Results 5,681-5,700 of 7,024 for speaker:Willie Penrose

Written Answers — Farm Inspections: Farm Inspections (6 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: Question 431: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she will take steps to reduce the complex, bureaucratic and oppressive inspection regime, that her Department has put in place, which incorporates a document consisting of 66 pages covering 1,450 different questions, sections and permutations and requires her Department's inspector's signature in 28 different places; if same will...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (6 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: Question 453: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the status of an application for additional and ancillary accommodation by a primary school (details supplied) in County Westmeath; her views on whether same is required in view of the increased numbers and in view of the significant extra curricular work, which is undertaken by the teachers and board of management of the school;...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (6 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: Question 503: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the significantly high pupil teacher ratio at a primary school (detail supplied) in County Longford; if in this context she will allocate additional teaching staff to deal with this issue as the number of students clearly warrants such appointments; and if she will make a statement on the matter....

Written Answers — Defence Forces Equipment: Defence Forces Equipment (6 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: Question 507: To ask the Minister for Defence if he is satisfied that there is adequate resources such as footwear, uniforms and clothing in general available to Reserve Defence Force personnel throughout the country, in order to enable them to undertake necessary training, duties and other tasks; if there is a requirement to allocate additional resources, if he will take steps to ensure...

Written Answers — Services for People with Disabilities: Services for People with Disabilities (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: Question 70: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the position in regard to proposals that community welfare officers should be transferred from the Health Service Executive to his Department; if discussions have been initiated with the trade unions representing the CWOs; if a timetable has been set for implementation of the proposal; and if he will make a statement on the...

Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: Question 2: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on abolishing the means test for the carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7924/07]

Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: The Minister knows the Labour Party position. We are unequivocally committed to abolishing the means test for carers. There are thousands of people in the country with a job that has a mandatory 365 days a year contract, with no leave, holidays or bonus. Who are these people? They are carers who provide unpaid help for a family member or friend with a disability. Almost half of these...

Social Welfare Code. (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: This was discussed in great detail at a big meeting in Farmleigh. Various organisations dealing with lone parents, as well as the Labour Party, put forward their proposals. Emanating from this, what steps are being taken to put in place adequate child care provision to enable the core of lone parents to return to work? It will only be pie in the sky unless child care provision, preferably...

Social Welfare Code. (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: Yes, that is the question. We have 18 minutes and three questions are being taken together.

Social Welfare Code. (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: The Ceann Comhairle always allows us to debate the question. This is an important topic. I will not be stifled by people telling me what to do. Is the Minister aware that his proposal would create new poverty traps? Is he happy with that? Unless the Minister deals with the question of poverty traps and child care, he can tear up the proposals. The cohabitation rule should be scrapped....

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: Is it not clear that the 1997 social inclusion programme failed? Is it not clear that we have failed to reduce the level of consistent poverty to 2% by 2007? The 7% figure means 300,000 people are considered as being in poverty. Is that not the position? Did I not argue here four years ago that the figures used by the ESRI were outdated, outmoded and in need of modernisation? Were they...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: They should not listen to the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, on inequality being a good thing.

Homemakers' Scheme. (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: If the means test was abolished, is a carer's credit being considered for people who work a minimum number of hours per week along similar lines to the home-makers scheme? If so, it would give people an opportunity to have a credit so that when they reached pension age they would qualify for it based on their appropriate contribution rates.

Homemakers' Scheme. (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: Yes, ultimately.

Pension Provisions. (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: I thank the Minister for his reply. What was the nature of the discussions undertaken as part of the Towards 2016 programme? Were any particular targets set in that regard, or did the social partners address that issue? Was the Minister caught on the hop by the Tánaiste, Deputy McDowell's, solo-run intervention, or was it a naked pitch for the grey vote? It startled everybody across the...

Pension Provisions. (1 Mar 2007)

Willie Penrose: The Minister mentioned a figure of €2 billion. Will he expand upon that cost and indicate exactly what it relates to? I know it is election time but with the additional moneys last year, the Minister spent €1.3 billion or €1.4 billion. He thought that was a very good sum, so will this be €2 billion for one area of social welfare?

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (28 Feb 2007)

Willie Penrose: Question 81: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the local community and voluntary groups in each constituency that are administering the community support for older people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7698/07]

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (28 Feb 2007)

Willie Penrose: Question 115: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the progress that has been made since September 2000 in regard to the implementation of the White Paper on a Framework for Supporting Voluntary Activity and for Developing the Relationship Between the State and the Voluntary Sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7699/07]

Written Answers — Special Areas of Conservation: Special Areas of Conservation (28 Feb 2007)

Willie Penrose: Question 263: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if special areas of conservation are being proposed for a geographical area (details supplied); if his attention has been drawn to the impact that such proposals will have on the turbary owners in these areas; the number of people that might be affected; if there has been consultation with the owner groups...

Written Answers — Nuclear Safety: Nuclear Safety (27 Feb 2007)

Willie Penrose: Question 100: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the procedures in place to monitor shipments of mox fuel from the Sellafield plant to ensure that they do not pass through Irish waters; and the plans in place with the British Government in the event of an emergency arising. [7346/07]