Parliamentary questions

87. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under his remit to manage the increase in the minimum wages in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31384/26]

88. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under his remit to manage increasing operating costs including insurance, energy and fuel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31402/26]

89. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of scheme climate change adaptation plans for flood relief schemes completed or under construction that have been prepared by the Office of Public Works or external suppliers to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31460/26]

447. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the legal and policy basis on which full compliance with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies is not required for non-statutory bodies in receipt of public funding; and whether this approach is applied uniformly across Government. [29857/26]

448. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the total amount of revenue generated by the carbon tax since its introduction in 2010, broken down on an annual basis; to provide a detailed breakdown of how this revenue has been allocated and spent in each year since its introduction; the amounts directed towards social …

449. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will give approval to a proposal submitted by EirGrid (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29566/26]

450. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation for an update on the timelines and funding for the delivery of the proposed new Garda station in Sligo, noting that a site was purchased with public funds in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29578/26]

451. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of open cases currently with the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information; the average time for cases to be decided; the number of cases currently with the office for two years or more; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29588/26]

452. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether the Government has assessed the risks arising where administrative processes identified as requiring review continue to be relied upon in determining the outcome of such disclosures (details supplied); and whether any interim safeguards are in place to ensure that rep…

453. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the nature of refurbishment works that are scheduled to be carried out at Kilkenny Castle during 2026, in tabular form. [30014/26]

454. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if an individual protection plan or any financial assistance could be granted towards the significant flood defence costs for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30017/26]

455. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he has reached a decision on the approval and progression of EirGrid's proposal concerning pension increases for retired and deferred members of EirGrid (details supplied); if he accepts that progressing this proposal would represent an important step toward fairn…

456. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide details on all open EU infringement proceedings where the subject of the infringement relates to the functions of his Department; the reason the infringement proceedings were initiated; the procedural stage of the infringement proceedings; and if he will make a sta…

457. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether, in light of the United States Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, which may allow US law enforcement authorities to seek access to data held by US-headquartered technology companies regardless of where that data is stored, his Department has assessed…

458. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation further to his announcement on 5 February 2026, of the Government approval of a national electronic health record (EHR) system, whether his Department has undertaken a formal review of comparable large-scale programmes in other jurisdictions, including Northern Ireland, Denm…

459. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation further to his announcement on 5 February 2026 of Government approval of a national electronic health record (EHR) system, the safeguards being built into procurement contracts to protect the Exchequer from unforeseen implementation costs, change-control inflation, vendor de…

460. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if his Department or the Public Appointments Service, has considered removing the psychometric testing stage from civil service recruitment processes; and if alternative or more robust assessment methods are being examined to ensure that all applicants have a fair and eq…

461. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the reason AI platforms are blocked on Government systems; and if he has examined designing a specific AI platform specific for the Civil Service to use. [30407/26]

462. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the main policy achievements of his Department since 22 January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30483/26]

463. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if it is the current policy of his private office/Department to formally invite or notify all local Oireachtas members of constituency events at which Ministers are in attendance in the course of performing their ministerial duties and functions; if he will provide the Departmen…

464. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide a list of all events across every constituency attended by the Minister in the course of his ministerial duties since 1 January 2026, where formal invitations/notifications to attend were not issued by his office to all local Oireachtas members; and if he will make a …

465. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to approve a request from EirGrid to implement pension increases that would include retired and deferred members; the steps he will take to ensure the preservation of the value of deferred pension entitlements among former EirGrid workers who have not yet reached retirement …

466. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if there are solar panels in place on the rooftop or within the grounds of his Department building; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30702/26]

467. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if his Department has a solar panel policy in place in relation to the installation of solar panels on all buildings operated and owned by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30720/26]

468. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if his Department has a solar panel policy in place in relation to the installation of solar panels on all buildings operated and owned by agencies under the control of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30740/26]