Departmental Meetings

48. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of times he has met with a committee (details supplied) as Minister; and the number of those meetings since the previous public sector pay deal expired on 30 June 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69056/26]

Hospital Staff

163. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Health if her attention has been drawn to the recruitment freeze on midwives at Galway University Hospitals, despite 23 vacant midwifery posts; if she will clarify the basis for the current recruitment freeze; to provide clarity for recently qualified midwives of the employment opportunities they can avail of; the expected timeframe for the current recruitment freeze; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [69003/26]

Cybersecurity Policy

607. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if his attention has been drawn to the increasing number of cyber-attacks carried out by artificial intelligence models; the preventative measures he is taking to protect Irish people’s data, Irish companies and public services from such attacks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68800/26]

School Transport

372. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to correspondence (details supplied), if she will provide an update on school transport for a child; if a tender for the relevant route is currently open; if not the reason for this; and if a driver has been appointed for this route. [68295/26]

Visa Applications

380. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide an update on current processing times for stamp 0 permissions; if he is aware that there is a person (details supplied) who is currently waiting six months to renew their Stamp 0 permission, which has to be renewed on an annual basis; and the steps his Department is taking to address the delays. [67701/26]

Social Welfare Benefits

42. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration has been given to increasing the amount of time that an individual in receipt of disability allowance can spend outside the State from two weeks per year; and if consideration has been given to the level of surveillance and collection of personal data that is involved when a disability allowance recipient travels outside of the State. [67605/26]

34th Dáil debate — 2026-09-29

Deputy Mairéad Farrell It is hard to put into words the importance of Merlin Woods for the community in which I live. It is one of the only green spaces on the east side of Galway city. It is surrounded by Doughiska and Ballybane, and slightly further on are Renmore, Mervue and Roscam, all of which are areas that have benefited from that green space. To be honest, it is actually hard to understand or fathom in any way why these woods - this local amenity - are being destroyed in the way that th

34th Dáil debate — 2026-09-29

Deputy Mairéad Farrell I appreciate that. I appreciate that the Minister of State is not the line Minister and that it is quite a specific case, but the reason I raise it here is because the people have not been silent in relation to this. The community has not been silent about it. The people who deal with Merlin Woods day in, day out have been saying they feel this is a serious destruction of the habitat, as I have outlined, and of many different species. They have spoken about the serious im