Search the record

Critical Infrastructure Act 2026 provides a statutory basis for the acceleration of decision-making regarding projects and programmes that are designated as critical infrastructure. The Act requires that all reasonable steps be taken by public bodies, individually and collectively, to progress any functions that they may have … regard to these projects and programmes as quickly as possible. Section 1 of the Act specifically highlights transport, energy and water infrastructure in the definition of infrastructure. However, it does not limit the potential to include other infrastructure, should it be considered necessary. Section

numbers of schools in County Cork at stage 2A. The Department has a strong track record of delivering the school building programme, with over €6.9 billion invested in the last six years. This has delivered approximately 1,400 completed school building projects and over 4,000 smaller improvement … projects. Over €796 million in capital funding has been invested in County Cork schools since 2020. In this period, a total of 168 schools in County Cork have been upgraded either through the provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or the provision of modular

thank the Deputy. My Department is delivering significant projects in Dublin Mid-West and continues to progress further important projects. There are currently eight projects onsite across Dublin Mid-West, including new school buildings for Coláiste Pobail Fola, Gaelscoil na Camóige, Gaelscoil Chluain Dolcáin and Holy Family Community … School. Gaelscoil Lír was substantially completed and handed over to the school at the end of last week. A further four projects are at tender stage, including a new school building for Scoil Chronáin and deep energy retrofit works at Coláiste Bríde, Deansrath Community College and Collinstown Park

Deputy. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for education. The project referred to by the Deputy is devolved for delivery to the Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board, WWETB. The project brief is to provide an extension … building, as well as the appropriate refurbishment of those existing buildings to be retained for ongoing educational use. As the Deputy said, the project is currently at stage 2b - I will remember the term "purgatory" again - of the architectural design process. A stage 2b report has been received

Scoil Chrónáin is an all-Irish, co-educational primary school under the patronage of the Archbishop of Dublin. The brief for the permanent project is to provide a new 16-classroom primary school and accommodation, including two classrooms for children with special educational needs on its permanent site … Rathcoole, County Dublin. This project will be delivered under the Department’s employee-led design team, which uses a professional external project manager to co-ordinate and drive the design team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the stages of architectural planning to tender

thank the Deputy very much for raising the summer programme. I will set out the details of the scheme in the first instance and then I will respond to the specific points raised. The summer programme is hugely valued across the Government and by families and school communities … emphasis on different things in each of the schools. Since 2021, the Department of Education and Youth's inspectorate has evaluated the summer programme and the findings consistently highlight the positive impact on many children and young people who have taken part. Parents, staff and children themselves report

thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The programme for Government commits to maintaining sports funding to get more people participating in all levels of sport, particularly targeting cohorts in society where there are lower than average participation levels. The Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport … infrastructure fund, LSSIF. The first allocations under the LSSIF opened in 2018 and were announced in 2020, with €86.5 million awarded to 33 projects. Additional funding of €37.5 million was allocated to 27 of these projects in December 2023, bringing the total awarded under that LSSIF round

December. Following the allocation of each ministerial expenditure ceiling, it is a matter for each Minister to assign funding as appropriate at programme and subhead level for their Departments and the agencies under their remit, accounting for the demands for services in different areas and regions and having … geographic basis. More broadly, the achievement of balanced regional development is a key priority of this Government and is at the heart of Project Ireland 2040, which includes the national planning framework, which sets out the wider spatial strategy for the next 20 years, along with the national

beacons throughout Ireland. Investing in our marine infrastructure is particularly important to the resilience of our seafood industry. The Department, subject to project feasibility and resources, administers the annual fishery harbour and coastal infrastructure development programme consistent with the objectives of the national development plan. The strategic objective … programme is to contribute to the future viability of the fishing industry and the sustainability of our coastal communities. Between January 2015 and December 2025, the Department invested almost €335 million in the State’s publicly owned marine infrastructure through a mix of national Exchequer and Brexit adjustment

