Questions

691. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to previous replies indicating that operational matters relating to civil legal aid fall within the remit of the Legal Aid Board, to clarify whether his Department retains policy, governance, or oversight responsibility in relation to civil legal aid services, including, access to such services; the allocation of Exchequer fund…

692. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether decisions regarding funding allocations and approved staffing levels for the Legal Aid Board are informed by any formal or periodic assessment of demand for civil legal aid services; if so, to outline the methodology used, including any metrics, projections, or service demand indicators applied; and if not, to explain the basis…

693. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any Department, agency, or cross-government mechanism is responsible for assessing overall access to civil legal aid services across all applicant categories, including Irish citizens and international protection applicants; if so, to identify that body and outline how equality of access is monitored and evaluated; and if no su…

694. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the status of an application (details supplied), and when it is likely that a decision will be reached in view that the application is pending over 6 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33315/26]

695. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he has received a report (details supplied) on the implication for SMEs of EU proposals to revise the Cybersecurity Act; if he will meet with the organisation that prepared the report; and his position on the EU proposal. [33350/26]

696. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide a detailed breakdown of all gifts received in his capacity as Minister; the nature of these gifts and potential monetary value; the procedures followed in accepting gifts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33385/26]

697. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if there are national policies or additional resources being considered to support towns like Clonmel experiencing a rise in visible drug activity; if there is scope for legislative or policy changes to better address persistent public drug use and protect residential areas; if there are examples of successful interventions in other…

698. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason that applications for a public sector job (details supplied) are restricted to employees already working in the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33210/26]

699. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the governance and oversight arrangements in place between his Department, An Garda Síochána, and other relevant Departments in relation to the recording, monitoring, classification, and enforcement of alleged animal cruelty offences, and whether any single Department or body holds overall responsibility for ensuring consistency in how su…

700. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the absence of centrally collated data on alleged animal cruelty offences is a matter of policy design, and whether any consideration has been given to introducing standardised national reporting mechanisms to support policy development in this area. [33288/26]

701. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether he can confirm which single body or Department has overall policy responsibility for ensuring consistency in the recording, classification, and monitoring of alleged animal cruelty offences across the State, and if no single body holds such responsibility, whether Government considers this a governance gap in the current system; a…

702. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of TAMS grants received; the number of grants deemed unsuccessful; the number of applications deemed unsuccessful in County Tipperary; the number of applications received in County Tipperary; the reason a large number of applications have been deemed unsuccessful; the budget constraints associated with this scheme; if the fu…

703. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the publication of a children’s book regarding Sitka spruce, a non-native species grown primarily for commercial purposes in Ireland and which is the subject of serious environmental and biodiversity concerns, which was issued to primary schools across the country and contained a forward by a former Junior Minister at his De…

704. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if any of the €156.6 million that was allocated to supporting the fisheries sector in Budget 2026 can be used for a payment scheme to support inshore fishermen in the crayfish fishery to move to lower impact gear in order to protect critically endangered species; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31941/26]

705. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmer solar grant applications that were granted, refused and withdrawn, in County Kerry, in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32031/26]

706. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmer solar grant applications that were granted, refused and withdrawn, in each county, in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32032/26]

707. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the sea-fisheries ice plants currently operated by or for his Department; the location of each; the operating agency or body; the date established; and the quantity of ice supplied per annum for past five years, in tabular form. [32087/26]

708. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the sea-fisheries ice plants previously operated by or for his Department, which have been closed over the past ten years; the location of each; the operating agency or body; and date closed. [32088/26]

709. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there are plans to close the BIM-managed ice plant at Dunmore East fisheries harbour centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32089/26]

710. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of times that each of the four members of a board (details supplied) have been reappointed to the board by successive Ministers for Agriculture; the reasons these individuals have served as members of the board continuously for over 25 years; his views on whether it can be justified for any person to sit on any State board as a…

711. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of protected disclosures that have gone missing or have been compromised that have been submitted to his Department or State bodies that are responsible to his Department. [32280/26]

712. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of staff that are currently inactively employed by his Department or any organisation with responsibility to his Department. [32300/26]

713. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding a person (details supplied) who is waiting for farm payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32431/26]

714. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether a national dataset exists measuring biodiversity outcomes within State-owned forestry, including metrics such as species richness, habitat condition, or conservation status; and if not, whether he will commit to establishing such a dataset. [32669/26]

715. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the most recent year in which a comprehensive national ecological assessment of biodiversity within plantation forestry was conducted; whether an updated study equivalent to the BIOFOREST project has been commissioned or is planned; and if he will provide a timeline. [32670/26]