Parliamentary questions

29. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether the operational requirements criteria that led to the procurement of the Dassault Falcon 6X have been published or are available under Freedom of Information; whether any alternative aircraft types were assessed against these criteria and if so, which types were considered and the reasons they were rejected; and if she will make a state…

30. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether the 14-person passenger capacity of the Dassault Falcon 6X represents a reduction, increase, or equivalence relative to the passenger capacity of the aircraft it replaces or supplements in the Air Corps fleet; whether this capacity was identified as a specific operational requirement by the Defence Forces Chief of Staff; whether any sce…

31. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence to provide a full itemised list of all aircraft, naval vessels, armoured vehicles, weapons systems, surveillance equipment, communications systems, and all other capital military equipment procured or contracted for procurement by the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces since the publication of the Report of the Commission on the Defen…

32. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence to provide a breakdown of the total capital equipment budget of the Defence Forces in each of the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025; the proportion spent on naval vessels, aircraft, land systems, cyber and communications, and other categories respectively; the number of procurement projects currently at each stage of the project lifecycle as ref…

33. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the current status of the Naval Service fleet, specifying each vessel by name, class, age, current operational status, and whether it is currently seaworthy and crewed to full complement; the number of sea days recorded by the Naval Service in each of the years 2019 to 2025 inclusive; how this compares to any target sea days figure recommended …

34. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the current status of the Air Corps fleet, specifying each aircraft by type, age, current operational status, and primary assigned role; the total flying hours recorded by the Air Corps in each of the years 2019 to 2025 inclusive; whether any aircraft type currently operated by the Air Corps has been identified for replacement and if so the tim…

35. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the total value of defence equipment procurement contracts awarded since February 2022 broken down by country of origin of the supplier; whether any preference was given to Irish suppliers or EU suppliers in the procurement process; the value of defence contracts awarded to Irish-based companies in each year since 2022; and if she will make a s…

36. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the current status of the primary radar programme and subsea domain awareness programme referenced in the National Maritime Security Strategy 2026-2030; the total projected cost of each programme; the timeline for delivery of initial operational capability in each case; whether these programmes were subject to competitive tender; and if she wil…

37. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence to provide a full breakdown of the Defence Vote for the most recent available financial year, specifying the total amount spent by the Department of Defence as a civilian administrative body including staff costs, consultancy, accommodation, travel, information technology systems, and all other administrative expenditure; the total amount spent…

38. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the total number of civil servants currently employed in her Defence; the total payroll cost of these civil servants in the most recent financial year; how this compares to the total payroll cost of uniformed Defence Forces personnel at equivalent grades; the current ratio of civil servants to uniformed personnel; how this ratio has changed in …

39. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the total amount spent on external consultancy, advisory services, and contracted professional services by the Department of Defence in each of the years 2020 to 2025 inclusive; the names of the firms engaged; the purpose of each engagement; whether each engagement was subject to competitive tender; and if she will make a statement on the matte…

40. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence to provide a breakdown of defence spending under the following headings for each of the years 2021 to 2025 inclusive: pay and allowances for uniformed personnel; pay and allowances for civilian Department staff; capital equipment procurement; maintenance and repair of existing equipment; fuel and operational costs; training costs; accommodation…

41. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence what proportion of the overall defence Vote has been spent on barrack accommodation, maintenance, and infrastructure in each of the years 2021 to 2025 inclusive; the current estimated backlog of maintenance works required across Defence Forces installations; the estimated cost of bringing all Defence Forces accommodation up to an acceptable sta…

42. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the total amount spent on the development, production, and publication of strategy documents, policy papers, public consultation processes, and related communications by her Department in each of the years 2022 to 2025 inclusive; whether this expenditure was subject to value for money assessment; and if she will make a statement on the matter.…

251. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence if the State Claims Agency Risk Management Liaison Group still carries out annual audits of the Air Corps Health and Safety procedures and so on; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16300/26]

252. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence the number of cases for involving the Air Corps each year are recorded with the State Claims Agency for each of the past ten years; and the number that were contested, settled, lost or withdrawn in the same period. [16301/26]

253. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence the number of cases involving the Air Corps each year were recorded with the State Claims Agency for each of years between 2006 and 2016; and the number of them that were contested, settled, lost or withdrawn in the same period. [16291/26]

254. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence if an occupational cohort study into mortality in the Air Corps was ever carried out, as was recommended to the Air Corps two years ago by public health expert (details supplied) given that between 1980 and 2026, there have been around 700-800 deaths of serving and retired personnel, of whom it has been suggested that 115 of them died pr…

255. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence if it is intended to carry out a follow-up occupational cohort study into mortality in the Air Corps given that the previous one carried out by public health expert (details supplied) two years ago would seem to suggest that the need for a further, more in depth study be carried out. [16294/26]

256. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence when the occupational cohort study into mortality in the Air Corps will be carried out over two years ago by public health expert (details supplied) will be published; and if not, the reason. [16295/26]

257. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence her views on whether a major conflict of interest existed between 2006-2016 with the State Claims Agency being centrally involved in both assessing the health and safety regime in the Air Corps through its Risk Management Liaison Group and being the lead in deciding on behalf of the State to fight claims against in which failings in that…

258. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence if she will publish the annual reports for each year, 2006 to 2016, of the State Claims Agency Risk Management Liaison Group which carried out audits of the Air Corps Health and Safety procedures and so on, and commended them annually for being best in class and being leaders in the H+S field; and if she will make a statement on the matt…

259. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Defence the recruitment criteria for the Irish Defence Forces; the recruitment per year from 2020 to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16336/26]

260. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Defence the capital and current funding required for the capacity of the Joint Induction Training Centre at Gormanston Barracks to be able to handle 1,250 new recruits when fully operational. [16344/26]

261. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Defence to list all schemes, funding programmes, capital funds, grant streams or other expenditure headings administered by her Department in 2025 and 2026 which result in allocations, awards, or spending that can be identified with a specific geographical location including county, district, town, or project site, to group these by funding stream or…