1702. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether there will be workshops to assist Irish employers in relation to gender-neutral job evaluation and classification and other obligations arising out of the pay transparency directive; who is proposed to deliver such workshops; when will they be carried out; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43795/26]
1701. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether it is proposed to produce a toolkit setting out guidelines for employers on gender-neutral job evaluation and classification based on that published by the European Commission in consultation with the European Institute for Gender Equality to assist Irish employers in meeting their obligations under the pay transparency directive; when she expects such a toolkit to be provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43794/26]
1700. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when she expects the pay transparency directive will be transposed given the 7 June 2026 deadline will be missed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43793/26]
1699. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024; when she expects it to be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43787/26]
1620. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to review the early withdrawal provisions of the national childcare subsidy scheme with the objective of eliminating the subsidy penalty imposed on families who withdraw their children early; if her Department will conduct a consultation with childcare providers to understand the actual fee structures and charging practices used in the Irish childcare market, and realign the subsidy system accordingly; to consider alternative approaches that account for the fixed-fee, full-time charging model that dominates Irish childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42857/26]
715. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether he is satisfied with the current four-week waiting time for a basic company incorporation application with the CRO; the additional resources that have been allocated to the CRO given the 30% increase in company incorporation applications in 2026; if he will request the registrar to expediate an application (details supplied) given the lack of any other process to seek an expedited application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43533/26]
571. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will address an anomaly in the tax treatment of carer’s allowance whereby a jointly assessed couple sees a reduction in tax credits and bands when one is awarded carer’s allowance, which consequently reduces the actual financial benefit received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43056/26]
469. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if he would consider extending free public transport to all children under 18 years-of-age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42773/26]
468. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if his Department has examined the further expansion of free public transport for children, as per the Programme for Government commitment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42772/26]
318. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding the introduction of a levy on single-use hot beverage cups, also known as the "latte levy"; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42955/26]
317. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position regarding the implementation of the outstanding items contained in the Waste Action Plan for a circular economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42954/26]
316. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his response to the infringement proceedings opened against Ireland by the European Commission for failure to correctly transport the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive; the corrective actions he intends on taking; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42953/26]
313. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his response to a recently published report by friends of the earth concerning the financial impact of data centres on household electricity bills; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42866/26]
420. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport the number of vehicles clamped at each Irish Rail station car park in 2024, in tabular form. [40111/26]
411. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of motor insurance companies refusing to recognise foreign driving license exchange receipts issued by the NDLS as proof of a driver’s qualification for the purpose of insurance cover; whether insurance companies are required to accept these receipts as proof of qualification in law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39944/26]
308. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the status of Ireland's Third Sustainable Development Goals National Implementation Plan, which went out for Public Consultation between December 2025 and January 2026; when he plans to publish the National Implementation Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39967/26]
93. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he would consider reducing or removing VAT on a medicine (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38208/26]
30. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Ireland's position in relation to the UN General Assembly Resolution on the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States with respect to Climate Change; whether Ireland will co-sponsor the resolution; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38299/26]
926. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will publish in full the report on burials at the Bessborough Mother & Baby Home from the Commission's forensic archaeologist in light of the fact that the forensic archaeology reports for the Tuam and Sean Ross Abbey Mother & Baby Homes are provided in the Mother and Baby Commission of Inquiry final and interim reports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37678/26]
365. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider exempting public transport services from toll charges; the estimated cost of such a measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37264/26]
294. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she will reform the passport application system for bereaved and widowed parents to introduce a one-time verification system for the renewal of children's passports given the distress caused by the present arrangement whereby the widowed parent must submit their deceased partner or co-parent's death certificate and a sworn affidavit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37685/26]
260. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Health the public hospitals in which new car parking facilities were constructed or installed in the past ten years; the number of new parking spaces provided and cost of works for each; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35727/26]
702. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether there are any mechanisms in place to prevent spurious or incorrect BER exemption claims on domestic properties; if there is any oversight or monitoring of domestic properties which claim BER exemptions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34639/26]
701. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of BER exempt domestic properties in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34638/26]
570. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review the payment process for State examination fees; the reason the fees are not collected through schools as part of existing school payment systems; the reason parents are required to use a separate SEC portal with separate log-in details; the reason parents are required to manage a process that schools are structurally closer to; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34361/26]
384. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of driving licence suspensions in each of the years from 2018 to 2025; the number of suspended driving licences received by the National Driver Licence Service in each year from 2018 to 2025; the number of fines collected in each of the years from 2018 to 2025, for the failure to surrender a driving licence following a court order to do so, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33573/26]
204. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport the number of driving licence suspensions in each of the years from 2018 to 2025; the number of suspended driving licences received by the National Driver Licence Service in each year from 2018 to 2025; the number of fines collected in each of the years from 2018 to 2025, for the failure to surrender a driving licence following a court order to do so, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33574/26]
841. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Health if consideration is being given to funding the Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31918/26]
703. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the publication of a children’s book regarding Sitka spruce, a non-native species grown primarily for commercial purposes in Ireland and which is the subject of serious environmental and biodiversity concerns, which was issued to primary schools across the country and contained a forward by a former Junior Minister at his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31922/26]
432. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Education and Youth the grants available for scouting organisations from her Department; whether any of these can be used for international trips; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32976/26]
141. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport the total fleet number of Bus Éireann Expressway buses; the number that have onboard toilet facilities in each of the past five years and to date in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32091/26]
127. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if he intends to amend the Road Traffic Act 1961 to introduce graduated penalties for driving under the influence of drugs based on the level of units detected in an individual’s blood as is the case with penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31920/26]
121. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport the current status of the National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF) Bill 2026; when this Bill will progress to the next stage; the purposes of the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31829/26]
120. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport to outline every price change on the number 40 Expressway bus route from Tralee to Cork in the past ten years from 2016 to 2026, including each stop along the route and including student, child and adult fares, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31812/26]
93. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the steps taken to prevent an inflationary effect on the cost of home energy upgrades arising out of grant increases and to ensure that the benefit of the grants continues to be felt by consumers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33207/26]
47. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reasons Ireland is not a member of international initiatives or coalitions that seek to enable just climate transitions based on ‘polluter pays’ and social equity principles, such as those calling for a tax on the super-rich; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32871/26]
46. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether Ireland will make new climate finance pledges this year; whether Ireland’s international climate finance will remain grant-based, non-debt and focussed on least developed countries and small island developing states; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32870/26]
45. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the review of Ireland’s 2022 International Climate Finance Roadmap which was due to be updated in advance of 2026; to confirm that the roadmap review is framed in the context of Ireland’s ‘fair share’ of both the New Collective Quantified Goal agreed at COP29 and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32869/26]
289. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 509 of 21 April 2026, and given parents were not asked to identify whether their children attended denominational or multi-denominational schools in the survey, if her Department manually removed the responses of parents with children in multi-denominational schools (details supplied); if so, the reason the information was presented in this limited way to exclude large cohorts of families in the preliminary findings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31536/26]
288. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 509 of 21 April 2026, the reason responses from the parents of preschool children and the parents of children in multi-denominational schools were excluded from the publication of preliminary results of the Parental Survey; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31535/26]