Questions

251. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of persons who did not take up their CEO offer of a university course in each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67804/25]

252. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for an update on plans to expand further education and training provision in Macroom, particularly in light of the town’s growth following the bypass; if his Department will prioritise new courses and facilities to support local employment and enterprise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6…

253. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the role his Department will play to ensure that there are enough construction workers with the necessary skills to balance the competing priorities of building the Metrolink without placing housing targets at risk, which will require the construction of houses as well the building out the electricity grid and wa…

254. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide an update on the progress of the review of personal assistance services funded from the fund for students with disabilities across tertiary education settings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67773/25]

255. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will review the impact of increasing number of international students on the availability of places for Irish students, given that universities are under pressure to accept higher-paying non-EU students to offset chronic underfunding; the steps that will be taken to ensure Irish students are not disadv…

256. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way in which her Department is strengthening the commercialisation of publicly funded research to ensure more innovations and jobs are retained in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67807/25]

257. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science whether he has met with UCC and MTU and discussed the need for a northside university campus in Cork city. [67566/25]

258. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the plans to support digital literacy and improve access to online services for older people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64109/25]

259. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to report on the retrofitting of the FET sector; to provide the breakdown of the €8 million allocation that was recently announced that has been awarded; the amount that has been drawn down; the number of projects this will fund; the average value of each award; the targets including the number of retrofits compl…

260. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way in which his Development of the Swords FET College fit into his Department’s wider strategy for the FET College of the Future initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67801/25]

261. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the criteria that will be used to prioritise institutions for capital investment under the national training fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67835/25]

262. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his plans to expand apprenticeship opportunities in Cork, particularly in towns such as Mallow, Millstreet, Kanturk, and Macroom to address regional skills shortages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67266/25]

263. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if the necessary funding will be provided to the dental school in UCC, which has submitted a proposal to the Department for the expansion of their training programme, which would involve the development of a new hub in which additional students could be trained and practice; and if he will make a statement on …

264. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if, in the light of decreases in funding for academic institutions in the United States, his Department has considered an initiative which can attract talent to Ireland’s universities through means such as creating new courses and projects. [67306/25]

265. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way in which his Department is supporting Ireland’s digital transformation through research, innovation and tertiary-education initiatives. [67832/25]

266. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the average waiting time for a person applying via the standard online replacement application following a lost or stolen passport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70930/25]

267. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if her Department, and agencies under the Department’s remit, purchase data on the habits and activities of social media users and other platforms; if so, the reasons for purchasing such data; the amount spent in 2024 and 2025 year to date on such expenditure, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70865/25]

268. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her views on the absence of reciprocal driving licensing agreements between Ireland, America and Canada (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70878/25]

269. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts her Department is making to raise the issue with the Russian authorities of the incarceration of an Irish citizen (details supplied), in a pre-trial detention facility in Chelyabinsk, Russia, for over two months without charge; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71028/25]

270. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the plans to expand Ireland's diplomatic and trade footprint in Latin America. [71038/25]

271. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if her Department has taken or will take action concerning the decision of the Government of Mali to recriminalise homosexuality; and if she will express the Irish Government's concern. [71087/25]

272. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if her Department has taken or will take action concerning legislative proposals in Ghana to recriminalise homosexuality; and if she will express the Irish Government's concern. [71088/25]

273. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if her Department has taken or will take action about restrictions on expression of faith in China, including by Christians; and if she will express the Irish Government's concern. [71089/25]

274. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to report on Ireland's position on the way in which the United Nations will be reformed to operate more effectively and to be more reflective of today's world; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71090/25]

275. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the level of engagement between her Department and the Government of Barbados in 2024 and to-date in 2025. [71280/25]