Written answers
Wednesday, 31 May 2023
- Department of An Taoiseach
- Commissions of Investigation
1. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide a schedule of the amounts paid to independent experts by a commission (details supplied) from since it was formed to date, including the amount by year...
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Passport Services
2. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if passports will issue for children (details supplied) in County Donegal on time for their travel date of 8 June 2023; and if he will make a...
- Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
- Commission for the Regulation of Utilities
8. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the staffing levels of the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, by job title; the estimated full-year cost of...
- Renewable Energy Generation
9. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the total amount of solar PV capacity that there was by the end of 2022; and the amount of new solar PV capacity that is...
- Wind Energy Generation
11. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the total amount of onshore wind capacity that there was by the end of 2022; and the amount of new onshore wind capacity...
- Electricity Supply Board
17. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Question No. 111 of 4 May 2023, the specific provisions under European Union law which require...
- Inland Fisheries
18. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the reason (details supplied) in Cork Harbour has been sanctioned despite two of the rivers flowing into the harbour are...
- Waste Management
20. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of complaints received by the National Waste Collection Permit Office in 2020, 2021, 2022 and in Q1 2023, in...
- Departmental Data
22. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of home energy upgrades/retrofits supported by the Government in conjunction with SEAI in County Wicklow in...
- Data Centres
23. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will take steps to ensure the progress of a project (details supplied) that will deliver significant economic,...
- Departmental Funding
24. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the funding provided to the Irish Environmental Network in 2022; if he plans to commit to funds in 2023; and if he will...
- Waste Management
25. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress to date on the Government commitment to expand the role of the NWCPO to become a market collection...
- Department of Defence
- Defence Forces
34. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will report on the procedure in place where a member of the Defence Forces submits a resignation; the grounds on which such a resignation...
- Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
- Road Traffic Offences
35. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide a breakdown of penalty points issued to motorists caught driving without insurance in each of the years 2018 to date in...
- Driver Test
36. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when a person (details supplied) will receive a date for a driving test; if consideration will be given to circumstances; and if he will...
- Taxi Regulations
37. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport who the four representatives from thetaxi industry on the NTA advisory committee on SPSV are; and if any of the four represent the...
- National Car Test
38. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is aware of a consequence of delays in NCT testing whereby people who have had to wait a number of months to access an NCT test are...
- Public Transport
39. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the timeline for when a contactless payment system will be in place on public transport in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the...
- Road Safety
40. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to correspondence from a person (details supplied), the steps he is taking to address the ongoing issue of the dangerous use of...
- Department of Finance
- Tax Credits
41. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide details on how tax credits can be claimed for a married couple, unmarried couple and an individual; and if he will make a statement on the...
- Budget Process
42. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will consider ringfencing a section of the Budget surplus to invest in critical wastewater and water infrastructure (details supplied); and if he will...
- Primary Medical Certificates
43. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of primary medical certificate appeals that are currently registered; when it is anticipated the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeals will...
- Central Bank
44. To ask the Minister for Finance the tonnage and value of gold held in reserve by the Central Bank as of month end in May 2023; if he will identify the sources and/or origin of the gold held...
- National Asset Management Agency
45. To ask the Minister for Finance the date on which NAMA will be dissolved; and if he and/or his officials have prepared the heads of a NAMA-dissolution Bill. [26616/23]
- Tax Code
46. To ask the Minister for Finance if serious consideration will be given to the pre-Budget submission of having 0% VAT applied to sunscreen (details supplied); and if he will make a statement...
- Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
- Foreshore Issues
47. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if individual property owners can extend their boundaries by 100 sq metres, as per exempted regulations, given that there have been no...
- Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
- Enterprise Support Services
48. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide a breakdown for the current and capital budget allocations for the Skills for Better Business Initiative of the...
- Climate Change Policy
52. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide a breakdown for the current and capital budget allocations for the Climate Toolkit4Business of the Revised...
- Employment Schemes
53. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the list of current schemes and programmes to support workers with disabilities at the workplace; the steps his Department is taking...
- Job Losses
54. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the interactions he and his Department have had with the employees who have recently lost their jobs in a company (details supplied);...
- Corporate Governance
58. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he intends to accredit independent assurance services providers to carry out the assurance of sustainability reporting, alongside...
