Questions

226. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Transport for a progress report on matters pertaining to the pension entitlements and arrangements for retired CIÉ workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68885/25]

227. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Transport the reason his Department does not require the National Transport Authority to collect and report local breakdowns, repeat incidents, and repair costs relating to vandalism of public bus shelters; the reason this information is not monitored at Department level despite annual public funding; and the steps he will now take to ensure full transparency and proper …

228. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Transport the measures he will introduce to address the rising levels of vandalism of public bus shelters nationwide; the actions he will take in response to the five-year national figures provided to his Department; and the directions he will now give to the National Transport Authority to protect public infrastructure used by commuters, including schoolchildren, older …

229. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Transport the controls his Department has in place to ensure transparency and accountability in how vandalism repair and maintenance costs for public bus shelters are managed; the reason his Department does not track the financial impact of vandalism under current contractual arrangements; and the steps he will now take to require clear reporting and performance obligati…

230. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Transport the reason he has permitted a national public transport infrastructure programme to operate without basic monitoring of vandalism trends, without cost reporting, without local data, and without any security plan for thousands of bus shelters; and the actions he will take to bring this system in line with normal governance standards expected of publicly funded i…

231. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Transport to provide the Department’s estimate of the current national shortfall in buses required to meet contractual and public-service obligations, including Local Link expansion and rural-service demand. [69687/25]

232. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department plans to phase out vehicle registration tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68679/25]

233. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the financial benefits the vehicle registration tax gives to the economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68680/25]

234. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his views on whether ensuring competition in the Irish financial services market should form part of the remit of the Central Bank; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68586/25]

235. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the reason that since August 2025, a person on a defined benefit pension can no longer exercise a buy-out bond option if they are above the normal retirement age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68687/25]

236. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the number of claims made in each of the past five years for preferential tariff treatment under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) for buses imported from Great Britain; the number of claims approved; the number refused; and the main reasons for refusals, as recorded by Revenue. [68765/25]

237. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the number of applications for Returned Goods Relief for buses re-imported into the State from the United Kingdom in each of the past five years; the number approved; the number refused; and the main reasons recorded for refusals. [68766/25]

238. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department has assessed whether the administrative requirements of the TCA preferential-origin rules or the Returned Goods Relief documentation may be limiting access for smaller bus operators; and if he will outline any guidance, outreach or simplification measures under consideration by Revenue. [68767/25]

239. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he has examined the feasibility of developing a non-VAT capital support mechanism, such as an accelerated capital allowance or targeted grant, to support licensed bus operators in purchasing new low-emission vehicles, given the VAT constraints described in his reply to Parliamentary Question Nos. 143 and 144 of 26 November 2025; and if he will mak…

240. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department has carried out any analysis of the economic impact on school-transport and mixed-service bus operators arising from their exclusion from the VAT refund scheme for touring coaches; and if he will outline the findings of any such internal assessments. [68769/25]

241. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the extent to which Revenue’s VAT and customs treatment of buses has been considered. [68770/25]

242. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if Revenue has undertaken any review of the administrative burden placed on small and medium-sized licensed bus operators when importing buses from Great Britain, including documentary requirements for origin, VAT self-accounting, and customs declarations; and if he will outline the findings of any such review. [68771/25]

243. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the total customs duty and import VAT collected on buses imported into the State from Great Britain and other non-EU countries in each of the past five years; and if he will provide a breakdown by year and engine type where available. [68772/25]

244. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department has engaged with the Department of Transport regarding the tax implications identified by operators participating in Local Link and school transport tenders, particularly the inability to reclaim VAT on new buses; and if he will outline the nature and outcome of any such interdepartmental discussions. [68773/25]

245. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if the Department has modelled the fiscal impact of allowing licensed bus operators to benefit from an accelerated capital allowance for the purchase of new low-emission buses; and if he will provide the estimated costings under scenarios of 20 percent, 30 percent and 40 percent accelerated allowance rates. [68774/25]

246. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if any assessment has been carried out of the interaction between the VAT exemption for passenger transport and Ireland’s transport-sector decarbonisation targets; and if he will provide the conclusions of any such analysis. [68775/25]

247. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the number of licensed bus operators that have accessed the VAT 71 touring-coach refund scheme in each of the past five years; the total value refunded; and whether the Department has analysed the differential impact of this scheme on touring operators compared with school-transport and mixed-service operators. [68776/25]

248. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if Revenue has issued guidance to licensed bus operators on the verification of UK origin under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement for the importation of buses; and if he will provide copies of any such guidance issued since 2021. [68777/25]

249. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if the Revenue Commissioners will provide a breakdown of all vehicle-registration enforcement actions in each of the past five years by vehicle category, including Irish-registered, EU-registered, non-EU-registered, and Ukrainian-registered vehicles, in order to establish the scale of compliance activity by exemption type. [68946/25]

250. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of conflict-of-interest statements received by the Standards in Public Office Commission since January 2020 relating to Ministers, Ministers of State, special advisers or senior civil servants whose family members hold financial interests in companies involved in the manufacture or su…