Parliamentary questions

361. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, the total expenditure on agency medical personnel that is, nurses, lab technicians and other specialist roles across the Defence Forces in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 and the budgeted figure for 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28411/26]

362. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, the cost of all external ab initio pilot training, technician training and specialist ordnance/mortar courses delivered by private providers in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28412/26]

363. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, the total cost of the transport vehicle body repair and recovery contract and the contract for PDF and RDF occupational and induction Part 2 medicals in each of the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28413/26]

364. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, whether a cost-benefit analysis or value-for-money audit has been carried out on any of the outsourced services listed in her reply; if so, to provide the key findings and recommendations of each such analysis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28414/26]

365. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, the estimated additional cost to the Defence Forces of outsourcing second-line aircraft maintenance and civilian technician support in the Air Corps compared with performing these functions in-house, for each of the years 2023 to 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter…

366. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, whether she has sought or received any estimates of the potential savings that could be achieved by insourcing the long-term outsourced functions (details supplied); if so, to provide those estimates together with the proposed timelines for any such insourcing; and if she will make…

367. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Defence the progress made on each of the individual Programme for Government commitments assigned to her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28654/26]

179. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Defence if she will review and outline the process for joining the First Line Reserve of the Naval Service, in particular in relation to the regulation governing age limits for entry to the First Line Reserve and if these can be amended; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27708/26]

180. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the policy and oversight arrangements in place to monitor the operational readiness of the Air Corps fleet; the percentage availability rates for each aircraft type over the past five years; and whether he will provide the current availability rate for each platform. [27813/26]

181. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the total number of aircraft in the Air Corps fleet currently classified as fully operational, under scheduled maintenance, or unavailable for operational use; the average maintenance downtime per aircraft type; and the governance mechanisms in place to monitor and reduce downtime. [27814/26]

182. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether her Department has conducted any assessment of capability gaps arising from the retirement of legacy aircraft prior to the full operational deployment of replacement platforms; if so, to provide details of such assessments; and the mitigation measures adopted. [27815/26]

183. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the original and revised delivery timelines for replacement aircraft programmes, including the C295 maritime patrol aircraft and H145 helicopters; the reasons for any delays; and the oversight structures in place to ensure delivery within agreed timelines. [27816/26]

184. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the total capital expenditure committed to Air Corps fleet replacement and upgrade programmes since 2019; whether any cost overruns have occurred; and the value-for-money assessment frameworks applied by her Department. [27817/26]

185. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the number of trained pilots, aircrew, and technical staff assigned to each aircraft type within the Air Corps; the current vacancy rates; and the policy measures in place to ensure alignment between staffing levels and operational fleet requirements. [27818/26]

186. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the annual intake, training completion rates, and attrition rates for Air Corps pilots and technical personnel over the past five years; and the measures being taken to address retention challenges. [27819/26]

187. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the annual operational output of the Air Corps, including maritime patrol hours, search and rescue support, and other mission categories, over the past five years; and how this compares to the Department’s assessed operational requirements. [27820/26]

188. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether, and the extent that, the State has relied on external or contracted aviation services to compensate for Air Corps capacity limitations in the past five years; and the associated cost. [27821/26]

189. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the reporting structures in place within her Department to monitor Air Corps operational capability; whether regular performance reports are produced; and if she will provide copies of the most recent reports. [27822/26]

182. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 184 of 29 January 2026, whether Ireland has been designated as having any of the approximately 500 military mobility “hotspots” identified under the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility, without disclosing their locations or any operational details; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27379/26]

183. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence the amount that the Defence Forces spent on purchasing specialist fire appliances for Defence Forces fire services in 2025 and to date in 2026; the ages of the fire appliances that are currently in use, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27454/26]

525. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Defence her plans for two Hagglund vehicles that have been used by the Civil Defence nationwide to access difficult terrain that is inaccessible to other vehicles rescuing people and emergency vehicles and personnel (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23537/26]

526. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Defence the reason the Defence Forces do not keep track of success and failure rates at the recruitment medical stage, such as acceptance or rejection or any data relating to medical appeals, as indicated in recent FOI responses (details supplied); if she was aware of this lack of statistical tracking; and if she will make a statement on the matter.…

527. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Defence whether any artificial intelligence tools or systems are currently being used within her Department or in agencies under its remit; the purposes for which these tools are being used; whether any departmental guidance or governance structures have been developed to support their responsible use; and if she will make a statement on the matt…

528. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Defence the amount of Government funding provided to environmental NGOs (details supplied) in each of the past ten years. [24501/26]

529. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Defence the value and duration of contracts and service provision arrangements her Department and all bodies under her aegis have or had with a company (details supplied) in the past ten years to date in 2026; if she will clarify whether her Department was the beneficiary of professional work or services from the company over that same period; and …