Parliamentary questions

416. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the new animal welfare strategy due in Q2 2026 will include measurable targets for complaint handling, investigation timelines, seizure action, prosecution rates, data publication, and inter-agency cooperation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33643/26]

417. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a list of all capital projects including fishery harbour, forestry, agri-food and other infrastructure projects delivered under the remit of his Department, and bodies under its aegis, which have been completed on time and within budget in Dublin West in each of the past five years, in tabular form; …

418. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department or any bodies and agencies under his aegis use software and or products from a company (details supplied); and the duration and cost of the contract; and the services they avail of from the company. [33713/26]

419. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a list of all capital projects including fishery harbour, forestry, agri-food and other infrastructure projects delivered under the remit of his Department, and bodies under its aegis, which have been completed on time and within budget in Dublin in each of the past five years, in tabular form [33833/…

420. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of civil and public servants employed by his Department in each of the past ten years, in tabular form. [33944/26]

698. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason that applications for a public sector job (details supplied) are restricted to employees already working in the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33210/26]

699. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the governance and oversight arrangements in place between his Department, An Garda Síochána, and other relevant Departments in relation to the recording, monitoring, classification, and enforcement of alleged animal cruelty offences, and whether any single Department or body holds overall responsibility for ensuring c…

700. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the absence of centrally collated data on alleged animal cruelty offences is a matter of policy design, and whether any consideration has been given to introducing standardised national reporting mechanisms to support policy development in this area. [33288/26]

701. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether he can confirm which single body or Department has overall policy responsibility for ensuring consistency in the recording, classification, and monitoring of alleged animal cruelty offences across the State, and if no single body holds such responsibility, whether Government considers this a governance gap in t…

702. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of TAMS grants received; the number of grants deemed unsuccessful; the number of applications deemed unsuccessful in County Tipperary; the number of applications received in County Tipperary; the reason a large number of applications have been deemed unsuccessful; the budget constraints associated with th…

703. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the publication of a children’s book regarding Sitka spruce, a non-native species grown primarily for commercial purposes in Ireland and which is the subject of serious environmental and biodiversity concerns, which was issued to primary schools across the country and contained a forward by a former Junio…

704. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if any of the €156.6 million that was allocated to supporting the fisheries sector in Budget 2026 can be used for a payment scheme to support inshore fishermen in the crayfish fishery to move to lower impact gear in order to protect critically endangered species; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31…

705. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmer solar grant applications that were granted, refused and withdrawn, in County Kerry, in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32031/26]

706. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmer solar grant applications that were granted, refused and withdrawn, in each county, in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32032/26]

707. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the sea-fisheries ice plants currently operated by or for his Department; the location of each; the operating agency or body; the date established; and the quantity of ice supplied per annum for past five years, in tabular form. [32087/26]

708. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the sea-fisheries ice plants previously operated by or for his Department, which have been closed over the past ten years; the location of each; the operating agency or body; and date closed. [32088/26]

709. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there are plans to close the BIM-managed ice plant at Dunmore East fisheries harbour centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32089/26]

710. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of times that each of the four members of a board (details supplied) have been reappointed to the board by successive Ministers for Agriculture; the reasons these individuals have served as members of the board continuously for over 25 years; his views on whether it can be justified for any person to sit on …

711. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of protected disclosures that have gone missing or have been compromised that have been submitted to his Department or State bodies that are responsible to his Department. [32280/26]

712. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of staff that are currently inactively employed by his Department or any organisation with responsibility to his Department. [32300/26]

713. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding a person (details supplied) who is waiting for farm payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32431/26]

714. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether a national dataset exists measuring biodiversity outcomes within State-owned forestry, including metrics such as species richness, habitat condition, or conservation status; and if not, whether he will commit to establishing such a dataset. [32669/26]

715. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the most recent year in which a comprehensive national ecological assessment of biodiversity within plantation forestry was conducted; whether an updated study equivalent to the BIOFOREST project has been commissioned or is planned; and if he will provide a timeline. [32670/26]

716. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what proportion of State-owned forestry lands currently meet defined favourable conservation status criteria; the methodology used to determine this; and the most recent assessment date. [32671/26]

717. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the revised Shareholder Letter of Expectation to Coillte will include specific and measurable biodiversity performance targets; if so, the targets proposed; and the enforcement or oversight mechanisms that will apply. [32672/26]