NEWS

The Minister states: While neither of my Department's sports capital funding programmes - the Community Sport Facilities Fund (CSFF) and the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) - provide for the acquisition of land I would be supportive of any funding proposal that would enable local authorities to acquire lands for sport and recreation purposes. The Programme for Government commits to supporting local authorities in the acquisition of new lands for parks and playi

The Minister states: Tenancy sustainment, or tenant-in-situ, is a priority category under my Department's Second Hand Acquisitions Programme. It is not a scheme, but a policy tool available to local authorities to prevent social housing supported households in the private rented sector from falling into homelessness. It should only be used as a last resort by local authorities when all other options have been exhausted. In 2025, €3.5m was allocated to Carlow Co. Co. which was

Question: Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will confirm the status of the development of the Kilkenny Schools Campus site; if the funding of €5 million announced by the previous Minister will be confirmed; if the project will be approved for the next phase of the development given that at the end of 2025, the enabling works were substantially completed with utilities awaiting final connection; if the tender report for pre-qualificatio

The Minister states: The EU VAT Directive, which Irish VAT law must comply, generally holds that all goods and services are liable for VAT at the standard rate. If a good or service is included in a list under Annex III of the Directive an exemption or reduced rate of VAT may be applied. Under Annex III of the VAT Directive, Member States may apply a reduced rate or zero rate of VAT to the supply of pharmaceutical products used for medical purposes. On this basis, Ireland app

The Minister states: GPs are self-employed practitioners and therefore may establish practices at a place of their own choosing. There is no prescribed ratio of GPs to patients, and the State does not regulate the number of GPs that can set up in any area. Under the GMS scheme, the HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. Currently there are 2,598 GPs contracted to provide services under the GMS Scheme. A further

The Minister states: The Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) provides grants to farmers to build and/or improve a specified range of farm buildings and equipment on their holdings. One of the key objectives of this scheme is to provide improved nutrient storage facilities, which is a key factor in delivering improved sustainability in the farming sector. In January last year, I introduced an enhanced grant rate and a dedicated ring-fenced ceiling for Nutrient S

The Minister states: The Department of Social Protection provides State Pension payments through the State Pension (Contributory), which is a contributory payment based on a person's social insurance record and the State Pension (Non-Contributory) which is means-tested social assistance payment. To receive either a contributory or social assistance payment a person must qualify for that payment in their own right. The State Pension (Contributory) is funded from the Social Ins

The Minister states: The DEIS programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. It provides a targeted range of supports and is additional to the universal supports provided to all schools, such free hot school meals at primary schools and free schoolbooks. Schools also have access other universal supports such as wellbeing supports for students through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), additional tea

The Minister states: The Catchment-based Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme, the largest study of flood risk ever undertaken by the State, was completed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in 2018. The CFRAM programme studied 80% of Ireland's primary flood risk and identified measures to protect over 95% of that risk. The 29 Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs) were a key output of CFRAM, identifying proposed flood relief measures nationwide. The Government

The Minister states: Budget 2026 provides funding for 3,000 new special educational places within our education system for the 2026/27 school year. As the number of special classes and special schools continue to grow, there is also additional capacity created each year through the natural movement of children from primary to post primary, leaving post primary and with vacancies in individual classes. In order to ensure new special classes can open as quickly as possible the

The Minister states: The Government takes revelations of historical sexual abuse in schools with the utmost seriousness and has established a Commission of Investigation chaired by Mr. Justice Michael MacGrath to investigate the handling of complaints and allegations of historical sexual abuse in schools. The Commission was the principal recommendation of the Report of the Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools Run by Religious Orders. The Sc

The Minister states: In line with the programme for government commitment, the Education Therapy Service (ETS) has been established as a critical and important support for children and young people in their school environment. The ETS is an additional support for children with additional needs. It is to supplement and not replace existing children's health and disability services. It is intended to commence initially in specials schools and rollout over time to special classe

The Minister states: School secretaries and caretakers are at the heart of the school and are the key interface between students, parents, school leaders and other staff. They play a pivotal role and should be treated with the same respect as is afforded to all other members of a school's staff. Without them, our schools would be unsustainable. In supporting these vital school staff members, we also support the school community as a whole. The Department is committed to ensur

The Minister states: The Programme for Government includes a commitment to reviewing the public procurement process to make it more transparent and encourage greater participation from SMES. Working towards this aim, and to set out the strategic direction of public procurement for the next five years, my Department is developing a first national public procurement strategy. The strategy has been subject to an extensive consultation process, which has been critical to understa

The Minister states: My Department has responsibility for the National Minimum Wage Act. The Act prescribes the minimum hourly rate of pay for the majority of employees in Ireland, subject to a small number of exemptions. Apprentices are excluded from the Act and from the right to receive the National Minimum Wage. When the National Minimum Wage was introduced in 2000, it was determined that apprentices would be excluded from the Act. There is good reason for this exemption.

The Minister states: The Government recognises that the cost of doing business has been an issue for firms in recent years, arising from both the wider inflationary trends and Government mandated changes in the form of improvements to working conditions across a range of areas. It is important to note that costs for firms, as measured through the CSO's Wholesale Price Index, are declining, and are down 2.6% in the 12 months to September 2025. Most recently the Government has

The Minister states: The implementation of My Future Fund from 1 January 2026 fulfils a key Programme for Government commitment which will bring more than 750,000 workers into a retirement savings scheme for the first time, giving theses workers more security in their retirement. There has been extensive engagement with employers and their representative organisations from the very outset including during the design phase of My Future Fund. The phasing of the rollout and the

The Minister states: In line with the Government's commitment under the Programme for Government, I will officially launch Ireland's new National Tourism Policy Statement in early December. This policy statement will reflect tourism's repositioning within the enterprise and economic agenda and will set out a clear strategic direction for the sector to 2030, with a particular focus on the next five years. This Government has already taken decisive steps to support the sector i

The Minister states: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory agency with responsibility for the provision of special education places. The NCSE has sanctioned 407 new special classes for the coming school year of which 398 are autism special classes while 3 are autism early intervention classes. This brings to 3,742 the number of special classes in our schools. The NCSE has advised my department that an updated list of these classes is available on

The Minister States: It is my department's policy, in accordance with the principles of inclusiveeducation, that students with additional learning needs to the greatest extent possible, attend mainstream classes along with their siblings, neighbours and peers, with additional supports provided as necessary. My department provides over 15,000 special education teachers to support schools to achieve this objective. This means schools get a substantial additional teaching alloc