in U.S. trade policy. [52761/25]

267. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the number of applications made to the Revenue Commissioners to 1 September 2025 for the mortgage interest tax relief scheme, by county; the number of successful and unsuccessful applications, by county; the cost of the scheme up to 1 September 2025; the average mortgage account balance for successful applicants; the average number of years left on eligible mortgage…

268. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the number of applications made to the Revenue Commissioners in 2024 for the mortgage interest tax relief scheme by county; the number of successful and unsuccessful applications, by county; the cost of the scheme in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52766/25]

269. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Finance the changes he plans to make to the Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 that will allow medical charities operating GP practices to continue on a sustainable basis without recourse to emergency funding streams from the HSE. [52789/25]

270. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he accepts that it is critical the State moves to multi-annual budget envelopes for key infrastructure projects and delivery bodies given that a growing number of major infrastructure projects under the current NDP have been delayed in recent times for lack of relatively small amounts of fund…

271. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the additional funding that will be needed in the coming years to align our underpinning infrastructure with national targets for housing and industry and to deliver critical national infrastructure such as the Water Supply Project Eastern & Midlands Region and the Greater Dublin Drainage Pr…

272. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the steps he is taking to ensure that projects identified in the National Development Plan or those that can demonstrate their contribution to meeting national strategic objectives under the National Planning Framework must be prioritised in the planning system; if he will support calls for Gove…

273. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation for an update on Programme for Government commitments to transforming the delivery of infrastructure including the delivery of a new Infrastructure Division within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52662/25]

274. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide an update the work of Public Service Reform and Digitalisation that has been established; if expertise has been seconded from key delivery agencies; if the National Development Finance Agency has provided Departments with additional expert assistance and support on major public capita…

275. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will provide an update on the progress of the Midleton flood relief scheme; the estimated timeframe for completion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52697/25]