Questions

301. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the actions she will take to address an anomaly related to Circular 54/2019; if a teacher has moved schools in the past 12-months, regardless of previous employment status or length of tenure, they cannot qualify for carer's leave; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68995/25]

302. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide the Department’s estimate of the current national shortfall in buses required to meet contractual and public-service obligations for school transport. [69688/25]

303. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Culture; Communications and Sport given 2026 marks the 70th anniversary of Ronnie Delany winning gold in the 1500 metres at the Melbourne Summer Olympics, the facilities which are available for athletics in Arklow, County Wicklow, his home town; the support he will provide to develop such facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68583/25]

304. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the current status of the An Post pension increase request, submitted in October 2025, within his Department; the timeframe in which he and his Department anticipate the pension approval process to conclude; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68655/25]

305. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Culture; Communications and Sport when a new National Archives Advisory Council (NAAC) will be in-situ, given that the last NAAC expired in July 2022; and the plans to consult professional archive bodies (details supplied) in advance of the establishment of the new NAAC. [68881/25]

306. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Culture; Communications and Sport to provide an update on the decommissioning of the legacy copper telephone and broadband networks; whether a timeline is in place; his Department's plans to ensure the general public are informed and prepared for the change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68965/25]

307. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the progress made to date by his Department in relation to the decommissioning of the copper broadband network, taking into account that the European Commission has set 2030 as the preferred deadline date for the complete switch-off of copper networks across Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68966/25]

308. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Culture; Communications and Sport the action his Department is taking to ensure that certain households are not left behind in the roll out of the National Broadband Plan, (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68967/25]

309. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider a waiver on commercial rates, or a portion of commercial rates or taxes, for the owners of commercial properties with defective concrete blocks who have no government scheme available to them to remediate their properties and have to constantly spend money on necessary maintenance. [68537/25]

310. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department is aware of correspondence received by the National Parks and Wildlife Service from Mid and East Antrim Borough Council dated 1July 2025 in relation to the spreading of agricultural litter and manure on designated sites in the Republic of Ireland; and if the National Parks and Wildlife Service has responded to the…

311. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether transport projects can lawfully proceed in an area where the planning authority has been found by the High Court to be in non-compliance with its mandatory duty to prepare a Local Area Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68544/25]

312. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the Office of the Planning Regulator received formal notifications about Local Area Plan non-compliance in a local authority (details supplied); the actions that followed from those notifications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68545/25]

313. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the commitments given to water services workers in June 2023, allowing them to remain in direct local authority employment until at least the end of 2026, preclude any requirement for those staff to undertake Uisce Éireann-led training or to engage with Uisce Éireann operational systems. [68571/25]

314. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some local authorities have directed non-transferred water services staff to attend Uisce Éireann safety management system training; if he considers this compatible with Government commitments to those workers; and if he will intervene to ensure that any such directives are pa…

315. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the safeguards in place to ensure that local authority water workers who chose not to transfer to Uisce Éireann cannot be subject to indirect or functional transfer through training requirements, system dependencies or other measures introduced without agreement. [68573/25]

316. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to publish a comparative league table of local authorities’ performance with regard to housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68584/25]

317. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of planners currently employed by each local authority; the number of posts that are currently vacant; the measures which are in place to attract more planners to local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68585/25]

318. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the discretion local authorities will have to develop policies under the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025; when local authorities will be expected to publish these policies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68613/25]

319. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if an application has been received for a homeless day centre in Cork city. [68625/25]

320. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will review the eligibility criteria under the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme (MARWP) 2024–2026 to allow communities with fewer than 25 houses, such as Glensaul, Tourmakeady, County Mayo, to access funding for community water connections; and if he will consider the urgent health and safety concerns for residents who curr…

321. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline the full eligibility criteria for each measure under the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme (MARWP) 2024–2026, with particular reference to the minimum number of houses required for new community water connections; and whether any exceptions apply in cases of public health risk. [68627/25]

322. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the current stage of the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme 2024–2026; the number of projects approved; the total funding allocated to date; and the measures still under consideration. [68628/25]

323. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if new applications for funding under the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme are currently being accepted; if not, when the next application window will open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68629/25]

324. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the framework for the next Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme beyond 2026 will be published; and if he will ensure that the new programme addresses the needs of smaller rural communities that do not meet the current eligibility threshold. [68630/25]

325. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will introduce an exceptional case mechanism within the MARWP to allow funding for communities with fewer than 25 houses where there is a significant health and safety risk and proximity to an existing Uisce Éireann network. [68631/25]