Questions

199. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the plans and progress in relation to the recently announced air service between Dublin Airport and City of Derry Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69211/25]

234. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the progress in delivering the commitment in the Programme for Government to publish an electric vehicle strategy; his plans to ensure that public charging infrastructure stays ahead of demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65073/25]

235. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the total level of Exchequer funding allocated and drawn down for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in 2021 to 2025, including specific allocations to zero emission vehicles Ireland and to local authority-led charging projects, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65074/25]

236. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the number of publicly accessible electric vehicle charge points currently available in the State, by county and by charger type (slow, fast, high power); the equivalent figures for 2020 to 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65075/25]

237. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the current status of the National Road Network EV Charging Plan; the number of motorway and national road service areas where high power charging hubs are now operational; the number that are in procurement or construction; the expected completion dates for each site, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65076/25]

238. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the role assigned to local authorities in planning, delivering and operating public electric vehicle charging infrastructure; the formal guidance that has issued to local authorities on this matter; and the supports available to them in terms of funding, technical assistance and data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65077/25]

239. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport if each local authority has prepared or is preparing a regional or local electric vehicle charging plan; the status of these plans by local authority; the way in which they align with national targets under the EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy and the National Road Network EV Charging Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65078/25]

240. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the agencies and offices with responsibility for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including his Department, Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the SEAI and others; the specific remit of each body; the coordination mechanisms in place between them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65079/25]

241. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the supports available to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure in apartment complexes, multi-unit developments and publicly owned car parks; the number of such projects approved and completed to date, by local authority area; his plans to expand these schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65080/25]

242. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the key performance indicators used by his Department and Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland to measure progress on public electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including chargers per electric vehicle, geographic coverage and reliability or uptime; the way in which current performance compares with national targets and with the State's obligations under the E…

243. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the impact that Circular RW18 and the new regime for exceptional abnormal loads has had on the timing and cost of moving very heavy loads, including for grid and energy project;, if his Department has undertaken or plans to undertake a formal review of the regime in light of stakeholder feedback; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65099/25]

244. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport how the Eirspan bridge management system is currently used to assess the suitability of bridges and structures for abnormal and exceptional abnormal load movements; if promoters and hauliers can access or obtain relevant capacity data to inform route selection in advance of applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65101/25]

245. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport if there is a formal protocol, working group or memorandum of understanding between his Department, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, EirGrid and ESB Networks regarding the planning and permitting of very heavy loads associated with strategic energy infrastructure, including transformers, generators and r…

246. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport if his Department has assessed the typical costs incurred by promoters in preparing applications for exceptional abnormal loads, including bridge surveys and independent checks; if he will examine options such as a centrally maintained national capacity map or shared survey data to reduce duplication and cost, particularly for repeat routes; and if he will ma…

247. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport if he has benchmarked Ireland’s permitting process and timelines for abnormal and exceptional abnormal loads against best practice in other EU member states and the UK, including the use of electronic permitting systems, standardised time limits and designated heavy-load networks, if lessons from that benchmarking exercise have been or will be applied to stre…

248. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport to detail the Christmas and New Year 2025 operating arrangements for DART and Irish Rail commuter and intercity services, including any additional late-night services, last departure times by line and key dates of operation; and if he will direct the National Transport Authority and Iarnród Éireann to publish these details no later than October each year from…

249. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport to detail the Christmas and New Year 2025 Luas service plan, including night Luas operations; dates; first and last tram times; expected frequency and any planned engineering moratoriums; if he will direct Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the Luas operator to publish Christmas and New Year schedules no later than October each year from 2026 so that passen…

250. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport to detail the Christmas and New Year 2025 arrangements for Dublin Bus and Go Ahead, including any expanded late-night services, Nitelink routes and frequencies; the resourcing for drivers and fleet availability; if he will direct the National Transport Authority and Dublin Bus to publish these details no later than October each year from 2026 to provide certa…

251. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport if he will set targets for punctuality, reliability and customer information during the Christmas and New Year 2025 period across DART, Irish Rail, Luas and Dublin Bus, including measures for accessibility, crowd management, security coordination with An Garda Síochána and contingency plans for outages; if he will require the National Transport Authority to p…

252. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the estimated additional cost of providing Christmas and New Year 2025 late-night and enhanced services across DART, Irish Rail, Luas and Dublin Bus; the source of funding for these operations; the planned fare or ticketing promotions; if he will commit that from 2026 the draft festive service plan and funding allocation will be finalised and published by Oct…

251. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the work being done by his Department, and agencies under its remit, to facilitate, in line with the commitment under the Programme for Government, the easier return to Ireland for emigrants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56797/25]

256. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport for the passenger numbers using the improved and now hourly-frequency rail service between Belfast and Dublin, month on month, hour by hour, from January 2024 to date in 2025, following the €12.5 million funding allocated from the Shared Island Fund in February 2024; to consider running the service later to support the cultural, economic and nighttime economy…

430. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the total kilometres of electrified rail in service; the projects approved and funded to 2030; the current and target share of rail freight tonnage; the locations of planned intermodal depots; the stock of critical rail spares including transformers, substations and pantographs, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47199/25]

431. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the fuel storage capacity for marine and ground fuels for each Tier-1 and Tier-2 ports; the availability of tugs, emergency power and communications and the business continuity plans in place for prolonged grid or IT outages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47200/25]

432. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport the Irish Coast Guard’s search and rescue response-time performance and aircraft availability for each of the past three years; the current coverage; the progress on interoperability with UK and EU partners for mass-casualty search and rescue or maritime migration contingencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47203/25]