Written answers
Wednesday, 26 January 2022
- Department of An Taoiseach
- Cabinet Committees
21. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Education will next meet. [2243/22]
- Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
- Work Permits
31. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the issue of work permits that businesses paid for in January 2020 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic...
- Employment Rights
32. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the statutory sick pay scheme; when the Sick Leave Bill 2021 will be progressed through the Houses of the Oireachtas;...
- Departmental Contracts
33. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the details of the tendering process used by his Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the beginning of...
- Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
- Road Projects
35. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department has received an application for a strategic road grant for the Port Access Northern Cross route under the strategic...
- Road Signage
36. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason that road markings (details supplied) which are painted on the public roads and in public housing estates in the Gaeltacht...
- Electric Vehicles
37. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on introducing an initiative to facilitate the trialling of electric vehicles to improve adoption rates among persons that are...
- Public Transport
38. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of penalties that have been issued for non-compliance of mask wearing by public transport operators, in tabular form; and if he...
- Irish Language
40. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a person is entitled to use the Irish language version of their name on their driver licence in cases in which they do not use it on...
- Road Projects
41. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if funding is available to commence the planning process for the upgrade of the N59 from Maam Cross to Clifden, County Galway; and if he...
- Traffic Management
43. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the progress made in relation to the urgent need in conjunction with Kildare County Council to update the traffic management plan for the...
- Departmental Contracts
45. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the details of the tendering process used by his Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the beginning of the...
- Department of Finance
- Tax Exemptions
46. To ask the Minister for Finance if a pandemic bonus tax exemption will be introduced for employers that want to give their employees a pandemic bonus up to the value of €1,000 similar...
- Electronic Commerce
47. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to reports that a company (details supplied) is deducting fees from unused vouchers ahead of their expiry date; his views on...
- Tax Reliefs
48. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will include the cost of antigen tests as a qualifying health expense for tax relief considering when antigen tests had to be paid for privately for...
- Pensions Reform
49. To ask the Minister for Finance if he plans to carry out a full review on the levy imposed on private occupational pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3661/22]
- Banking Sector
50. To ask the Minister for Finance if a bank must comply with European Union law and not with the current interpretation of the International Financial Reporting Standards in cases in which a...
- Revenue Commissioners
51. To ask the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 235 of 23 November 2021, the reason that a Departmental circular was not issued to all employees, including those on...
- Tax Credits
52. To ask the Minister for Finance if a person (details supplied) who is having difficulties uploading documents online when endeavouring to make a claim for an allowance in respect of medical...
- Tax Code
53. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue raised by the excess bank remuneration charge in each of the years since its introduction, in tabular form. [3945/22]
- Departmental Contracts
56. To ask the Minister for Finance the details of the tendering process used by his Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic; the name...
- Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
- Covid-19 Pandemic
57. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will reconsider the groups of persons who will receive the once-off €1,000 payment to make it available to all persons who...
- Brexit Supports
58. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the mechanism for the drawdown of the Brexit fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3872/22]
- Heritage Sites
59. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress made in discussions with a landholder near the Dún Aonghusa complex on Inis Mór to facilitate the provision of...
- Office of Public Works
60. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 74 of 15 December 2021, if he has received information in relation to the licence (details...
- Departmental Contracts
61. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the details of the tendering process used by his Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the beginning of...
- Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
- Culture Ireland
62. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the criteria for musicians and artists to be included on the Culture Ireland list for performing abroad and at State functions....
- Media Pluralism
63. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the response by her Department on the challenges facing local media; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3784/22]
- Irish Language
64. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if the Minister has a view on whether a person should be entitled to the use of their name as Gaeilge on official documentation...
- Departmental Contracts
65. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the details of the tendering process used by her Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the beginning...
- Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
- Local Authorities
66. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the Public Appointments Service can advise on when a permanent chief executive will be appointed to Galway County Council;...
- Local Government
68. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount in funding his Department has provided to the Local Government Management Agency since the agency was established....
- Heritage Projects
70. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the current position and expected timeline for funding and the delivery of the collaborative town health check in which...
- Housing Provision
71. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason the application for affordable housing by Wexford County Council cannot be progressed (details supplied); if there...
- Housing Schemes
72. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of households that have had HAP payments ceased due to arrears in 2020 and to date in 2022, by local authority; the...
- Housing Provision
74. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the annual cost of all long-term leased social housing by local authority in 2021; the number of long-term leases owned by each...
- Waterways Issues
76. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if she will engage with Waterways Ireland in respect of the provision for a ramp to make a canal location (details supplied)...
- Water Services
77. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the next Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme 2022-2024 will open for applications. [3808/22]
- Housing Provision
78. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the income thresholds for supports for social housing applications will be adjusted to reflect the recent €5 increase...
