Parliamentary questions

791. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the absence of a disaggregated cost breakdown for expenditure on international protection accommodation and related supports exceeding €4 billion since 2022, including separation of payments to private accommodation providers, expenditure on State-owned accommodation, ancillary service costs, and administrat…

792. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide the total number of private accommodation providers contracted by the International Protection Accommodation Service in each year from 2022 to date; the aggregate annual expenditure paid to private accommodation providers in each of those years; the number of providers accounting for the highest proportio…

793. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether an average length of stay of 24.8 months in International Protection Accommodation Service accommodation is consistent with EU best practice and the objectives of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum; the target average length of stay envisaged under current Government policy; the estimated annual cost to the…

794. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the procurement reference number, procurement route, and approval pathway used by the Irish Prison Service for each engagement with podcasts, influencers, or media outlets between 1 January 2020 and 30 September 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9403/26]

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 …

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. [9…

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 …

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…

804. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the way he will ensure that children’s voices are given precedence when determining child access arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9422/26]

805. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of staff directly responsible for cybersecurity, as distinct from IT, within his Department; if a threat analyst, vulnerability manager and a cyber infrastructure engineer are employed; if not in-house, if this work is outsourced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9435/26]

806. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the extent to which his Department examines third party supply chain vulnerability when it comes to cybersecurity. [9453/26]

807. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his plans to reduce the current backlog for visitor and family visas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9460/26]

808. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to consider implementing a system for the immigration service delivery to immediately return passports upon verification; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9461/26]

809. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to confirm when a citizenship application will be completed, in view that it is 40 months since the application (details supplied) was first lodged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9647/26]

810. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the breakdown of the number of mobile dynamometer machines, per local election area, in each local authority that are available to an Garda Síochána, in tabular form. [9658/26]

811. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if specific medical conditions (details supplied) are accepted as grounds for expedition of applications to the immigration service; and if so, the evidence which should be submitted to support expedition requests on the basis of these diagnoses. [9689/26]

812. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration regarding applications to the immigration service, if medical risks of unsupported postpartum recovery are considered in requests for expedition of applications. [9690/26]

813. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration when the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 will be fully commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9772/26]

814. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the assessment that has been made of the expected impact of the EU–India free trade agreement on long-stay visa applications, residence permissions, renewals, and family reunification volumes; whether current visa and permission processing capacity is considered appropriate given housing and service constraints; whe…

815. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether Ireland is participating in any EU-level mobility pilots or coordination mechanisms linked to the EU–India free trade agreement, including the proposed “Legal Gateway”; which Irish visa or residence permission pathways, if any, are designated as in scope for such participation; whether this participation is …