Questions

260. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Transport if Transport Infrastructure Ireland or his Department were consulted or informed prior to the public announcement in July 2013 of €44 million for the Kilkenny Ring Road; if either body confirmed the availability of that funding at the time; if the announcement represented an approved Government decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54856/25]

261. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Transport the reason no formal Departmental engagement or appraisal of the Kilkenny Northern Ring Road extension occurred between the 2014 An Bord Pleanála approval and Kilkenny County Council’s submission of a preliminary appraisal form in December 2019; the administrative or political decisions that resulted in the project being effectively reset six years later; and i…

262. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Transport to provide a full chronology of Departmental, Government, and TII decisions or correspondence relating to the Kilkenny Northern Ring Road extension project between 2013 and 2019, including any minutes of meetings, internal memos or Cabinet submissions relevant to the July 2013 funding announcement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54858/25]

263. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Transport if the search and rescue helicopter is now based out of Weston Airport; if so, the reason it is not based out of Baldonnell Aerodrome; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54859/25]

264. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Transport if he will invest in the Ballybrophy rail line to ensure it can provide comprehensive and regular rail services to Dublin without changing at Ballybrophy. [54876/25]

265. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Transport the pass and fail rate for driving tests, respectively in Nenagh test centre in each month from January 2023 to September 2025 inclusive, in tabular form. [54877/25]

266. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Transport when the next generation ticketing project will be completed. [54880/25]

267. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Transport to respond to concerns (details supplied) that the five to nine-year-old year old free travel Leap card will be inaccessible to eligible families, due to the requirement to procure individual Leap cards for each child availing of free travel. [54896/25]

268. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Transport the actions he is taking to regulate sulky racing. [54899/25]

269. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Transport to outline the consultations his Department, or An Garda Síochána, have had concerning the introduction of a dedicated transport police service, as committed to in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54189/25]

270. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to capacity issues on a bus route (details supplied); the actions he will take to work with the NTA to address these concerns and improve this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54926/25]

271. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Transport the current average waiting time for a driving test at the Mallow test centre, County Cork; the number of applicants currently on the waiting list for that centre; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54937/25]

272. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Transport the provisions in place or are being developed to enable people to obtain insurance for electric bikes used on the road, following the introduction of legislation making it illegal to cycle these bikes without insurance; and if he will address the fact that constituents who have contacted both the RSA and the Department of Transport have been unable to …

273. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Transport if there are any technical, legal, operational, or policy constraints preventing his Department, when publishing quarterly reports of payments or purchase orders over €20,000, from including additional columns that link each payment to its underlying procurement process specifically tender/contract title; name and address of the awarded contractor/supplier; co…

274. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Transport 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. [55085/25]

275. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Transport to approve urgent funding for Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Sligo County Council to implement essential traffic calming measures in the village of Ballinacarrow, County Sligo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55094/25]

276. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Transport to provide a list of all studies, research and reports commissioned by his Department that were outsourced, in each of the past five years, in tabular form; the names of the companies to which each study, research and report was outsourced; the total cost for each; the number of reports finalised and presented to him that have yet to be released by his Depart…

277. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Transport to provide an update on the possible development of direct air links between Ireland and India; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55187/25]

278. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Transport to provide an update on the possible development of direct air links between Ireland and Japan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55188/25]

279. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Transport to provide an update on the possible development of direct air links between Ireland and Brazil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55189/25]

280. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport when his Department changed the eligibility criteria for the student Leap card by increasing the definition of full-time studies to 16 or more hours-per-week; the rationale for this change given that many students study in full-time education in courses that have 15 hours-per-week of classes are now ineligible for the student Leap card; and if he will make a st…

281. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of the operational and logistical difficulties faced by families due to the National Transport Authority’s requirement that each child aged five to nine years must possess a separate physical Leap card; if he will request a review of this policy with a view to introducing a more family-friendly alternative; and if he will make a statement on the…

282. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Transport the rationale behind the NTAs decision to prohibit the use of single adult Leap card to validate travel for multiple persons; and if he will consider the introduction of a ‘family child’ travel product to simplify public transport access for families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55236/25]

283. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Transport if he will investigate the customer service standards of the National Transport Authority in relation to Leap card applications for children, including the reasons for unexplained rejections and the lack of clear communication with applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55237/25]

284. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Transport if the National Transport Authority uses third-party contractors based outside the State to process Leap card applications; and if he will provide assurances regarding the security and data protection standards applied to personal information submitted by Irish citizens; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55238/25]