Parliamentary questions

539. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on a carer's allowance application for a person (details supplied). [49185/26]

540. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection the guidance,or assistance that can be afforded to a school (details supplied) whereby they are having difficulty in securing a hot school meals provider. [49192/26]

541. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Social Protection whether consideration will be given in Budget 2027 to further supports for families of people with disabilities who are heavily reliant on private transport due to the lack of accessible public transport services in rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49422/26]

542. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of cases in which Part 5 applications for the making of Decision Making Representation Orders under the Assisted Decision Making Acts have been provided with independent advocacy support from the National Advocacy Service for People with Disabilities funded by Comhairle. [49485/26]

543. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on his Department’s priorities for Ireland’s EU Council Presidency. [49587/26]

544. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide figures of the cost overruns by his Department, relative to the budgeted amount in Budget 2026; the cost overruns by his Department, relative to the budgeted amount in Budget 2026 for each State Agency under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49666/26]

545. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of disability allowance recipients currently subject to periodic entitlement reviews; the criteria used to determine the frequency of such reviews; whether consideration is given to the long-term or permanent nature of a person's medical condition when scheduling reviews; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49…

546. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is aware of concerns among families of individuals with severe and enduring mental health conditions regarding repeated disability allowance reviews; whether his Department will examine ways to reduce the administrative burden on claimants whose conditions are unlikely to improve; and if he will make a statement on the matter.…

547. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has assessed the impact that repeated disability allowance reviews can have on claimants with severe mental health conditions and their carers; whether consideration is being given to introducing longer review periods for such cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49679/26]

548. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection to examine a telephone allowance case (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49754/26]

549. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider a submission from a representative social protection office (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49762/26]

550. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider the attached submission on the wage subsidy scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49763/26]

551. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department is engaged with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth regarding potential reforms to Garda vetting and safeguarding-disclosure arrangements in the Early Years sector; and if he will outline the status of any such engagement. [48848/26]

552. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the status of an Irish Residency Permit renewal application (details supplied); when it is likely that same will be processed in view that the application is pending over 15 weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48863/26]

553. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current average waiting times for the different types of visa applications being made to his Department, for each of the past five years; and the reason the processing time is growing longer specially for Stamp 4 and family reunification visas. [48929/26]

554. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration is he is aware of the difficulties being created by the long wait time for Stamp 4 renewal applications which can lead to the applicant being under severe stress; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48930/26]

555. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the present status of the application by a person (details supplied) for retention of their permission to remain. [48933/26]

556. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of accused persons his Department anticipates will be unable to secure legal representation in the District Court following the introduction of the single set-fee model on 1 July 2026; the modelling underlying that estimate; and, if no such estimate has been made, the reason no assessment was undertaken p…

557. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any review, evaluation or value-for-money analysis of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme has been published since the IGEES review completed in 2018; whether the internal review of 350,000 District Court cases from 2022 and 2023 repeatedly referenced by the Minister in communications on this topic was externally …

558. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to the refusal to publish the internal review of 350,000 District Court cases from 2022 and 2023 on the grounds that the underlying dataset contains personal information, whether he will publish the aggregated and anonymised findings, neither of which constitutes personal data for the purposes of the General…

559. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether he will publish the terms of reference, methodology, data sources and assumptions used in the review of 350,000 District Court cases, including how “unnecessary adjournments” were defined and measured; if the review analysed had any difference in the nature; the extent of adjournments sought by the prosecuti…

560. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to Parliamentary Question No. 201 of 25 March 2026, which did not state the proposed fee, the precise set fee to be paid per defendant under the reformed District Court Criminal Legal Aid scheme; the reduced fee payable where a matter is sent forward or returned for trial; whether any appearances beyond thos…

561. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the review’s comparison of legally-aided cases (313 days, 5 appearances) with non-aided cases (133 days, 3 appearances) controlled for charge seriousness, indictable versus summary disposal, plea, contested status, employment and homeless status of the accused, the existence of mental health issues that migh…

562. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the projected additional cost arising from adjournments, appeals and judicial review proceedings brought by or on behalf of unrepresented accused following the reform, net of any efficiency gain, given his statement that the reform is “not intended to reduce the cost to the State”; and if he will make a statement on…

563. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Office of the Attorney General was consulted in relation to the compatibility of the proposed reforms with Article 38.1 of the Constitution and Article 6 ECHR; whether any constitutional or legal concerns were raised during the development of the proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. […