225. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will engage with Uisce Éireann on poor communication levels with businesses regarding water outages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12745/25]
224. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will engage with Electric Ireland on poor communication levels with businesses regarding power outage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12744/25]
220. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to list the functions, roles and services that were carried out and delivered by civil service or State agency workers; the cost to the State of each contract since the implementation of the Building Momentum public service agreement, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12440/25]
170. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the amount of electricity storage available on the grid; the plan to add more over the next five years; if he will confirm if pumped hydro storage is included; to outline the current location of electricity storage facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11242/25]
169. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications how much natural gas was used respectively by data centres and large industrial processes respectively in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11241/25]
168. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications how much new gas-fired electricity generation will be added to the grid in 2025; how much was added in 2024 and if he will provide a breakdown by project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11240/25]
167. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when he projects the first new offshore renewable wind energy to become available on the grid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11239/25]
166. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications how many electricity and gas customers were in arrears on their energy bills based on the most recently available figures; if he will outline what reporting his Department receives on those in arrears; how the most recent figures compare to those from the same date in 2024 and 2023 respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11237/25]
150. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the conditions he intends to apply to the source of the natural gas stored in any strategic gas reserve; if it will be filled from the existing network through the interconnector or use an LNG carrier to refuel/refill the facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10934/25]
149. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when he will identify the location for a floating strategic gas reserve; the agency that will be responsible for securing planning permission and operating the facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10933/25]
148. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the estimated additional volume requirement of natural gas for electricity generation and data centres for each of the next ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10932/25]
147. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the total volume of natural gas used in Ireland in each year since 2016, in tabular form; to provide a breakdown of the volume used for electricity generation, household and business use; the projected volume requirement for each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10931/25]
146. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he has been provided with estimates of the amount by which the standing charge for a domestic natural gas bill will increase in order to fund the provision of a strategic gas reserve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10930/25]
145. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the projected annual additional cost on a domestic natural gas bill to fund the provision of a strategic gas reserve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10929/25]
144. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the projected total capital cost of the strategic gas reserve; the estimated annual operating cost; to outline the future mechanism for recouping the costs of the facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10928/25]
610. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps that should be taken by a parent in Dublin south west when no childcare places are available for children under two years-of-age; how she intends to increase the number of affordable childcare places in the constituency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9231/25]
244. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport when he expects the roll out of contactless fare payments on all public transport to commence, as committed to in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9196/25]
243. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport to consider expanding the cycle to work scheme to school children; the work being taken on such a measure; the cost such an expansion would involve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9195/25]
203. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications how frequently the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in any proposed State-led floating storage and regasification (FSRU) unit will need to be replenished, given the inevitable boil-off of LNG over time; if he will provide clarity on the countries this gas will be sourced from; the measures taken to ensure an FSRU is compliant with section 15(1) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9005/25]
202. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if the Gas Networks Ireland report, as commissioned by his predecessor, that outlines the challenges and risks of bringing a floating storage regasification unit into Ireland, will be released for public consultation. [9004/25]
201. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his views on whether the importing of liquified natural gas is consistent with the Programme for Government commitment to take decisive action to radically reduce Ireland's reliance on fossil fuels; if he will ban the importation of liquified natural gas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9001/25]
200. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he still plans to bring a memo to Cabinet recommending an LNG facility for Ireland given that the consultancy firm which originally recommended a facility is now reviewing its findings; when he expects the latest analysis to be complete; when it will be publicly available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9000/25]
199. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his views on the Commission for Regulation of Utilities’ (CRU) assertion that the provisions of section 15 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 are insufficient to enable it to mandate explicit emissions reduction and offsetting measures for data centres; whether the decision to allow data centres to be powered by non-renewable sources is consistent with the CRUs obligations under section 15 of the Act; if he will exercise his right under section 15(3) of the Act to give a direction that it does explicitly state that data centres must be powered by renewable sources to ensure compliance with section 15(1) of the Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8999/25]
149. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport the actions he will take to implement the recommendations of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Climate Change Advisory Council in their respective annual national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, reviews, and GHG projections to ensure that the transport sector meets its sectoral ceiling of 54MtCO2e for the budget period 2021-2025 and the 50% overall reduction in GHGs by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9527/25]
142. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if he is satisfied with the decision by Dublin Bus not to tender for the outer Dublin metropolitan area routes on the BusConnects network in Dublin; his views on whether the tender on these routes has been awarded to a company (details supplied) notwithstanding the major service delivery problems experienced by that company on its existing routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9526/25]
93. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport the way he will ensure that the pipeline of road transport projects he plans to fund in 2025 are individually and cumulatively assessed for their impact on the transport sectoral emissions ceiling set under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9528/25]
496. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason a fully completed apartment complex is lying vacant for the past six months on the corner of Grange Road and Nutgrove Avenue, Rathfarnham; and if this development was included in his Department’s figures for housing completions in 2024, notwithstanding the fact that it remains vacant. [7262/25]
296. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if he intends on fulfilling the commitment contained in Budget 2025 to expand free public transport to children aged five to eight years; if there is a timeline for the roll-out of the scheme; if not, when he expects a timeline to be available; when he expects the measure to be fully implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8171/25]
295. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport his views on whether the current NCT regime is fit for purpose; how he will address current issues with wait times for testing; if he will consider reforming the mandatory completion time for re-tests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8170/25]
292. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if he is satisfied with the decision by Dublin Bus not to tender for the outer Dublin metropolitan area routes on the Bus Connects network in Dublin; his views on whether the tender on these routes has been awarded to a company (details supplied) notwithstanding the major service delivery problems experienced by that company on its existing routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8120/25]
255. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the severe cuts by a company (details supplied) to its routes servicing large areas of south Dublin and north Wicklow; the way he plans to fill these gaps in service to ensure residents in these areas have reliable and sustainable access to Dublin Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7423/25]
254. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport the status of the Metro south west feasibility study as promised in the Programme for Government; if submissions on the proposed route will be sought in advance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7420/25]
248. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport when he expects the construction of a new Coast Guard Station at Westport to be completed. [7283/25]
247. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport to provide a report on the National Transport Authority’s demand need assessment along the H1 bus route. [7282/25]
246. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if he has met the CEOs of Dublin Bus and Go Ahead since his appointment, and the issues discussed. [7281/25]
245. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport the percentage of the capital budget allocated for his Department in 2024 that was actually spent. [7280/25]
126. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his views on the potential use of liquefied natural gas as an energy source in Ireland; if he envisions the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Ireland in the future; if he intends to ban the use of liquefied natural gas as an energy source in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7038/25]
73. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he intends to intervene to halt the privatisation of Bord na Móna; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7037/25]
154. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the current status of the BusConnects Limerick project, including the specific timelines for its delivery, given that approximately half of the primary and secondary schools in Limerick city west currently lack any bus service; and if he can provide a commitment to prioritising public transport funding to expedite the implementation of BusConnects in this area. [5413/25]
248. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the case of a child (details supplied) who has been awaiting high-priority speech and language therapy in Dublin south city; when this child will be seen by a speech and language therapist; the reason that non-urgent cases can be facilitated currently, but high-priority cases cannot; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4987/25]
81. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps being taken to protect the interests of Irish charities and NGOs and their beneficiaries which may be adversely affected by the recent decision by the US president to shut down USAID. [4943/25]
261. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Education for an update in relation to the very serious health and safety issues identified with the current building used by a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4024/25]
135. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport to ensure that bus service providers are complying with their relevant service level obligations; if any evaluation of the new routes has yet taken place, in particular in respect of the S4 and S6 routes; and if a bus company (details supplied) is currently complying with its obligations under the service level agreements in place in respect of these routes. [4026/25]