Questions

26. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she will review the case of a person (details supplied); if the passport application could be expedited given the imminent travel date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38261/26]

27. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her plans to change the current photograph acceptance process for online passport applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38293/26]

28. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to establish a one-stop shop to assist returning Irish citizens in addressing practical issues such as driver's licence changes, Revenue matters and record transfers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38294/26]

29. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which Ireland is engaging at EU level to secure investment and trade opportunities that benefit rural regions; the steps being taken to ensure that areas like Laois can maximise the economic benefits of EU programmes and external trade agreements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38295/26]

30. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Ireland's position in relation to the UN General Assembly Resolution on the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States with respect to Climate Change; whether Ireland will co-sponsor the resolution; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38299/26]

31. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she is aware of the requirement for widowed parents to repeatedly submit bereavement documentation, including death certificates and sworn affidavits, for each renewal of a child's passport; if she will consider introducing a once-off verification process whereby such documentation would only need to be provided once unless family circumstanc…

32. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she is aware of the kidnapping of Irish citizens in international waters by Israeli forces; and the reason she did not take action to support them under the humanitarian relief carve-out of the Defence (Amendment) Act 2006. [33325/26]

33. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the assistance available to churches and religious buildings to install solar panels and related facilities on their premises; and whether he will give consideration to making additional support available for such works for older churches where communities already face considerable challenges in meeting the costs of light, heat and gene…

34. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the progress made to date on implementing the actions set out in the National Hydrogen Strategy and the subsequent National Hydrogen Programme Implementation Plan (2025), including regulatory development, market design and infrastructure planning; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38321/26]

35. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the status of the development of regulatory, safety and certification frameworks required to facilitate the production, storage, transport and use of renewable hydrogen, given expert findings that delays in these frameworks are creating market uncertainty; and if additional resources will be allocated to accelerate this work. [38322/…

36. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if the Government intends to provide dedicated financial supports, including capital grants or operational subsidies, for early-stage renewable hydrogen pilot projects in order to de risk investment, accelerate market entry, and support Ireland's decarbonisation and energy security objectives; and if he will outline expected timeline…

37. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the way in which the Government intends to support pilot scale electrolyser deployment that can absorb surplus renewable electricity, as referenced in the National Hydrogen Strategy; and whether targeted State funding will be made available to ensure these projects can begin operation before 2030. [38324/26]

38. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the steps being taken to address delays in offshore wind development which are impacting Ireland's ability to establish an indigenous green hydrogen industry; and whether the State will provide interim financial supports to hydrogen demonstration projects pending full renewable generation build-out. [38325/26]

39. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether specific funding streams will be introduced to support hydrogen pilot projects in hard to abate industrial sectors, such as high temperature heat applications, which the Strategy identifies as early priority use-cases; and if such funding will form part of the forthcoming Climate Action Plan measures. [38326/26]

40. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if the Government will financially support pilot projects testing hydrogen storage, port infrastructure or repurposed gas network assets, in line with the infrastructure goals outlined in the National Hydrogen Strategy; and when details of such supports will be announced. [38327/26]

41. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the steps being taken to financially de-risk early hydrogen production and export focused pilot projects, following the Department's commissioning of a 2025 study indicating Ireland's potential to produce significantly more renewable hydrogen than domestic demand; and whether export-oriented pilots will receive targeted state support…

42. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the total number of SMEs that have availed of the business energy upgrade scheme each year since its introduction; the total expenditure under the scheme to date; if he will confirm the total budget for the scheme in 2026; the plans to amend the scheme to increase the level of grant aid or make it easier for SMEs to access given th…

43. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether he intends to provide for heat recovered from waste-to-energy facilities to be recognised as waste heat, excess heat or an otherwise eligible low-carbon heat source for district heating networks under the Heat (Networks and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024; the way this position aligns with Ireland's implementation of the Re…

44. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Defence to protect Irish neutrality by preserving the triple lock (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38141/26]

45. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Transport the measures he is taking to address the misuse of animal-drawn vehicles, including sulkies on public roads and the penalties for misuse of the same. [38232/26]

46. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Transport if he will introduce legislation to ensure those who buy an EV or hybrid car will have the proper charging infrastructure in place so they can charge from their own homes, and have access to the required grants, including SEAI grants to allow access to this fund for people without driveways; and if EV installation companies can deny the installation due no privat…

47. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport the infrastructure investments which are planned or underway to support increased public transport demand arising from population growth in Dublin suburbs and surrounding areas. [38015/26]

48. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport if there are planned policy or funding adjustments aimed at addressing capacity challenges caused by rapid population increases and dwelling completions in the Dublin west. [38016/26]

49. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport the way in which long-term demographic forecasting is incorporated into transport planning to ensure sustainable and efficient public transport services over the next decade. [38017/26]

50. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport the maintenance arrangements and associated costs for the electric buses delivered for Galway and Dublin; whether maintenance and warranty management differs for buses in storage compared with those in active service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38036/26]