Parliamentary questions

329. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will identify any projects which a body under the aegis of his Department has underway with CeADAR, Ireland’s national centre for AI; if he will send this question to the bodies for direct response; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18387/25]

330. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will specify the specific policy areas where the Department is examining future use of AI; if he will identify what entities the Department is working with, public or private, in relation to this examination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18405/25]

331. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will identify any AI training offered to people working in the Department; the level of take-up; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18422/25]

332. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will detail how many physical letters the Minister’s offices and the customer service team in the Department received from the public in 2024; whether those letters are digitised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18447/25]

333. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will detail how many emails the Minister’s offices and the customer service mailbox the Department received from the public in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18464/25]

334. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will detail whether any surveys have been carried out to estimate the amount of time taken up with administrative tasks where such time could be used more efficiently; if so, in which areas of the Department has this examination been carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18481/25]

211. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when works on the new Smooth Point Phase 3 at Killybegs Fisheries Harbour Centre will commence; the estimated timeframe for this work to be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17716/25]

212. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when works on the new passenger embarkation pontoon at Killybegs Fisheries Harbour Centre will commence; the estimated timeframe for this work to be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17717/25]

213. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will review the system for the allocation of funding or grants for the required deer-proof fencing on new native woodlands, with a view to offering the cost of the fencing to local authorities under the allocated departmental woodland creation on public lands scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matte…

214. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason for the discrepancy in the figures given by Rásaíocht Con Éireann to his Department for the number of non-coursing greyhounds exported whose year of birth was 2021 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17904/25]

215. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the number of non-coursing greyhounds currently on the waiting list for placement in Greyhound Racing Ireland’s two care homes or for a foster placement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17905/25]

216. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if Irish born non-coursing greyhounds who return from the United Kingdom but do not race on GRI racetracks are recorded in the traceability system RCETS; if so, the number that were returned to Ireland in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17906/25]

217. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the breakdown of the reported €2 million spent by Greyhound Racing Ireland on welfare in 2024; the breakdown of welfare spending in 2021, 2022 and 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17907/25]

218. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to examine a BISS application pack in respect of a person in County Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17962/25]

219. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on the implementation of the Irish Sign Language Act 2017 (ISL) within his Department and its associated public bodies, including details of any ISL strategies that have been developed; and if no ISL strategy has been developed to date, the details of plans his Department has to address this gap…

220. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No.129 of November 2011, if he will direct bodies (details supplied) to outline specific examples of where artificial intelligence has been adopted in their operations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17989/25]

221. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how many licence applications are awaiting appropriate assessments at the Marine Institute, and if there is a prioritisation system to deal with these applications in a timely manner. [18028/25]

222. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the timeline for the introduction in Dáil Éireann of the Protection of the Native Irish Honey Bee Bill 2021, which has already passed through Seanad Éireann; his position on the protection of the native Irish honey bee apis mellifera mellifera, in light of recent research highlighting the uniqueness of the Irish eco…

748. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of technical staff grades of technical agricultural officer supervisory agricultural officer and district superintendent that retired or transferred out from agricultural environmental schemes division in 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [16515/25]

749. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of technical grade positions for all the grades (technical agricultural officer, supervisory agricultural officer and district superintendent) that have been advertised and subsequently filled for each of these grades; and the number of positions that are currently vacant in the agricultural environmental …

750. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what actions his Department has taken in relation to the matter of a young zebra being sold at the Ennistymon horse fair, County Clare, which took place on Sunday, 20 March 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16541/25]

751. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of felling licences issued, by county and by month, from 1 January 2023 to 31 March 2025, in tabular form. [16612/25]

752. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in relation to a breeding grant fund (details supplied), which is funded by this Department and administered by Horse Sport Ireland, if the new requirement for applications is to provide a complete insurance policy before any funds can be accessed, and whether this has been stipulated by the Department directly…

753. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the protections that are in place for wild animals, such as the zebras; if legislation is required in Ireland to buy, sell or keep them, or to import them into the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16659/25]

754. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will instruct his Department to examine the conditions in relation to horse drawn carriages to ensure these animals are not placed under excessive stress such as when carrying excessive loads; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16669/25]