- Department of Education and Skills
- School Facilities
59. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when the funding scheme for schools to install rooftop solar and other forms of solar PV panels will be open; and what will be required for the...
- School Staff
60. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the contractual situation for non-ETB tutors, teaching in private colleges, sports therapy and beauty training academies,...
- School Accommodation
61. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update in relation to the intended works for the previously approved additional school accommodation application of a...
- Special Educational Needs
62. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware that a child (details supplied) cannot attend school due to a lack of nursing care; and the measures she is taking to resolve...
- School Facilities
63. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if universities will be able to avail of Government plans to provide solar photovoltaic panels as part of the summer works scheme; and if she will...
- State Examinations
64. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason that her Department and the State Examinations Commission do not allow for extra examination time to be offered to students with...
- Special Educational Needs
65. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to concerns regarding special needs assistant pay for home-based summer provision; if the basis for the...
- School Enrolments
66. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of secondary school pupils enrolled in the 2022-2023 academic year. [26505/23]
- School Curriculum
68. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on reviewing the requirements for compulsory subjects as part of the Leaving Certificate examination; and if she will make a statement...
- Disadvantaged Status
69. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department will consider a review of the DEIS scheme to ensure all schools who need additional resources are provided the assistance they...
- Special Educational Needs
70. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the turnaround time for the exceptional review process once an application is made by a school; and if she will make a statement on the matter....
- Disadvantaged Status
72. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will advise on the procedure for a rural school to apply for the DEIS rural scheme. [26557/23]
- School Curriculum
73. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the finalised SPHE curriculum was changed from the published draft in order to remove the terms 'LGBT', 'transgender', 'cisgender',...
- School Transport
74. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 303 of 9 May 2023, the estimated extra cost to her Department of putting in place a 50+ seater bus service...
- Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
- Public Sector Staff
75. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the staffing levels of the National Waste Collection Permit Office, by job title; the estimated full-year cost of filling each...
- Energy Conservation
80. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the average cost to retrofit a home to a building energy rating of B2 or higher under the energy-efficiency retrofit programme...
- Water Services
81. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will confirm that residential developers still have to pay Irish Water up front and that the recent announcements by the...
- Legislative Measures
82. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will consider an expansion of the Tyrrelstown Amendment of the Residential Tenancies Act 2016 to allow local authorities...
- Local Authorities
83. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the funding allocated by his Department to each local authority in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, in tabular...
- Planning Issues
85. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the expected waiver of the planning development fee (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the...
- Mayoral Election
86. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on the legislation for a directly-elected mayor for Limerick; and if he will make a statement on...
- Wastewater Treatment
87. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there are plans to install public wastewater treatment plants in the villages of Corofin and Abbeyknockmoy in County Galway...
- Tax Code
88. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide clarity on the exemptions from the residential zoned land tax for landowners actively farming their lands;...
- Departmental Expenditure
89. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount of taxpayers' money that has been spent on coming up with a new name for An Bord Pleanála; the rationale behind...
- Invasive Species Policy
90. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will ban the sale of rhododendron ponticum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26733/23]
- Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
- School Meals Programme
91. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will further expand the hot school meals programme to secondary schools. [26522/23]
- Social Welfare Eligibility
92. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the projected cost of extending the fuel allowance to all recipients of the working family payment; and if she will make a...
- Social Welfare Payments
93. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a social welfare payment can issue in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the...
- Social Welfare Appeals
94. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a decision has been made on an appeal for disability allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry;...
- Social Welfare Payments
95. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will reduce waiting times for parents seeking additional needs payments where children are at risk of going without...
- Social Welfare Rates
96. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will increase the qualified child payment in line with inflation. [26528/23]
- Social Welfare Eligibility
97. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the current status of her engagement with the Minister for Health on designating long Covid as an occupational illness; and if...
- Department of Justice and Equality
- Departmental Schemes
98. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when an application by an organisation (details supplied) will be processed and a decision made; and if he will make a statement...
- Immigration Status
99. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when a decision will be made on a residency application by a person (details supplied), bearing in mind the considerable...
- Departmental Expenditure
100. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the costs incurred in respect of the use of a company (details supplied) in the context of its review and report regarding the...
- Visa Applications
101. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when a decision will be made on a visa application for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the...
