218. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether consideration has been given to aligning the deadline for career break applications with the publication of policies relating to substitute teaching by teachers on career break, in order to provide greater certainty to teachers when making decisions affecting their employment and income. [66207/26]
216. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the rationale for retaining a 90-day limit on substitute teaching by qualified teachers on career break while no equivalent restriction applies to unqualified substitute teachers; and whether this policy is currently under review. [66209/26]
214. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether she will review the policy whereby the first 40 days of substitute teaching undertaken by teachers on career break are paid at a flat daily rate rather than at the teacher's personal point on the salary scale. [66211/26]
103. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the assessment undertaken of childcare capacity in Galway East; the measures being taken to create additional childcare places in rapidly growing communities; and if consideration is being given to targeted supports for childcare providers operating in rural towns and villages. [64934/26]
86. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current waiting times for the Children's Disability Network Team services in Galway and nationally; the vacancies that currently exist within those teams; and the specific actions being taken to ensure children can access assessments and therapies within clinically appropriate timeframes. [64933/26]
38. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the national framework governing the development and operation of battery energy storage systems; and whether he plans to review current guidance relating to safety standards and emergency response procedures. [64932/26]
30. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the measures his Department is taking to ensure that local communities are provided with clear, accessible and comprehensive information regarding large-scale renewable energy developments, including solar farms, battery energy storage systems and associated grid infrastructure. [64931/26]
164. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Defence the way in which her claim that Irish defence spending has increased by 43% over the last two years was calculated; and if she can provide the figures to the House. [64796/26]
594. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth when a school (details supplied) can expect a decision on its application under the additional school accommodation scheme in light of the school's stated health and safety and accommodation pressures. [65337/26]
498. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the current status of an emergency funding applications (details supplied) for the provision of a wastewater treatment system; the date on which the application was received by her Department; the reason the application remains listed as "referred to technical"; the stage of assessment that has been reached; and when a decision is expected to issue. [64469/26]
3321. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health whether any national public health campaigns are currently in operation to reduce interpersonal violence, physical assaults or violence-related injuries; the target audiences of such campaigns; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59872/26]
3314. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Central Statistics Office, National Office for Trauma Services or any other public body collects data on acquired brain injuries resulting from assaults; if so, the number of cases recorded annually during the past 15 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59865/26]
3313. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who acquired a traumatic brain injury, neurological injury, long-term disability or other significant health condition as a result of being the victim of a physical assault in each of the past ten years; the number of such cases identified as arising from unprovoked assaults, where recorded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59863/26]
3032. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide, in respect of the HSE capital allocation for disability services for 2026, the total capital allocation for the year; the total expenditure incurred and paid to date in 2026; the total amount committed but not yet expended; and a detailed breakdown of expenditure to date between construction and building works, design and architectural services, engineering and other professional consultancy services, planning, surveys, feasibility studies and project management, site/property acquisition, equipment and fit-out, and all other expenditure. [62752/26]
3031. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to PQ62752/26, the breakdown of each project by location, description, approved capital budget, expenditure in 2026 to date (details supplied); the expected construction commencement date where works have not commenced; the expected completion date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62753/26]
2215. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of young persons referred to and accepted onto the Garda Youth Diversion Programme in connection with offences involving unprovoked assaults in each of the past ten years; the age and gender profile of those referred; the county or Garda division in which the incidents occurred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59918/26]
2214. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons under the age of 18 convicted of offences relating to unprovoked assaults in each of the past 15 years; the number who had previous convictions or findings of guilt; the gender of victims and convicted persons; the county or Garda division in which the offences occurred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59914/26]
2213. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of convictions recorded under sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 in each of the past 15 years where the offence was classified as an unprovoked assault and-or a one-punch attack; the number of offenders convicted in each year who had previous convictions; the gender of victims and convicted persons; the county or Garda division in which the offences occurred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59896/26]
2209. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of convictions for murder in each of the past 15 years arising from unprovoked assaults or one-punch attacks; the number of offenders convicted in each year who had previous convictions; the gender of victims and convicted persons; the county or Garda division in which the offences occurred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59908/26]
2345. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the national initiatives, programmes or strategies are currently in place to address male-to-male violence among adolescents and young adults; the bodies responsible for delivering such initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59875/26]
2216. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide details of any programmes, education initiatives, behavioural interventions or awareness campaigns currently operated by or within the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service, the Parole Board and the Garda Youth Diversion Programme which are designed to address violent behaviour, raise awareness of the impact of physical assaults on victims and families, promote non-violence and reduce reoffending; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59946/26]
2153. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide the number of participants in each initiative currently operated by or within the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service, the Parole Board and the Garda Youth Diversion Programme which are designed to address violent behaviour, raise awareness of the impact of physical assaults on victims and families, promote non-violence and reduce reoffending from the most recent year for which figures are available, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59949/26]
