Questions

252. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the estimated additional cost of providing Christmas and New Year 2025 late-night and enhanced services across DART, Irish Rail, Luas and Dublin Bus; the source of funding for these operations; the planned fare or ticketing promotions; if he will commit that from 2026 the draft festive service plan and funding allocation will be finalised and published by Oct…

253. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if he has met formally with the new CEO of Iarnród Éireann since her appointment. [65173/25]

254. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if he has met formally with the new CEO of Bus Éireann since her appointment. [65174/25]

255. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance when he will bring forward a medium term fiscal plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60196/25]

256. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the plans he has to address concerns raised by a sector (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64726/25]

257. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department has examined the governance and lending practices of Finance Ireland, given reports in March 2024 that the institution advanced a loan of approximately €10 million to a company associated with a developer who benefited financially from a separate decision of An Bord Pleanála (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the…

258. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he considers it appropriate for the State-owned Permanent TSB to pursue the acquisition of a financial institution engaged in lending practices of the type reported in relation to a company (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64745/25]

259. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if any due diligence conducted by his Department or by Permanent TSB in respect of a company (details supplied) has considered the reputational or regulatory risks associated with its previous lending arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64746/25]

260. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department has been in contact with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage or his Department in relation to the decisions of An Bord Pleanála in cases (details supplied) given the potential financial implications of development contribution waivers for the Exchequer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64747/25]

261. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he or his officials have met representatives of a company (details supplied) since January 2023; if he will provide details of the dates and subjects of any such meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64748/25]

262. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if any Irish-regulated banks or financial institutions have, since 2015, operated off-balance-sheet or hidden credit lines that involve direct or contingent exposure for the State or taxpayers; and if so, will he detail the institutions involved, the size and nature of those exposures, his Department's risk-assessment procedures; and the most recent …

263. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance further to the concerns raised in a report (details supplied) report regarding undisclosed credit commitments in banking systems, if his Department has carried out any independent review in the past five years of off-balance-sheet or standby credit facilities within the Irish financial sector that could give rise to State or taxpayer liability; the c…

264. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance in view of the findings of the report "Hidden Credit Lines - The Largest Fraud Anywhere Ever", if Department has identified any Irish-regulated financial institution that entered into off-balance-sheet or standby credit-line commitments that give rise to direct or contingent State or taxpayer exposure; and if so, will he detail the institution involv…

265. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the criteria used by his Department to classify a credit-facility, loan-commitment or standby line as a contingent liability for inclusion in the Government's contingent-liabilities register; to state whether these criteria have been updated in the past five years; and to confirm whether any credit-line exposures are known to the Department but remai…

266. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance To set out the oversight and monitoring mechanisms in place within his Department and the Central Bank of Ireland to detect hidden or off-balance-sheet credit lines in regulated banks, including whether account-level audits, stress tests or reverse-engineering of financial statements are conducted to identify unreported contingent exposures. [64768/2…

267. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance To detail how many regulated lenders operating in Ireland have transferred or securitised credit-line exposures, standby facilities or similar commitments since 2015; how many of these transferred exposures remain under scrutiny by his Department or the Central Bank; and whether any supervisory or enforcement action has been taken relating to such tr…

268. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance To confirm whether his Department requires regulated lenders to publish account-level disclosures of standby credit lines or other contingent commitments that may affect borrower entitlements; and if not, whether he will introduce mandatory disclosure requirements covering all credit-line commitments that involve potential State or taxpayer exposure.…

269. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance To set out whether his Department will publish a regional breakdown of any identified hidden-credit-line exposures, including figures for Munster and Cork; to provide the number of lenders involved, the approximate scale of exposures, and the estimated taxpayer risk; and to outline how borrowers in Cork city and county will be notified where relevant…

270. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance To state whether his Department or the Central Bank has commissioned any independent external review to examine the hidden-credit-line exposures referenced in the report; whether such a review includes analysis of any overlap with tracker-mortgage account failures; and whether he will commit to publishing the full findings. [64772/25]

271. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance To specify the deadlines his Department has imposed on regulated lenders for completing reconciliation and account-level verification of all standby or credit-line exposures that may involve State backing; to outline the current level of compliance; and to set out the sanctions for institutions that fail to meet those deadlines. [64773/25]

272. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance To confirm whether the hidden-credit-line phenomenon identified in the recent report was considered during the Department's modelling of borrower redress under the tracker-mortgage framework; to state whether any borrowers may be adversely affected by hidden credit-line exposures, including through loan transfers or securitisations; and to outline ho…

273. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his Department's most recent estimate of total taxpayer-contingent exposure arising from hidden or off-balance-sheet credit lines within the Irish financial system; the assumptions underpinning that estimate; to state when it was last reviewed; and to confirm whether he will commit to regular publication and parliamentary scrutiny of such figures. [6…

274. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether his Department has examined historic balance-sheet restatements by regulated lenders since 2008 to determine whether any concealed or misclassified credit-line exposures were subsequently corrected; to provide the number of restatements identified; and to indicate whether any of these involved previously undisclosed contingent liabilities now…

275. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether the Central Bank of Ireland's supervisory engagement model includes specific tests to identify hidden credit-line structures, including shadow-facilities, inter-affiliate lines or synthetic credit arrangements; and to confirm whether the Minister has requested enhancements to these supervisory tools in light of recent findings. [64777/25]

276. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the instructions, guidance or circulars the Department has issued to regulated lenders since 2015 regarding the disclosure of contingent exposures, including off-balance-sheet commitments; and whether lenders have been required to re-examine their reporting of standby credit facilities or similar commitments. [64778/25]