- Urban Development
79. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the next call for applications under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund will be made; and if he will make a...
- Housing Schemes
80. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason that the compulsory mortgage-protection element of the local authority home loan scheme, formerly Rebuilding...
- Departmental Contracts
82. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the details of the tendering process used by his Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the...
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Irish Aid
83. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the level of funding provided by his Department to programmes which help students from developing countries to remain in education for longer...
- Passport Services
85. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps a person (details supplied) can take to attain an Irish passport. [3743/22]
- Foreign Conflicts
86. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps he is taking in relation to the rising tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3745/22]
- Election Monitoring Missions
87. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the plans by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe to run a full-scale election...
- Climate Change Policy
90. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his Department is involved in carbon offset programmes for airline travel journeys undertaken; if so, the details of the programme; the...
- Irish Communities Abroad
91. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his Department holds information on Irish citizens elected to or appointed to national, state, provincial and or regional legislatures...
- Irish Aid
93. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount donated to date by Irish Aid to the COVAX facility to enable the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines for distribution to low-and...
- Human Rights
94. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the engagement he has had with his counterparts in Bahrain with regard to the ongoing detention of a person (details supplied) whose case has...
- Departmental Contracts
96. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of the tendering process used by his Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the beginning of the...
- Department of Defence
- Defence Forces
97. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the amount of funding allocated for Defence Forces equipment under the National Development Plan; and if further funding has been allocated...
- Departmental Contracts
107. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the details of the tendering process used by his Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the beginning of the...
- Department of Education and Skills
- Energy Conservation
108. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current or planned funding streams for which schools can apply to complete energy efficiency projects on site such as the installation of...
- Schools Building Projects
109. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a decision will be made on an application for funding under the summer works scheme for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a...
- School Transport
110. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address a matter in relation to school transport for a child (details supplied) [3666/22]
- Irish Language
112. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department will reassess the policy in relation to the Irish exemption and autism to offer an exemption on the basis that a child has a...
- School Curriculum
113. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the lack of sex education available in schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3830/22]
- Schools Building Projects
114. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will approve funding for an autism spectrum disorder building for a school (details supplied) in view of the urgent need for such a...
- Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
- Social Welfare Benefits
115. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will ensure that recipients of the widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner’s pension can receive illness...
- Social Welfare Appeals
116. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3774/22]
- Covid-19 Pandemic
117. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if social care workers who have provided essential frontline care at considerable risk to their own health during the...
- Social Welfare Payments
118. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of recipients of the one-parent family payment in each of the years 2011 to 2021, by county in tabular form. [3810/22]
- Departmental Contracts
120. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the details of the tendering process used by her Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the...
- Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
- Childcare Services
121. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated total income, public money and parental fees, respectively that is paid to providers in a year; if...
- Irish Sign Language
123. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the report on the operation of the Irish Sign Language Act 2017; when it will be published; and if...
- Domestic Violence
124. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of emergency refuge and emergency non-refuge accommodation units for victims of domestic violence and...
- Department of Education and Skills
- Third Level Education
126. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide the full report, details and responses to the University College Dublin attitudes to forestry survey for counties Wicklow and...
- Further and Higher Education
128. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students from Northern Ireland who are enrolled in further education in Ireland in each year that data is available in tabular...
- Department of Justice and Equality
- Immigration Policy
129. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her Department or organisations under the aegis of her Department has conducted or commissioned research or public polling...
- An Garda Síochána
130. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for the delay in the report from the Ombudsman in the case of a person (details supplied). [3690/22]
- Citizenship Applications
131. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of a citizenship application by a person (details supplied). [3702/22]
- An Garda Síochána
132. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the costs to date of An Garda Síochána Operation Foray; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3708/22]
- Immigration Status
133. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her Department will consider an appeal by a person (details supplied). [3718/22]
- An Garda Síochána
134. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to develop and or introduce gender focused sexual education in the training phase for new Garda recruits and trainee...
- Divorce Process
135. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when she expects proposals to be progressed for the recognition of foreign divorce in Ireland; and if she will make a statement...
- Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence
136. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps she is taking to introduce legislation criminalising cyberflashing; and if she will make a statement on the matter....
- Rights of Way
138. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she has plans to or will consider amending the legislation in relation to right of way matters and trespassing laws similar...
- Work Permits
139. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will in conjunction with the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, put measures in place to...
- Departmental Contracts
140. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the details of the tendering process used by her Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the...
- Department of Health
- Covid-19 Pandemic
141. To ask the Minister for Health if fourth year radiation therapy students who worked on placement in a clinical site with patients who had Covid-19 during the pandemic are eligible for the...
