Parliamentary questions

130. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will detail the procedure in place in circumstances where a person alleges unlawful detention in the United States and where consular support was not possible to seek due to a lack of access by virtue of the nature of the detention. [43748/25]

131. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline Ireland's official position on global debt refinancing and forgiveness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43767/25]

132. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Ireland will be advocating for debt forgiveness for lower income countries to address the global aid shortfalls; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43768/25]

133. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide an update on the Hague Group meeting in Colombia; if Ireland will be committing to implementing the six measures as agreed at the meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43771/25]

134. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there will be a recruitment process for additional staff for the EU Presidency; if persons outside the public service will be eligible for consideration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43844/25]

135. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide details of evacuation processes in place for university students granted places at Irish universities to escape Gaza; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43962/25]

136. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason there have been no evacuation flights from Gaza since April 2025; the reason there are no plans for further evacuation flights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43963/25]

137. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide detailed clarification of the potential access and the protections to market access, arising from the so-called "negative list" in the CETA trade agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43990/25]

138. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on Ireland's position as outlined in the European Commission Review of Trade and Sustainable Development Ireland position paper for 2022; and whether it is still the position of the Government that trade agreements that Ireland is party to should "demand an increased focus on enviro…

139. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will request a strengthening of regulatory enforcement mechanisms in CETA before attempting to ratify it in Ireland (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43992/25]

140. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to confirm that "The State shall not be bound by any international agreement involving a charge upon public funds unless the terms of the agreement shall have been approved by Dáil Éireann" as detailed in Article 29.5.2° of the Constitution with regards to any potential ratification of CETA; and if he will make…

141. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Ireland is held to any explicit timeline for progressing the ratification of CETA, noting that at least nine other European Member States have yet to do so; if Ireland it potentially at risk of a challenge for not making a ratification decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43995/25]

142. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress he has made in lobbying for continued support of the UN Security Council mandate for the UNIFIL mission; if he intends to support a Uniting for Peace Resolution at the UN General Assembly should its mandate not be renewed by the UN Security Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4…

143. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the consultation that has been conducted by his Department with the Irish diaspora on voting rights for new emigrants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44118/25]

144. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the outcome of any recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EU and in the UN in relation to the urgent need to impose additional sanctions on Israel without further delay in view of the ongoing genocide in Palestine, the mass starvation inflicted on innocent people by Israel and the blockage o…

145. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions Ireland is taking with regard to the forced repatriation of refugees to Afghanistan; the steps that have been taken to support family reunification in Ireland for Afghani refugees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44239/25]

146. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he accepts the legal analysis of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel that each state is obliged to undertake a thorough due diligence review of its aid and assistance to Israel; if he intends to con…

147. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is of the view that the institutional balance of the treaties requires that the European Commission must always reflect positions agreed by all member states at the Foreign Affairs Council when speaking on common foreign and security policy; or if he is of the view that the European Commission may art…

148. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to identify and provide an explanation for each and every instance where the Government has sought clarity regarding inconsistency in external representation or messaging from the European Commission. [44323/25]

149. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of staff in the passport service, by role, by year, for the years 2020 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44419/25]

150. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the expenditure on staffing of the passport service in the years 2020 to date, by year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44420/25]

151. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the estimated cost associated with increasing staffing levels in the passport service by 10, 50 and 100 WTE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44421/25]

152. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the WTE equivalent within the passport service, by location; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44422/25]

175. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 329 and 331 of 24 June 2025, to the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, which confirmed that responsibility for analysing collapsed or re-run procurement competitions rests with individual contracting authorities, if hi…

176. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide a list of all Public-Private Partnership projects under his remit, including project name, contract value, and start/end date since 2010; and to confirm whether any projects have been subject to cost overruns, renegotiation or early termination since 2010. [40415/25]