Questions

201. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the way in which Ireland’s circular economy policy and legislation apply to the harvesting of seaweed as a finite biological resource, rather than a manufactured input; whether the circular economy framework recognises the importance of natural regeneration capacity, harvesting cycles, and ecological carrying capacity for seaweed spec…

202. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment in view of the Climate Advisory Council’s estimate that Ireland could face up to €26 billion in costs if 2030 climate targets are missed, whether his Department has carried out a cost–benefit analysis comparing the actual fines, penalties, and compliance costs the State has incurred to date under EU or international climate obligation…

203. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment which agency has statutory responsibility for the installation, operation and maintenance of continuous monitoring infrastructure on major rivers. [13828/26]

204. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether his Department has conducted an assessment of Ireland’s current capacity to detect acute pollution events in real time; whether any gaps were identified following the Blackwater incident; and what corrective measures are now being implemented at policy level. [13829/26]

205. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether he intends to establish a formal national “Major Fish Kill Emergency Protocol” setting out mandatory inter-agency leadership, immediate catchment-wide chemical sampling requirements, and defined response time targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13830/26]

206. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether his Department has reviewed the adequacy of enforcement provisions under the Environmental Liability Directive and the Industrial Emissions Directive in light of the inability to identify the pollutant or source in the Blackwater case; and whether legislative or regulatory amendments are under consideration. [13831/26]

207. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether his Department has commissioned an economic valuation of the 2025 Blackwater fish kill, including ecological loss, recreational impact, and restoration costs; and whether such valuation will inform future deterrence and enforcement policy. [13833/26]

208. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether additional restoration funding will be allocated to the Munster Blackwater catchment in light of the 2025 fish kill; and whether revised environmental objectives or accelerated recovery measures are being considered under the Water Framework Directive. [13834/26]

209. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether he will publish a detailed implementation plan responding to the recommendations contained in the independent review of the 2025 Blackwater fish kill; and if he will provide a timeline for delivery of each recommendation. [13835/26]

210. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether his Department maintains data on the proportion of fish kill investigations since 2015 in which the pollutant or source remained undetermined; and whether policy reforms are being developed to reduce the incidence of undiagnosed cases. [13836/26]

211. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if consideration will be given to the funding by his Department of the EU LIFE Programme should funding be cut to projects in Ireland at an EU level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13962/26]

212. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Defence if she will outline each section of enacted legislation, where the responsibility lies in the Minister to commence that section, that has not been commenced; if she will outline each section of enacted legislation which provides for the making of regulations by the Minister that have not been made by the Minister; if she will outline all sections of enacted l…

213. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence her views on the recruitment of a person (details supplied) to the Defence Forces; the vetting procedures involved in light of their guilty plea and conviction for a violent assault; if the Defence Forces were aware of their guilty plea and conviction for violent assault prior to their recruitment to the Defence Forces; if not, then when they become awa…

214. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Defence the reason a person who served in the Army from 1975 to1997 as a soldier (details supplied) will not receive their 1916 Commemoration medal given that they served for 22 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13623/26]

215. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the estimated average cost to the Exchequer of recruiting, inducting and training a General Service Recruit in the Permanent Defence Forces, broken down by Army, Naval Service and Air Corps; the total estimated cost of recruits who did not complete training in each of the years 2020 to 2025; and the estimated cost of personnel who left the Permanent Defence Force…

216. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether her Department has set formal annual retention targets for the Permanent Defence Forces; if so, the specific percentage attrition ceiling or numerical retention target set for each service; the key performance indicators used to measure retention; and the most recent performance against each of those indicators [13750/26]

217. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether service-specific retention targets have been set for the Naval Service and Air Corps in light of previous staffing pressures; the projected staffing levels required to meet full operational capacity in each service; and whether current recruitment and retention trends are sufficient to meet those projected requirements over the next three years [13751/26]

218. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the number of recruits discharged by purchase in each of the years 2020 to 2025; the average length of service at exit for such personnel; and the estimated financial impact on the Defence Vote arising from voluntary early departures within two years of induction [13752/26]

219. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence her views on ensuring that defence investments in the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework fully respect national competences and Ireland's specific choices regarding neutrality; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13824/26]

220. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence the opportunities for Ireland to participate in dual-use technology developments, such as drones and AI, under the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13825/26]

221. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether changes to eligibility criteria for recruitment into the Permanent Defence Forces are under consideration; whether non-citizen eligibility expansion is being examined; and to outline the policy rationale for any such proposals. [13867/26]

222. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 331 of 4 November 2025, the progress to date in developing a National Maritime Security Strategy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13942/26]

223. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Defence the present enlistment in the Permanent Defence Forces; the proposals there are to increase recruitment and improve retention levels in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13943/26]

224. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Defence given the importance of ensuring sovereignty of national defence capabilities, supply chain resilience, and knowledge transfer when it comes to Defence Procurement, when she plans to publish a local procurement framework, outlining the positive economic impact for Irish SME’s and how can they engage in the Governments defence procurement process; and if she wil…

225. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Defence considering that Ireland is a net contributor to the EU budget and as an increasing proportion of the next Multiannual Financial Framework is allocated to defence and security-related programmes, the strategy that is in place to position Irish SMEs and indigenous firms to participate in and repatriate EU defence funding through the development of Irish defence …