speak to the Minister, Deputy Naughton, tomorrow and bring back these issues. I am taking this matter on her behalf. The school building project for Coachford primary school was approved to enter the Department of Education and Youth’s pipeline under the additional school accommodation scheme. The project … will provide a two-class special educational needs unit, one mainstream classroom and one special education teaching room. The project has been devolved for delivery to the school authority. The school received approval to progress the project to stage 2b, detailed design. It is currently with the planning

amalgamation of two schools in the lower harbour area of Cork. These are Ringaskiddy national school and Shanbally National School. This is a project that has been in the pipeline for many years but, unfortunately, remains effectively stalled and has been so for the past number of years … buildings. The teaching staff are outstanding and the school communities, atmospheres and learning environments are second to none. As I have outlined, the project seems to be stalled. It is to be delivered under phase 2 of the Department's accelerated delivery of architectural planning and tendering, ADAPT

Department is committed to ensuring appropriate accommodation is available for all school pupils and will, in the wider context outlined, ensure each school project on the schools building programme is subject to the due diligence required under the infrastructure guidelines. The Department is required to manage the timing … scope and cost of individual projects in order to remain within budgetary parameters for the overall programme. This involves constant review throughout the project life cycle. The Department remains committed to providing ongoing guidance and practical support for the delivery of this project. As I outlined previously, WWETB

part, the Government is committed to improving services and supports for people with dementia. We included specific commitments on dementia in the 2025 programme for Government to improve access to dementia diagnosis and care. We have also committed to improving data on dementia. That is something everyone agrees … plan and deliver high-quality, equitable dementia diagnosis and post-diagnosis support services. In line with a commitment in the programme for Government, last May I announced the establishment of an Irish dementia registry. Full funding has been provided to develop the registry, and I am pleased

least four times and are due to publish an interim report shortly. Additional information not given on the floor of the House The programme for Government commits to applying the Dublin city task force model to other cities, towns and regions in need of revitalisation, starting with Cork … part of the national offering. On 23 June, Government approved the preliminary business case, PBC, for the Cork city docklands enabling infrastructure investment programme. The PBC was reviewed by the major projects advisory group and KPMG, as well as the approving authority, which is the Department of Housing

Deputy characterised Government spending does not tally with the reality of the situation. More than €10 billion has been allocated for public transport projects across the country. The overwhelming majority of those projects are on budget, on time and making a real and meaningful difference. The list … projects delivered on time and on budget by this Government includes the national broadband plan, which the Deputy's party actively opposed. Sinn Féin did not want broadband rolled out to rural communities in Donegal and right across the country. We rolled it out. Sinn Féin opposed

context of the redesign of the city centre. The latter includes the development of the bus system and the Limerick BusConnects programme. It is fair to say that good progress has been made in delivering the strategy, including BusConnects Limerick. In 2023, the NTA carried out an extensive … Roxboro bus depot during 2024 and 61 zero-emission buses in active service today. Regarding future phases of BusConnects Limerick, and the BusConnects programmes across the cities more generally, the NTA will publish its detailed national development plan implementation plan later this year, which will

Deputy Séamus McGrath raised the issue of the need for a strategic integration transport office in Cork. There are multi-billion euro projects on the go at the moment. The biggest one is the docklands. On 23 June, the Government approved a preliminary business case for the Cork … city docklands enabling an infrastructure investment programme. That was reviewed by the major projects advisory group in KPMG, as well as the approving authority, which is the Department of housing. Construction cost estimates, when URDF funding was originally approved in 2021, was about €595 million. The programme

Department's schemes are focused on rural areas, others traverse both rural and urban communities. These include the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, the community services programme, the community centre investment fund, the community recognition fund and the local enhancement programme. The Department's SICAP programme … country's primary social inclusion programme. As the Deputy knows, SICAP aims to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality in Ireland through supporting communities and individuals, using community development as its main method of approach. The Southside Partnership implements SICAP in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, which includes

failed Irish Rail traffic management system are absolutely staggering. More than €50 million has already been blown and written off on a project that has failed safety testing, is more than two years behind schedule and, by any reasonable measure, has been a complete and utter failure. Incredibly … taxpayers are footing a bill of €100,000 every single week while a decision is made on whether the contract relating to the project should be terminated. In addition, the Government is spending a further €200,000 simply to find out how this debacle happened in the first