- Citizenship Applications
102. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on the citizenship application of a person (details supplied) who applied in July 2021, and is...
- Asylum Seekers
103. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 5 of 25 May 2023, if he will clarify the apparent contradiction in the numbers provided,...
- Restorative Justice
104. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of his commitments to restorative justice (details supplied). [26515/23]
- Naturalisation Applications
105. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of an application for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on...
- An Garda Síochána
106. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a breakdown on the number of Garda traffic corps vehicles installed with automatic number plate recognition...
- Road Traffic Offences
110. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a breakdown on the number of offences recorded by an Garda Síochána for driving without insurance...
- Policing Co-operation
113. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he was consulted or engaged by Garda management in respect of members of uniformed gardaí in 2021, 2022 and 2023 being...
- Domestic Violence
118. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of breaches of orders made under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 which were reported to An Garda Síochána...
- Counter-Terrorism
120. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will clarify the process for proscribing organisations; and his views on the adequacy of the mechanism in place. [26629/23]
- Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
- Veterinary Services
121. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider pausing the proposed amendments to the VCI code of conduct in relation to issuing temporary COS licences to...
- Coillte Teoranta
122. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of parcels of land, and size of the land, that Coillte purchased in 2020, 2021 and 2022 that is not suitable for planting...
- Animal Culls
125. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 443 of 25 April 2023, if he will clarify the methods used to kill badgers snared by...
- Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
- Disability Services
126. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will assess the case of a person (details supplied). [26430/23]
- Ministerial Responsibilities
133. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on the now-completed integration of the disability portfolio from the Department of...
- Disabilities Assessments
134. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will ensure that a child (details supplied) will be given an assessment appointment at an early date,...
- Unaccompanied Minors and Separated Children
135. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of unaccompanied minors referred to Tusla for eligibility assessment who were found to be adults...
- Disability Services
136. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if it is now the policy that children accessing CDNT services are transferred to HSE community services if they...
- Social Welfare Payments
141. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the supports that are in place for parents struggling to afford infant baby formula, particularly where such...
- Early Childhood Care and Education
142. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department will considerextending the AIM programme to school-age childcare for children in receipt of...
- Childcare Services
144. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department will consider changes to the school-age childcare staff-to-pupil ratio to allow the provider...
- Early Childhood Care and Education
146. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will confirm the current number of early childhood education and care places currently available in Dublin...
- Childcare Services
151. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department is considering any plans to provide new childcare places in light of the pressure on childcare...
- Rights of People with Disabilities
155. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on the ratification of the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of...
- Child Protection
156. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps he has taken in response to a report (details supplied), including any actions to ensure immediate...
- Department of Health
- Ambulance Service
157. To ask the Minister for Health if he was made aware of reports of a recent visit by Ireland’s National Ambulance Service to Israel to study the operations of Magen David Adom,...
- Healthcare Policy
158. To ask the Minister for Health if additional investment will be made for cancer services so that everyone can access timely treatments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26684/23]
- Hospital Facilities
159. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update in relation to expediating the emergency department at Mayo University Hospital. [26752/23]
- Medicinal Products
160. To ask the Minister for Health when the medication fenfleuramine, used in the treatment of severe epilepsy - Dravet syndrome, will be approved for reimbursement; and if he will make a...
- Medical Aids and Appliances
161. To ask the Minister for Health if funding will be provided for a mobility scooter for a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26453/23]
- Research and Development
162. To ask the Minister for Health if there are any plans to reschedule the chemical compound psilocybin for medical research and medicinal purposes; and if he will make a statement on the...
- Covid-19 Pandemic
163. To ask the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) who worked on the frontline will receive the pandemic bonus payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26466/23]
- Health Services Staff
164. To ask the Minister for Health the number of vacant psychology roles in children's primary care services in CHO1; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26467/23]
- Emergency Departments
171. To ask the Minister for Health if the accident and emergency department in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda has been closed to new patients at any point over the past two years; if so,...
- Medical Cards
172. To ask the Minister for Health the role his Department plays in determining the income guidelines for eligibility for a medical card; the reason that the value of financial assets, including...
- Health Services Staff
173. To ask the Minister for Health the number of staff for each community care service within HSE community services for each CHO area for each of the past five years. [26492/23]
- Health Services Waiting Lists
174. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown of the number of people waiting for each community care service within HSE community services, by each CHO area and each county,...
