Questions

795. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to specify, for each engagement by the Irish Prison Service with podcasts, influencers, or media outlets since 1 January 2020, whether the expenditure was procured through an Office of Government Procurement framework, an open competitive process, a competitive quotation process, or a sole supplier arrangement; and if he will provide t…

796. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the criteria applied by the Irish Prison Service in determining that a sole supplier arrangement was justified for any podcast, influencer, or media engagement since 1 January 2020; and to confirm whether written sole supplier justifications were completed in each such case. [9405/26]

797. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to confirm the grade and role of the approving officer within the Irish Prison Service or the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration who authorised each sole supplier engagement with podcasts, influencers, or media outlets since 1 January 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9406/26]

798. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Irish Prison Service applies expenditure aggregation rules across multiple payments to the same supplier within a financial year for the purposes of public procurement compliance; and if he will outline the way this policy was applied in respect of podcast, influencer, or media engagements since 2020. [9407/26]

799. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any internal audit, compliance review, or governance assurance process within the Department or the Irish Prison Service examined expenditure on podcasts, influencers, or media services since 1 January 2020; and if so, to specify the year in which each review occurred and its scope. [9408/26]

800. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to clarify the governance and oversight arrangements in place where the Irish Prison Service commissions or co-produces media content, including podcasts, as part of recruitment or rehabilitative initiatives; and to confirm whether such arrangements are treated as advertising expenditure or commissioned content for procurement purposes…

801. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the reasons an e-tender process commenced in 2025 in respect of services provided by experts by experience was paused; to specify the authority under which the pause occurred; and to confirm whether expenditure continued during the period in which the tender process was paused. [9410/26]

802. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Department has issued any guidance, circulars, or internal instructions to the Irish Prison Service since 2020 regarding the procurement of media, podcast, influencer, or public relations services; and if so, to specify the dates on which such guidance was issued. [9411/26]

803. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether he is satisfied that the governance, approval, and procurement controls applied by the Irish Prison Service to podcast, influencer, and media engagements since 1 January 2020 provide value for money and full compliance with public procurement requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9412/26]

763. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of scrambler bikes and quad bikes seized by An Garda Síochána in each of the past three years, by Garda division; the number of related prosecutions initiated; and the number resulting in convictions. [7629/26]

764. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of prosecutions initiated and convictions secured for insurance fraud and fraudulent personal injury claims in each of the last five years; the average sentence imposed in such cases; and whether this data is collated and published by his Department.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7654/26]

765. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether he intends to review existing fraud and sentencing legislation to ensure penalties for deliberate insurance fraud appropriately reflect the seriousness of the offence and its impact on insurance costs and public confidence in the justice system. [7658/26]

766. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total amount of public funds paid by his Department and by the Irish Prison Service since 2020 in respect of podcasts, audio programmes, or similar broadcasting or digital media outputs; and the annual breakdown of that expenditure, by year. [7669/26]

767. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of podcasts, audio series, or broadcasting projects funded in whole or in part by the Irish Prison Service since 2020; the duration and format of each project; and the total number of episodes or outputs produced under each arrangement. [7670/26]

768. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the procurement or commissioning mechanisms used by the Irish Prison Service when engaging external providers to produce podcasts, audio programmes, or digital media content; whether competitive tendering was undertaken in each case; and where competition was not used, the justification for same. [7671/26]

769. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the policy basis under which funding is provided by the Irish Prison Service for podcasts, broadcasting, or audio media projects; the objectives such projects are intended to achieve; and how these initiatives align with current Irish Prison Service strategy and rehabilitation policy. [7672/26]

770. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the governance, oversight, and value-for-money controls applied by the Irish Prison Service to publicly funded podcasts or broadcasting projects; whether performance metrics or deliverables are set in advance; and how compliance is monitored and reported to his Department. [7673/26]

771. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any formal evaluation, impact assessment, or cost-effectiveness review has been conducted in respect of podcasts or broadcasting projects funded by the Irish Prison Service since 2020; and if so, to outline the findings. [7674/26]

779. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the procedures which are in place within the Irish Prison Service to ensure compliance with GDPR principles of data minimisation and purpose limitation when communicating with staff; whether any data-protection breach assessments have been undertaken in relation to bulk email communications involving private email addresses; and if he …

780. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether contact details collected from Irish Prison Service staff during the Covid-19 pandemic for the specific purpose of contact tracing, and on the express assurance that such details would not be used for any other purpose, were subsequently used for wider HR communications; whether any data-protection breach assessment was conduct…

781. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any personal data breach arising within the Irish Prison Service has been notified to the Data Protection Commission in the past three years in relation to internal staff communications; and if not, the way in which compliance with GDPR breach-notification obligations is assured. [7786/26]

782. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of protected disclosures which were transmitted by him to the OPDC under section 8 during the period 1 November 2025 to-date in 2026. [7787/26]

783. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration regarding disclosures, the number who had not yet completed initial assessment or follow-up at the time of the cybersecurity incident affecting the OPDC in December 2025. [7788/26]

784. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of such disclosures, if any, remain unread, inaccessible, or otherwise unprocessed due to the cybersecurity incident effecting the OPDC in December 2025. [7789/26]

785. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the arrangements currently in place to ensure that protected disclosures made to him under section 8 can be read, assessed and followed up where the OPDC is unable to access its systems; and if he considers that a whistleblower framework in which disclosures may be lawfully made to him but cannot be read by him and may not be accessibl…