1582. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the anti-violence campaigns, educational programmes and public awareness initiatives that have been run by sporting organisations in receipt of State funding during the past ten years to combat violence, intimidation, abuse and assault involving players, spectators, coaches, volunteers and match officials, both on and off the field of play; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59706/26]
1345. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she has requested or plans to request a review of school transport route design and route allocation processes, particularly in rural areas, to ensure that eligible pupils are assigned to the most practical and efficient routes available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62688/26]
1103. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether anti-violence, conflict resolution, respect, healthy relationships, restorative practice or other violence-prevention programmes currently form part of the mainstream second-level curriculum; the specific programmes, modules or curriculum components available to students in junior and senior cycle; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59727/26]
535. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the implementation of the Programme for Government commitment to establish a hub at Shannon Airport for the testing of new aviation technologies and the development of a National Sustainable Aviation Fuel Policy Roadmap; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62971/26]
190. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment when the requirement under the SEAI warmer homes scheme that a dwelling must have been built and occupied before 2006 was last formally reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62733/26]
189. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether any changes to the eligibility criteria for the SEAI warmer homes scheme are under consideration as part of Budget 2027, the National Retrofit Plan or any wider review of energy poverty supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62734/26]
159. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department or the SEAI is considering extending eligibility for solar PV grants to owners of new dwellings constructed since 2021; whether a review of the current eligibility criteria is underway; the rationale for the continued exclusion of such homes from grant support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61845/26]
4181. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the rationale for maintaining a reckonable income threshold of €64,000 for eligibility under the student grant scheme for postgraduate (master's) students, while significantly higher income thresholds apply to undergraduate students; whether he has examined the financial impact on families supporting more than one student in higher education; whether a review of the postgraduate income threshold is planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55426/26]
1945. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will undertake a review of the €20,000 PhD stipend disregard for recipients of disability allowance and blind pension; whether consideration is being given to aligning the disregard with current publicly funded PhD stipend rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55060/26]
1897. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the review and publication of the revised Wind Energy Development Guidelines; the current status of the process; the key outstanding steps before publication; and the timeframe within which the revised guidelines are expected to be finalised and issued. [59197/26]
154. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Defence the assessment that has been carried out of the Defence Forces' capability to support security and protection operations during Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union; and the additional resources, personnel or equipment being put in place to ensure the State is adequately prepared for any security threats arising during the Presidency. [54127/26]
66. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review the 4.8km eligibility criterion for school transport, as it fails to reflect the reality of modern rural life where many parents are commuting to work early each morning and cannot provide school transport; and the steps she will take to ensure students who live just inside the distance threshold are not unfairly excluded from a service that supports working families and contributes to climate objectives by reducing car journeys. [54159/26]
179. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation for an update on the commitment in the policy statement on developing a new public procurement strategy for Ireland (details supplied) including the status of the OGP-OECD project referenced as providing a roadmap for that strategy; whether the roadmap has now been completed; the expected timeline for publication of the national digitalisation strategy; and the key measures under consideration to improve interoperability between procurement, contract, purchase order and payment systems across the public service. [53817/26]
36. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent engagement with trade union and employer representatives at the Labour Employer Economic Forum. [32618/26]
667. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of formal appeals to Tusla; and the percentage of those appeals that were successful or resulted in a decision reversal. [53037/26]
666. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of unique children the individual child protection and welfare referrals received relate to, broken down by primary school and post-primary school. [53036/26]
665. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number and percentage of individual child protection and welfare referrals received determined by Tusla at screening stage to not meet the threshold. [53035/26]
664. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of individual child protection and welfare referrals received that were classified as mandated reports; and the number classified as non-mandated referrals. [53034/26]
663. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of individual child protection and welfare referrals received by Tusla, regarding school employees, broken down by primary school and post-primary school, for each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026. [53033/26]
36. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the additional measures being considered to support rural towns and villages experiencing population growth but facing deficits in community infrastructure, including community centres, sports facilities and public amenities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53313/26]
385. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health if she is aware of delays in accessing first antenatal appointments at University Hospital Galway, with women now reportedly waiting until 16–17 weeks gestation rather than the standard 12-week timeframe; the reasons for these delays; the risks posed to maternal and foetal health, particularly for high-risk pregnancies; and the steps she is taking to ensure timely and safe antenatal care for women across the UHG catchment area. [33109/26]
359. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps she is taking, in conjunction with the HSE, to address the shortage of planned respite services for children with disabilities in County Galway; whether she is aware of the pressures outlined by service providers arising from crisis placements displacing planned respite; and if she will provide an update on the status of the proposed after-school respite programme at (details supplied) including timelines for approval, funding, and implementation. [33107/26]
206. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health the details of the SMS reminder systems in use across public hospitals, including the service providers involved; whether systems are centrally procured or locally arranged; the functionality available, including whether two-way communication is enabled; the associated costs, including cost per message and total expenditure in the most recent twelve-month period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47997/26]