- Health Services
175. To ask the Minister for Health the additional community health services being provided in each county in CHO8 since 2020, in tabular form. [26497/23]
- Open Disclosure
176. To ask the Minister for Health if the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 applies to cervical cancer screening. [26500/23]
- Nursing Homes
177. To ask the Minister for Health with respect to section 6 of the NIRP Report of 23 February 2023 HSE Safety and Quality Committee Minutes (details supplied), if he will identify the facility...
- Hospital Appointments Status
178. To ask the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Donegal will receive a date for a procedure in Sligo University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the...
- Home Help Service
179. To ask the Minister for Health whether plans are in place to address the lack of carers available in north Kildare, specifically Kilcock, Kill and Naas, County Kildare; and if he will make a...
- Mental Health Services
180. To ask the Minister for Health the reason children who have received apologies from the HSE for significant deficits in care are not being added to the CAMHS compensation scheme and offered...
- General Practitioner Services
181. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the plans to further expand free GP care to children aged seven and older; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26535/23]
- Health Services Waiting Lists
182. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children waiting for paediatric ophthalmology services across Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26536/23]
- Health Services
183. To ask the Minister for Health the progress that has been made in his Department since the formation of Government to promote women's health; and if he will make a statement on the matter....
- Health Strategies
185. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the National Cancer Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26539/23]
- Health Services Staff
187. To ask the Minister for Health the number of public health nurse vacancies currently in each CHO; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26541/23]
- Medical Aids and Appliances
188. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to include the i-port advance injection device on the long-term illness scheme for the treatment of persons with type 1 diabetes; and if he will make...
- Mental Health Services
191. To ask the Minister for Health if the access to care fund could be accessed by the family of a patient (details supplied) who has ARFID and autism, who cannot gain access to a dietitian with...
- Medicinal Products
192. To ask the Minister for Health if the drug, fenfluramine, will be funded and be made available in Ireland to a child (details supplied) for the treatment of a rare form of epilepsy called...
- Health Services
193. To ask the Minister for Health if he is satisfied with the adequacy of supports for persons with a foetal alcohol syndrome diagnosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26630/23]
- Medical Qualifications
194. To ask the Minister for Health if he is satisfied that graduates of the military medicine training scheme are sufficiently enabled to register as a general practitioner; and if he will make...
- Covid-19 Pandemic
195. To ask the Minister for Health the number of staff presently availing of the special scheme of paid leave in respect of long Covid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26644/23]
- Health Services
197. To ask the Minister for Health if he will consider amending the long-term illness scheme to includeinflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis; and if he will make a...
- Parking Provision
198. To ask the Minister for Health if his Department will look at abolishing the car parking rates for cancer patients in all HSE and local authority car parks; and if he will make a statement...
- Health Services Staff
199. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1475 of 18 April 2023, if he will clarify whether he has plans to recruit more personnel beyond the 'two clinical genetic...
- Health Services
200. To ask the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to ensure all maternity hospitals and units are permitting partners to attend all of the labour process and visit during set hours; and...
- Healthcare Policy
201. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to review the planning policy and guidelines regarding the establishment of new hospitals and new healthcare centres to ensure they are aligned with...
- Department of Education and Skills
- Further and Higher Education
202. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide annual funding for an inclusive dance course (details supplied) which accommodates people with disabilities; and if he will...
- Apprenticeship Programmes
204. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a breakdown for the current and capital budget allocations for the Apprenticeship Employer Grant of the Revised Estimates for...
- Technological Universities
205. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update with regard to the technological university development fund, the proposed successor to the technological university...
- Third Level Costs
206. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will respond to concerns raised by a person (details supplied) in respect of the student contribution charge; and if he will make a...
- Third Level Fees
208. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if, in relation to SI (No. 94 of 2023) and the issue of postgraduate funding, there is any derogation from the rules whereby, for example,...
- Further and Higher Education
209. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the childcare support that students are eligible for who are undertaking FET courses in Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter....
- Department of Rural and Community Development
- Rural Schemes
211. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will confirm that the grant offer of €200,000 to an organisation (details supplied) under the town and village scheme in...
- Suicide Prevention
212. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide in detail the funding amounts that are allocated to various organisations (details supplied) and other charity...
