Departmental Policies

1335. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to review the child maintenance calculator that has just been launched by his Department given issues that have been raised (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19894/26]

1339. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to clarify whether the new Child Maintenance Calculator is intended as guidance only, or whether it is expected to influence judicial decision-making within family law proceedings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19984/26]

1340. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the rationale for excluding essential household expenditures including housing, childcare, transport, medical costs and existing financial obligation from the child maintenance calculator; and whether future revisions will incorporate cost-of-living considerations to better reflect the actual cost of raising a c…

1341. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether international child maintenance models, including those used in the United Kingdom and the United States, were examined during the development of Ireland's child maintenance calculator; and if he will publish any comparative analysis carried out by his Department. [19986/26]

1342. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the consultation process that took place with single parents, advocacy groups, family law practitioners and relevant stakeholders prior to the introduction of the child maintenance calculator. [19987/26]

1343. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the way in which her Department intends to monitor and evaluate the impact of the child maintenance calculator on child welfare, maintenance levels and financial outcomes for primary caregivers; and whether she will commit to refining the model based on real-world evidence. [19988/26]

1364. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide, for each engagement by the Irish Prison Service with podcasts, broadcasters, or media providers since 1 January 2020, the procurement reference number, contract or purchase order reference, procurement route used, date of approval, and total final amount paid. [20343/26]

1365. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether a written sole supplier justification was completed in respect of the 2025 partnership with a podcast (details supplied); the date on which that justification was approved; by whom it was approved by grade; and if he will provide the reason an open or competitive process was not used. [20344/26]

1366. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Irish Prison Service obtained more than one quotation in respect of an engagement (details supplied); if so, the number quotations were sought and received; whether the comparator quotation related to like-for-like services; and if he will provide the total quoted amounts, without prejudice to commercia…

1367. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether expenditure aggregation rules were applied in respect of repeated payments to the same media or podcast providers since 1 January 2020 for the purposes of procurement compliance; and if he will set out the manner in which those rules were applied in each case. [20346/26]

1368. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide the annual and project-level breakdown of the 214 podcasts and five broadcast episodes referred to in his reply, including by provider, title or series, date, format, intended audience, and whether each output was commissioned for internal prisoner information use, public release, or both. [20347/26]

1369. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to specify the budget subhead, funding source, and legal or administrative basis under which each payment listed in the Irish Prison Service media expenditure table for 2020 to 2025 was approved. [20348/26]

1370. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any internal audit, compliance review, procurement assurance review, or management assurance process examined Irish Prison Service expenditure on podcasts, media, broadcasting, influencer, or communications projects since 1 January 2020; and if so, to state the date, scope, and outcome of each such review. …

1371. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the specific performance indicators, deliverables, milestones, or reporting requirements were attached to the Experts by Experience programme in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and the way in which achievement against those requirements was assessed. [20350/26]

1372. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the measurable recruitment outcomes were attributed to a partnership (details supplied), including application numbers, click-throughs, campaign reach, conversion indicators, or any post-campaign assessment of value for money. [20351/26]

1373. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the project-specific evaluation, impact assessment, or cost-effectiveness review was conducted in relation to the Experts by Experience podcast and broadcast outputs funded since 2023, as distinct from general international literature or broader programme observations. [20352/26]

1406. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration how the child maintenance calculator will handle difficult issues that arise, such as putting a figure on lost income for parents who give up work to raise children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20896/26]

1407. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he intends the child maintenance calculator to be one-size-fits-all; if he has given consideration to how it will deal with self-employed people with variable incomes; how it will deal with edge cases - for example, those with lower liquid assists but with property or land, such as farmers; or those with non…

1525. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her views on the current situation under parent's leave and benefit (details supplied); if she will increase the leave for one parent families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19004/26]

1568. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration will be given to introducing a dedicated parental leave framework for intended parents in surrogacy arrangements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19728/26]

1569. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the way in which current parental leave frameworks apply to married same-sex couples where one partner is the biological father and the other is the spouse and intended parent; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19729/26]

1570. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to ensure equal parental leave opportunities for families formed through surrogacy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19730/26]

1577. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will review correspondence (details supplied) regarding maternity leave provisions for mothers of twins or multiple births; whether her Department has considered extending maternity leave in such cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19767/26]

1719. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Health if she will respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding the special leave with pay scheme for healthcare workers with long-Covid; the options available to the person in question; to provide an update in respect of any potential reinstatement of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18548/26]

272. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Defence her plans to introduce a local participation mechanism in Irelands defence procurement process to ensure Irish SME’s are included; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18196/26]