Questions

376. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if a work permit application can be expedited for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [71023/25]

377. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment in light of the recent announcement that the quota for general employment permits for dairy farm assistants has been exhausted, with no new applications being accepted, the representations his Department has received from farming representative bodies regarding the urgent need to increase the quota for the upcoming spring season. [7…

378. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment given the critical labour shortages being reported in the dairy-farming sector, particularly during the busy spring calving season, if he will commit to immediately reopening or extending the quota for dairy farm assistants, or otherwise fast-tracking additional permits to ensure farms have sufficient staff for the spring workload. […

379. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the timeframe for when the current review of the occupations lists for employment permits will conclude; and if the Department will publish interim arrangements or special allowances for agricultural employers facing urgent labour shortages while that review is ongoing. [71065/25]

380. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to provide Ireland’s full indicator-level scores under the Blavatnik Index of Public Administration for 2024, disaggregated by each theme and sub-domain, given that this information was not included in his previous reply; to confirm whether the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council has furnished these data to his Department;…

381. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the actions taken under the Consumer Protection Act 2007 to address misleading commercial practices relating to the description, presentation or marketing of meat products supplied to food service businesses and retail outlets; the coordination mechanisms in place between his Department, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commissio…

382. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if an independent external evaluation framework has been established to assess the value-for-money and productivity impact of the Built to Innovate programme, including the €6.8 million in approved grants; if not, when such an evaluation will be commissioned; and the indicators that will be used to measure demonstrable productivity gain…

383. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the work undertaken with the Central Statistics Office and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage since 2022 to enable the publication of residential-specific productivity statistics, including GVA, hours worked and modern methods of construction output; if his Department has sought a Eurostat derogation to permit disa…

384. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the measures his Department has in place to support main street/bricks and mortar retail stores and to enhance main streets as retail destinations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [71094/25]

385. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the reason data centres are a critical part of Ireland's digital infrastructure; the measures in place to support the development of environmentally sustainable data centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [71095/25]

386. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if his Department holds any analysis of the impact of complex interest rate hedging products on the viability of Irish SMEs during the financial crisis; and if any examination has been undertaken of contingent liabilities embedded in swap-linked lending by banks operating in the State. [71168/25]

387. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the policy instruments available to support SMEs that may have been affected by non-transparent or complex hedging structures in the 2007 to 2012 period; and his intentions to initiate a review of SME credit fairness and contract transparency in light of recent international allegations. [71169/25]

388. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if any elements of the Credit Guarantee Scheme, SME Lending Code, or statutory protections for small businesses have been evaluated to determine if they would have captured or prevented the use of hidden contingent credit exposures within SME loan products. [71170/25]

389. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the dates on which his Department sent correspondence to or met with Commissioner McGrath or the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers since March 2025 and the subject of any such correspondence and/or meeting, in tabular form. [71198/25]

390. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the dates on which his Department received correspondence or met with a company (details supplied) or its representatives since March 2025; and the subject of any such correspondence and/or meeting, in tabular form. [71201/25]

391. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the dates on which his Department received correspondence from, or met with, a company (details supplied) or its representatives since March 2025; and the subject of any such correspondence and/or meeting, in tabular form. [71204/25]

392. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on a new school building project (details supplied). [70632/25]

393. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on the work of her Department to ensure the provision of adequate school places for the Kilternan school planning area. [70631/25]

394. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on capital projects across schools in Dublin south central. [70887/25]

395. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children waiting for an appropriate school place. [70888/25]

396. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department is engaging with counterparts in Northern Ireland on curriculum development, teacher exchanges or shared educational initiatives. [62805/25]

397. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason no enquiry was carried out following allegations of sexual harassment occurring in the case of a child (details supplied) as recommended by the Ombudsman; the reason no questions were asked on behalf of the family when the then Minister was present at the school after the information was disclosed to her; and if she will make a …

398. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware that a former school principal (details supplied) was made aware of an investigation following seven reports of harassment in 2022; the reason this information was not disclosed to the family; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68416/25]

399. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she was aware that in 2019 the KWETB held an investigation into complaints received by family (details supplied) regarding claims of alleged sexual harassment occurring in a school; the reason the family who submitted the complaints were not invited to participate in the investigation; the reason the family who submitted the complaints …

400. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Education and Youth the details of the reasons for the delay with building works for (details supplied) a project that was authorised by her Department to proceed to the tender stage in November 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68618/25]