- Departmental Expenditure
142. To ask the Minister for Health if his Department is paying a company (details supplied); the amount that the company has received since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic; the number of...
- Covid-19 Pandemic
143. To ask the Minister for Health the terms of reference and membership of the panel which is to be established to examine the categories of workers entitled to the pandemic recognition...
- Health Services Staff
146. To ask the Minister for Health if he will address a matter raised in correspondence by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3660/22]
- Covid-19 Tests
147. To ask the Minister for Health if the costs of antigen tests will be reimbursed for persons over the age of 39 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3663/22]
- Covid-19 Pandemic
148. To ask the Minister for Health if HSE administrative staff who worked on-site in clinical settings during the pandemic will be eligible for the once off €1,000 tax free payment...
- Hospital Staff
149. To ask the Minister for Health if he will address a matter regarding the need for neurology nurses at Cork University Hospital (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the...
- Disability Services
150. To ask the Minister for Health the funding for play therapy and counselling that is available to schools in counties Roscommon and Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3680/22]
- Mental Health Services
151. To ask the Minister for Health the funding available in counties Roscommon and Galway to provide mental health services for the Traveller community including funding for child focused...
- Covid-19 Pandemic
152. To ask the Minister for Health if the €1,000 once-off payment will be available to public health nurses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3682/22]
- Departmental Contracts
153. To ask the Minister for Health the efforts his Department has taken to recover the contract between his Department, a private company (details supplied) and the HSE; if no such steps have...
- Employment Rights
154. To ask the Minister for Health his views on a matter raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding leave following a miscarriage and for those going through fertility treatment; and...
- Disability Services
155. To ask the Minister for Health if all adult disability day services will be open to full capacity when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted or reduced. [3685/22]
- Covid-19 Pandemic
156. To ask the Minister for Health if front-line workers that previously worked in community projects, drug taskforces and so on and that were seconded into the HSE during the Covid-19 pandemic...
- Primary Care Centres
158. To ask the Minister for Health when the new primary healthcare centre that has been built in Donegal town will be fully operational and receiving patients; the reason for the delay in the...
- Medical Aids and Appliances
159. To ask the Minister for Health the reason that he sought Government approval to delegate product liability claims in relation to mesh implants to the State Claims Agency; the effect this...
- Hospital Waiting Lists
161. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated timeframe it will take to reduce waiting lists to a reasonable level and tackle the healthcare backlog; and if he will make a statement on the...
- Covid-19 Pandemic
163. To ask the Minister for Health the details of the panel that will be established to assess claims for the Covid-19 pandemic bonus payment; if he will address matters (details supplied)...
- Irish Blood Transfusion Service
164. To ask the Minister for Health the amount of blood which was imported in 2021 to support the Blood Transfusion Service; the states from which the supplies were procured; the manner in which...
- Cancer Screening Programmes
165. To ask the Minister for Health the number of CervicalCheck samples sent abroad in 2021; the laboratories to which these were sent; the way that these services were procured; if these...
- Covid-19 Pandemic
166. To ask the Minister for Health if he will arrange to issue in hard copy format the Covid-19 booster certificate to persons (details supplied) in County Cork. [3716/22]
- Home Care Packages
169. To ask the Minister for Health if he will address the case of a person (details supplied) who is receiving fewer homecare hours than they are entitled to. [3751/22]
- Vaccination Programme
170. To ask the Minister for Health the reason for the delay in offering vulnerable high-risk children aged from 5 to 11 years of age prioritisation for a Covid-19 vaccination following the...
- Mental Health Services
172. To ask the Minister for Health the progress made to date in relation to the Programme for Government commitment to ensure that mental health services are accessible to persons in the deaf...
- Citizens' Assembly
173. To ask the Minister for Health when he expects the citizens’ assembly on drugs to convene; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3792/22]
- Covid-19 Pandemic
174. To ask the Minister for Health if care assistants will be included in the €1,000 bonus given that they endured the same pressures during the pandemic as HSE carers. [3798/22]
- Hospital Waiting Lists
176. To ask the Minister for Health when he expects the waiting list action plan 2022 to be finalised. [3804/22]
- Health Promotion
177. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to expand the successful weight management service provided by the HSE throughout Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3809/22]
- Covid-19 Pandemic
178. To ask the Minister for Health if all staff working in HSE vaccine centres as contractors or full-time employees will be eligible for the Covid recognition payment; and if he will make a...
- Hospital Appointments Status
179. To ask the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Donegal will receive a neurology appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3816/22]
- Vaccination Programme
180. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1941 of 19 January 2022, the timeframe for his Department to conclude its considerations of the issues arising for those...
