Parliamentary questions

78. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the position regarding any initiatives that seek to encourage both recruitment and retention of personnel in the armed forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49039/25]

79. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence for an update on the pay and conditions of members of the Defence Forces. [49209/25]

80. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to provide an update regarding the progress made by his Department in progressing the Defence Amendment Act 2025. [49118/25]

81. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if his Department's property in Collins Barracks, Cork which is currently vacant will be refurbished to create accommodation for military personnel; if so, the timeline for this refurbishment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49091/25]

168. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the type of ancillary benefits available to members of the Defence Forces, such as healthcare; if there are any plans to expand these benefits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49368/25]

169. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if steps have been taken to address the shortage of people and facilities for the training of pilots in the Air Corps. [49369/25]

170. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the estimated cost increasing Vote 35 to allow for occupational supplementary pension to be provided to members of the Defence Forces on reaching normal retirement age. [49560/25]

171. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the estimated cost of increasing capital spending in line with 2022-2027 Defence Forces Capital Infrastructure Development Plan to enhance capabilities in cyber-security and cyber-defence unit, including radar and robotics, and to support research and development in military technology. [49561/25]

172. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the estimated cost of ensuring that sufficient funding is provided to resource the Joint Induction Training Centre, Gormanston, Baldonnel, Haulbowline and DFTC infrastructure master plans to include SOF and a cyber-command HQ.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49562/25]

173. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the estimated cost of resourcing the capability development 14-year land, maritime, air, cyber and joint enabler programmes to ensure the Defence Forces realise Level of Ambition 2, in line with the Government-approved Detailed Implementation Plan. [49563/25]

174. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the estimated cost of the provision of funds to resource the development of Defence Forces capabilities to meet the tasking to emerge from the National Maritime Security Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49564/25]

175. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the estimated cost of the planned targeted and tiered recruitment of 800 new Permanent Defence Force members in 2026. [49565/25]

176. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the estimated cost for essential service commitment schemes for Naval Service and Army Specialist Corps cyber, ordnance and engineers. [49566/25]

177. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the estimated cost to provide the resources required for the staffing of C2 and service HQ structures. [49567/25]

178. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the estimated cost of funding the full implementation of the Working Time Directive welfare provisions (details supplied). [49568/25]

179. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the estimated cost of broad spectrum specialist retention scheme payments similar to that introduced by the Air Corps for ATC recently (details supplied). [49569/25]

163. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on peacekeeping operations involving members of the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47659/25]

164. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the status of progress being made in relation to an Army pensions case (details supplied); if he will consider an administrative interim solution to the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47661/25]

165. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on the plans for the improvement of the pay and conditions in the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47662/25]

166. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on recruitment and retention within the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47663/25]

167. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on the resourcing and recruitment needed to achieve LOA2; the timeline for this in the form of year-on-year targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47664/25]

168. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of Naval Service vessels which are operational and currently able to patrol Irish waters; his plans to put additional vessels in operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47666/25]

169. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the steps his Department is taking to ensure the state has adequate personnel to staff Naval service ships and adequately patrol Irish waters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47667/25]

170. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to provide the web links to his Department’s Q1 2025 and Q2 2025 published reports of procurement-related payments or purchase orders over €20,000 (in line with the FOI model publication scheme requirements); to confirm whether these reports have been published in full and are publicly accessible; and to state the planned publica…

171. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if his Department will publish the procurement related payment reports (details supplied) in machine-readable formats such as CSV or excel on a quarterly basis, in line with open data standards; if not, the legal, technical, or operational constraints that prevent compliance with the requirement under S.I. No. 376/2021 to provide…