Parliamentary questions

580. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Defence to outline a list of capital projects within her Department that received EU funding in the years of 2024, 2025 and to-date in 2026, in tabular form. [26687/26]

581. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Defence if any non-military roles onboard Irish Naval Ships are carried out by suitably qualified civilian persons; and if all roles are met by Permanent Defence Forces personnel. [26688/26]

582. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the number of external contractors engaged by her Department in each of the years 2022 to 2025; the total value of payments made to each contractor in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26787/26]

583. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the procurement method used for each contract with external contractors in the years 2022 to 2025, including the number of contracts awarded following open tender, restricted tender, framework call-off, and direct award; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26788/26]

584. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the extent to which contracts with external contractors in the years 2022 to 2025 exceeded national or EU procurement thresholds requiring competitive tendering; and if she will provide a breakdown by year and value band. [26789/26]

585. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the number and total value of contracts awarded through the Office of Government Procurement frameworks in each of the years 2022 to 2025; and the policy basis for using such frameworks instead of standalone tender processes. [26790/26]

586. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the breakdown of expenditure on external contractors in each of the years 2022 to 2025 by category of service, including but not limited to consultancy, legal services, communications, policy development, and research, in tabular form. [26791/26]

587. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the projects, programmes, or policy initiatives to which external contractor expenditure related to in each of the years 2022 to 2025; the cost attributable to each project; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26792/26]

588. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether his Department conducted any assessment comparing the cost of using external contractors with the cost of delivering the same work internally; and if so, the findings of such assessments. [26794/26]

589. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the value-for-money or post-project evaluation mechanisms applied to expenditure on external contractors in the years 2022 to 2025; whether any formal evaluations were completed; and if he will provide details. [26795/26]

590. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether any internal audit, external audit, or Comptroller and Auditor General review has examined expenditure on external contractors by her Department in the years 2022 to 2025; and if so, the findings and dates of such reviews. [26796/26]

591. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the number of external contractors engaged by his Department in each of the years 2022 to 2025; the total value of payments made to each contractor in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26799/26]

592. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the extent to which contracts with external contractors in the years 2022 to 2025 exceeded national or EU procurement thresholds requiring competitive tendering; and if he will provide a breakdown by year and value band. [26801/26]

593. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the breakdown of expenditure on external contractors in each of the years 2022 to 2025 by category of service, including but not limited to consultancy, legal services, communications, policy development, and research; and if he will provide a detailed table. [26803/26]

594. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 42 of 4 March 2025, the reasons for the increase in expenditure on external contractors from €8,764 in 2022 to €318,874 in 2024; and the policy decisions that drove this increase. [26805/26]

595. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the approval process required within his Department before engaging external contractors, including the grade level at which approval is granted and any expenditure thresholds that trigger additional oversight. [26811/26]

596. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether his Department has a formal policy governing the use of external contractors; the circumstances in which such contractors may be engaged; and the measures in place to ensure reliance on external services does not substitute for internal capacity. [26812/26]

597. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Defence if she will provide a schedule of all studies and reports commissioned by her Department in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, that were composed and delivered by third parties (details supplied); the title and final cost of same; and whether the report is published and or laid in the Houses of the Oireachtas. [26849/26…

598. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Defence if she will provide a schedule of all studies and reports commissioned by her in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, that were composed and delivered by her officials; the title and final cost of same, if applicable; to provide a breakdown of where costs were incurred; and whether the report is published and or laid in t…

599. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Defence to provide the web link to her Department’s Q1 2026 published report of purchase orders/payments over €20,000, in line with the FOI model publication scheme requirements; to confirm the date on which this report was published; and, if it has not yet been published, to state the planned publication date. [26905/26]

600. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Defence to consider and respond to correspondence (details supplied) for people who were involved in 1916 Rising; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26988/26]

601. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Defence her response to concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied) in relation to peacekeeping missions in Lebanon. [27006/26]

602. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Defence to provide an estimate of the total volume of data currently stored by or on behalf of the State by her Department in data centres in Ireland, data centres outside of Ireland but within the European Union, data centres outside of the European Union and data storage facilities within her own Department; and if she will make a statement on the…

25. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Defence the position regarding the number of employees that were employed in her Department at the end of December 2025, broken down by grade, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22870/26]

26. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Defence the number of employees in each of the agencies under her Department's remit at the end of December 2025, broken down by grade, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22892/26]