- Covid-19 Pandemic
181. To ask the Minister for Health if his Department will put mechanisms in place to allow a person (details supplied) to get an updated Covid-19 certificate to show that their third dose of a...
- Medical Cards
182. To ask the Minister for Health if the income thresholds for medical card applications will be adjusted to reflect the recent €5 increase in social welfare payments. [3845/22]
- Hospital Appointments Status
183. To ask the Minister for Health the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3847/22]
- Abortion Services
184. To ask the Minister for Health his views on whether it is appropriate and consistent with the proclaimed neutrality of the MyOptions service for a counsellor to advise a woman uncertain of...
- Departmental Contracts
185. To ask the Minister for Health the details of all contracts given by the HSE to a company (details supplied); the date each contract was awarded; and the value of each contract to date. [3868/22]
- Health Services
187. To ask the Minister for Health his views on whether the HSE should be contracting suppliers that do not honour Workplace Relations Committee and Labour Court final decisions; and if he will...
- Covid-19 Pandemic
188. To ask the Minister for Health if he will expedite the release of Covid-19 statistics relating to children given that they have not been published for four weeks; if he will include...
- Medicinal Products
189. To ask the Minister for Health if consideration has been given to including treatments for hyperemesis gravidarum on the drugs payment scheme and medical card; and if he will consider...
- Ambulance Service
190. To ask the Minister for Health the amount the State has paid to private ambulance contractors in each of the past five years; the number of contracts and companies; the names of the...
- Health Services
192. To ask the Minister for Health the amount paid to agencies to hire medical staff, excluding nurses in each of the past five years, in tabular form; if he will provide the figures for CHO7 in...
- Mental Health Services
194. To ask the Minister for Health if the psychology post in Celbridge primary care centre has been filled; if so, when; if not, the reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3937/22]
- Dental Services
195. To ask the Minister for Health the help or solutions that are in place for persons who are being denied essential dental treatment on their medical card; and if he will make a statement on...
- Medicinal Products
196. To ask the Minister for Health when his Department will publish the review conducted by a company (details supplied) into the governance structures regarding the HSE drug reimbursement...
- Disability Services
197. To ask the Minister for Health when speech and language therapy will be provided for a person (details supplied). [3943/22]
- Cross-Border Co-operation
198. To ask the Minister for Health when costings will be revised in respect of the costs of treatment outside Ireland’s jurisdiction under the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive to ensure...
- Covid-19 Tests
199. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide further details in respect of the HSE engagement and subsequent contractual agreements with private Covid-19 test companies to provide...
- Covid-19 Pandemic
200. To ask the Minister for Health his plans for rolling out Covid-19 antiviral and monoclonal antibody treatments; the rationale for not immediately providing them to blood cancer patients who...
- Medicinal Products
202. To ask the Minister for Health if he will address a matter raised in correspondence (details supplied) in relation to the drug cariban; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3962/22]
- Departmental Contracts
203. To ask the Minister for Health the details of the tendering process used by his Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic; the name...
- Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
- Agriculture Schemes
204. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he plans to have a higher rate of payment under the young farmers scheme 2023-2027 for farmers living on offshore islands to...
- Agriculture Industry
206. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to reduce the use of inorganic nitrogen on farms here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3668/22]
- Agriculture Schemes
208. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the absolute and relative emissions reductions from the Beef Data and Genomics Programme since it was introduced in 2015; and if he...
- Forestry Sector
209. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of kilometres of riparian native woodlands that have been planted under the woodlands for water funding to remove exotic...
- Brexit Issues
210. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount that has been spent to rent or buy warehousing space in the UK and in general to mitigate against the negative effects of...
- Forestry Sector
211. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason for the continued clear-felling and replanting of 90% to 95% sitka spruce on sensitive and vulnerable upland bog sites in...
- Coillte Teoranta
212. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total amount of land sold by his Department since 1989; the amount of forward selling of future Coillte forest harvests that have...
- Forestry Sector
215. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of the 27,000 hectares of old woodland sites (details supplied) identified in 2001 that have been transitioned to native...
- Brexit Issues
221. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will adjust the requirements of the Brexit inshore fisheries business model adjustment scheme for vessels under ten metres to...
- Animal Sales
222. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of lambs that have been imported into Ireland per week since 1 July 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter....
- Forestry Sector
224. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a company (details supplied) will be notified of the outcome of an appeal relating to an afforestation licence which was...
- Agriculture Schemes
225. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason for the delay in issuing a GLAS application (details supplied); when payment will issue; and if he will make a statement...
- Departmental Contracts
226. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of the tendering process used by his Department for State contracts granted in relation to Covid-19 since the beginning...
