Parliamentary questions

413. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether his Department accepts that members of An Garda Síochána, the Irish Prison Service, full-time fire services and the Permanent Defence Forces who commenced service on or after 1 January 2013 and are members of the single public service pension scheme will, in genera…

414. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the amount of funding that has been approved for Galway County Council under the minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme since 2020; the number of projects this has supported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22283/26]

415. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether the reversal of the burden of proof provided for under the protected disclosures legislation applies only during formal adjudicative proceedings before bodies such as the Workplace Relations Commission and the courts, or whether it also applies during the administrati…

416. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether any guidance has been issued to public bodies advising that the evidential presumption relating to retaliation under the protected disclosures legislation should be applied when assessing disclosures internally; and if no such guidance has issued, whether the Governme…

417. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether the Government has assessed whether administrative decisions taken without applying the evidential presumption provided for in the protected disclosures legislation may expose the State to avoidable litigation risk where those decisions are later challenged in proceed…

418. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if the Government has considered the interaction between the evidential presumption in whistleblower legislation and the Government’s State Litigation Principles, particularly the requirement that State bodies seek to avoid unnecessary litigation and protect public funds. [22…

419. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether the Government has reviewed whether the current interpretation of the burden-of-proof provisions in Irish whistleblower legislation fully reflects the objectives of Directive (EU) 2019/1937, particularly in ensuring effective protection against retaliation. [22391/26]

420. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether any written guidance, circulars, or instructions have been issued to Departments, agencies, or prescribed persons regarding the application of the evidential presumption provided for under the protected disclosures legislation when assessing alleged retaliation during…

421. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the current statutory and administrative procedures governing the dismissal of a civil servant at assistant secretary general level, including any requirements under legislation and civil service circulars for the notification of the civil servant with respect to a show cause…

243. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of times the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner has exercised its powers under section 10 of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (as amended) since its establishment; and if those powers have not been exercised, the reasons for this. [20966/26]

245. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether the statutory functions of the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (as amended) are considered to be fully discharged once a disclosure has been transmitted to a prescribed person or public body; and whether the co…

246. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the procedures that exist within the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner to reconsider or review a decision identifying the appropriate person or body to receive a protected disclosure where the originally identified body indicates that the matter does not fall w…

248. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the amount that the OPW collected in parking charges at heritage sites, by location under their remit in 2025, in tabular form. [21055/26]

249. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the capital projects undertaken by the Office of Public Works in Galway City and County in each of the past five years; the cost of each project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21138/26]

250. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the status of flood relief schemes being delivered in Galway City and County by the Office of Public Works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21139/26]

251. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of public servants recruited since 2013 in fast accrual professions including the Defence Forces and Fire Services who are members of the Public Service Single Pension Scheme; the estimated income gap that arises between retirement age for these professions and the…

254. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether his Department maintains a central dataset tracking the duration of the planning, environmental impact assessment, appropriate assessment and judicial review stages for major infrastructure projects funded under the National Development Plan since 2015; if so, to prov…

255. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether a baseline analysis of infrastructure project delivery timelines was undertaken prior to the publication of the Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan; the evidence or datasets used to support the statement that development lifecycles have doubled compared with twent…

256. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether his Department intends to establish a central reporting framework requiring sponsoring authorities of major infrastructure projects to report delays and additional costs arising from quashing orders or judicial review proceedings affecting environmental impact assessm…

257. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether quantified national time-reduction targets will be introduced under the Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan for the planning, environmental assessment and approval stages of major infrastructure projects; and whether these targets will be published with measurable…

260. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of historic and prehistoric sites in the charge of the Office of Public Works which are inaccessible to the public; to provide a list of such sites, and an explanation as to the reasons they are inaccessible to the public; and if he will make a statement on the ma…

262. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of female apprenticeship by trade that are currently employed by the OPW; the steps that OPW are taking to increase the number of female apprenticeship being employed by them. [21289/26]

492. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation , further to Parliamentary Question No. 337 of 24 June 2025, in which he confirmed that the Office of Government Procurement had ceased collection of procurement addressable expenditure data following legal advice relating to GDPR obligations, and that the OGP was exploring …

493. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will consider facilitating a meeting with a campaign group that is seeking to create an Irish Academy of Fine Arts (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18346/26]

494. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of meetings which have taken place between him or officials in his Department and an organisation (details supplied) or bodies which are members of the organization in 2025; to provide a list of those meetings; the dates on which they took place; and if he will …