visit the school. He visited Shanbally National School and heard about Ringaskiddy national school and the conditions there, and about how critical this project was. I want to be absolutely clear about the land and I can furnish documentation to the Minister of State. A response from … appear to have progressed in the tender process since December last year. It is the exact same update, stating that the project manager was appointed in the third quarter of 2023 and was in the process of preparing documentation for the tender process for the appointment

turning around. The investment in naval vessels and radar technology is real and it goes to the heart of what the European project really is in its iteration and creation. It is a peace project and it is the most successful peace project. We have had the largest … that our policy agenda for the latter half of this year is ambitious. To support this policy agenda we will host an extensive programme of Presidency meetings, with more than 270 events including a European Political Community summit, where the Heads of Government of at least 47 countries

Deputy Buttimer, and I were conscious that the scheme was only capital. We wanted to keep it very simple initially and get the projects rolled out. In terms of the current programme, in the 15 areas, there is a closing date of mid-August. It comes from … implement them. A total of 5% of the budget will go toward each managing local authority to cater for the management of the project locally. The projects will be small. They could be local health and sports projects and initiatives. I have compared it in some places

Deputy for his question about CLÁR. As he knows, CLÁR provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas. The programme is investing in community facilities and amenities, including community centres, MUGAs, playgrounds, walking tracks and sensory gardens. The scheme … also a measure providing targeted supports to our island communities. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I launched the 2026 CLÁR programme in March and we expect to announce all successful projects before the end of the year. The 2025 programme for Government made a commitment

capacity to manage through difficult times. I am fully aware of the concerns raised. However, Ireland's current €258 million Seafood Development Programme 2021-2027, which is co-funded by the Government and the European Commission under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, EMFAF, is the primary … Irish commercial seafood sector. including the inshore sector. The Department has reviewed all funding mechanisms available, either through the seafood development programme or other state aid routes to ascertain if there is a possibility of introducing a financial stabilisation scheme for inshore fishermen. Ireland, as an EU member

departmental level. The NDP review was published in July last year, with Departments subsequently publishing sectoral investment plans setting out the capital projects to be prioritised out to 2030. Furthermore, the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, which was published in December 2025, outlined a range of reforms … international telecommunications connectivity. In terms of our airports, a range of investments are planned and under way. Dublin Airport has announced a major programme of improvements, which include enhanced operational capacity to manage more than 120,000 passengers per day. The Shannon Airport Group continues to implement

Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Transport if he will provide an update in respect of IT projects (details supplied) to include delivering and or development third party; the amount expended to date in respect of consultancy and project management fees; if he will indicate the timeline … rollout of each project; if he will clarify whether each project is currently within budget and if not the amount in excess of budget the project has slipped. [51230/26

Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of State-led Early Learning and Childcare Capital Programme projects that are proposed for Fingal; the location of each proposed project; the current status of each project; and if she will make a statement

Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he is aware that there is an inconsistency in entry requirements for Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) programmes across State-funded providers (details supplied); whether he considers this inconsistency to be consistent with the founding purpose of the PLC programme, which … adult learners who may not have accessed or completed formal secondary education; and whether he will confirm that, in line with the programme's original intent as documented in research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (McGuinness et al., 2019), no adult learner over

Parliamentary Question No. 434 of 19 June 2025, if he will provide an update on the proposed Strategic Infrastructure Upgrade Fund (SIUF) project; whether the Stage 1 Report submitted by the ETB design team and reviewed by SOLAS has now been approved by his Department; whether the project … progressed to the next stage of the approval process; whether funding has been allocated to allow the project to proceed; the current estimated timeline for the completion of the design, planning, tender and construction phases; whether the proposed new outreach facility remains part of the approved project

Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total cost incurred to date by the Irish Prison Service in respect of the Organisation Dashboard Project; the costs associated with consultancy services, including payments made to a company (details supplied) and any other external providers; the costs on software development … procurement, software licensing, project management, training and staff development, hardware and ICT infrastructure, maintenance and support contracts, any other associated expenditure; the projected lifetime cost of the project; if he will provide a detailed breakdown of expenditure incurred and committed under each heading; and if he will make

Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport the timetable of the 266 high-power recharging hubs announced under the national EV charging programme; the projected commissioning dates for each phase of the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55922/26

Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport for the up-to-date status of the N/M20 Cork to Limerick project; to confirm the project phase; the amount spent to date; the 2026 allocation; the projected annual allocations for 2027 and 2028; the expected timeline for planning submission

Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport whether his Department has assessed the road safety benefits of the N/M20 Cork to Limerick project; including projected reductions in fatal and serious collisions; if his Department will publish the analysis underpinning those projections; and if he will make

Ward asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the Lucan Luas; the amount of money that has been spent on the project to date; to provide a breakdown of these costs; the estimated cost of the project to complete; if a route has been chosen … project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57086/26

Minister for Transport the funding that has been allocated, or is planned to be allocated, for Active Travel, greenway and cycling infrastructure projects in Ballincollig, Cork City, over the next five years; to provide a breakdown of projects that are funded, at design stage or under consideration … current status and expected delivery timeline for each project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59383/26

Moynihan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the methodologies used in cost-benefit analysis for major capital projects; to provide examples of projected versus realised economic benefits in Cork county projects; the lessons learned to improve value for money

Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the funding allocated for flood relief projects in County Cork from 2020 to 2026, including projects in Cork north-west prioritised under the CFRAM programme; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide a schedule of all AI related projects funded through the Public Service Innovation Fund and Digital Transformation Fund since 2022, including for each project the sponsoring organisation, funding allocated, funding drawn … down, project objective, implementation status and expected benefits, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55308/26

Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide the current projected timeframe for each flood relief scheme intended to protect settlements in east Cork affected by Storm Babet in October 2023, including the projected dates for completion of design … construction and completion of works; the current stage of each scheme; and the reasons for any delay or change in the previously projected timeframe. [55895/26

Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of school building projects that have been completed, by county, since 2020; the funding allocated for same, by county, since 2020; the breakdown of the total number of projects currently under construction, per county; the breakdown … total number of projects currently in planning and design, per county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54550/26

Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of projects that have been approved in principle nationally under the State-led Early Learning and Childcare Capital Programme; the number of persons that remain under assessment, by county and project

Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current status of a project (details supplied); if she will ensure that this project moves to the next stage at the earliest possible date in view of the urgent need for the project

Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the current status of the major capital project for a school (details supplied); the stage the project has reached under her Department's Capital Appraisal Process; the timeframe within which it is expected to progress to the next … stage; whether it is being considered for inclusion in the next tranche of school building projects advancing to construction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50939/26

Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to list each funding instrument, PhD programme, fellowship, award, public engagement programme or research infrastructure programme under his Department or Research Ireland, that has supported citizen science, citizen-generated data, public participation

total cost of phase one of the development at The Grove, Castlerea Prison, including all associated planning, construction, consultancy, and related project costs; the total projected cost of phase two of the Grove development, including all associated planning, construction, consultancy, and related project costs; and if he will

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to list each funding instrument, PhD programme, fellowship, award, public engagement programme or research infrastructure programme under his Department or Research Ireland that has supported citizen science, citizen generated data, public participation

Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Transport the number of WTE staff by job title of the external project team working on behalf of Iarnród Éireann in respect of DART North Project. [55480/26

Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Transport his Department’s current spending projection for 2026; whether there is a projected overspend compared with the funding that his Department was allocated in Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56563/26

Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Transport if a formal review of the Active Travel Programme is to be undertaken to assess the programmes contribution to progress against the 2030 national targets on transport emissions reduction and increase in walking and cycling journeys. [58399/26

Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Transport if a formal review of the Greenway Programme is to be undertaken to assess the programmes contribution to progress against the 2030 national targets on transport emissions reduction and increase in walking and cycling journeys. [58402/26