Parliamentary questions

Cabinet Committee Meetings

Thomas Pringle

340. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when the next meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee on social policy and public service reform will take place; when its analysis of the report of the working group on the protection process will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39629/15]

Nursing Home Services

Thomas Pringle

445. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health if his Department will request the Health Service Executive to take the operation of Áras Ghaoth Dobhair community nursing home in County Donegal in charge in order to ensure its long-term viability and to allow it to expand, given the aging demographic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39511/15]

Social and Affordable Housing Provision

Thomas Pringle

536. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the membership of the social housing clearing house group; the organisations that made submissions and presented their proposals for financing social housing to the group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39312/15]

Renewable Energy Incentives

Thomas Pringle

566. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when he will launch the renewable heat incentive being developed by his Department; and if it will include an incentive for domestic dwellings as well. [39512/15]

Election Management System

Thomas Pringle

18. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in respect of unplanned absences on election polling days, if he will consider providing the option of casting a vote, other than a postal vote, in order to accommodate persons who cannot meet the postal vote deadline or present themselves at a polling booth on the day, as is the case for many workers in the fishing industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38231/15]

Election Management System

Thomas Pringle

36. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on concerns raised by teachers and parents regarding the use of schools as polling stations on voting days, as schools are closed for the day, and parents have to seek child-minding arrangements as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38230/15]

Employment Rights

Thomas Pringle

6. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the progress made on the University of Limerick report into zero-hour contracts; if he will confirm whether seasonal workers were consulted in the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37943/15]

Enterprise Ireland Funding

Thomas Pringle

12. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of start-up companies that have been supported by Enterprise Ireland in County Donegal over the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37944/15]

Schools Building Projects Expenditure

Thomas Pringle

222. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills when her Department will release the list of schools to receive funding from the capital spending plan, 2016 to 2021, as part of the programme to replace existing prefabricated school buildings with permanent classrooms and facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38521/15]

Foreign Conflicts

Thomas Pringle

106. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the concrete and effective pressure that his Department will place on Israel to curb the recent influx of violence in the region and to prevent the possible development of another violent conflict in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36846/15]

Northern Ireland Issues

Thomas Pringle

124. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for an update on his Department's contacts with the independent chairperson of the review regarding the situation in Maghaberry Prison, and the working out of the issues in the prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36847/15]

Credit Unions

Thomas Pringle

327. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Finance for an update on his intentions to commence certain provisions of the Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012, as part of the Consultation Paper 88 issued by the Central Bank which is to be enacted by 1 January 2016; if he is aware of the concerns raised by members of credit unions, such as the imposition of a €100,000 cap and lending restrictions, and the regulatory reserve ratio, which ultimately restrict credit unions' involvement in important social issues, such as funding social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38114/15]

Spent Convictions Legislation

Thomas Pringle

558. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when the Spent Convictions Bill will proceed in Dáil Éireann; if Report Stage will have been taken by the end of the current Dáil term; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37628/15]

Spent Convictions Legislation

Thomas Pringle

561. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when the Spent Convictions Bill will proceed in Dáil Éireann; if Report Stage will have been taken by the end of the current Dáil term; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37632/15]

Cabinet Committees

Thomas Pringle

567. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the progress on the working groups' recommendations; when she expects her Department to finalise a report on the recommendations for consideration by the cabinet committee on social policy and public service reform; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37774/15]

Private Rented Accommodation Costs

Thomas Pringle

1089. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the timeframe by which rent certainty proposals will be brought before the Cabinet; and consequentially before Dáil Éireann. [38110/15]

Emergency Services Personnel

Thomas Pringle

52. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health the amount of funding provided for more community first responder teams and more paramedics that will go directly to County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36467/15]

HIQA Reports

Thomas Pringle

75. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health the actions he will take in response to the Health Information and Quality Authority's report which found issues of hygiene compliance at Letterkenny General Hospital in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36468/15]

Child and Family Agency Funding

Thomas Pringle

7. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps he will take in response to the funding pressures to child and family services, as highlighted by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency; if he will respond to the agency's need for increased funding over a period of three years to fund cases where children and families are not allocated a social worker; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35511/15]

Services for People with Disabilities

Thomas Pringle

173. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to ensure that Bus Éireann provides a comprehensive wheelchair accessible service on Expressway routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36800/15]

Missing Persons

Thomas Pringle

110. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps she will take in a missing person case (details supplied) in view of recent allegations; her plans to authorise a new investigation into the case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35185/15]

Policing of Events

Thomas Pringle

128. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice and Equality for a breakdown of the security costs for the MacGill Summer School held in the Glenties in County Donegal in July 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35186/15]

Cabinet Committee Membership

Thomas Pringle

157. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Taoiseach if he will provide a list of the Cabinet committees in the current administration; and the names of the Ministers and Ministers of State who are members of each committee. [36558/15]

Direct Provision Payments

Thomas Pringle

184. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection given that the recent budget aimed to benefit children and families, why she did not increase the weekly living allowance for children in direct provision centres; the reason she did not see this as a budgetary matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36430/15]

Direct Provision Payments

Thomas Pringle

186. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the annual cost to her Department of increasing the living allowance for children living in direct provision centres by €5 per child per week; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36440/15]

Social Welfare Appeals

Thomas Pringle

193. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when appeals under the jobseeker's benefit scheme by persons (details supplied) will be decided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36464/15]

Job Initiatives

Thomas Pringle

141. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the work of the Killybegs employment implementation group; the number of jobs created, and in what sectors, since the announcement of the group in July 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35674/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Thomas Pringle

227. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will consider a ring-fenced special education needs support fund, accessible at local level through the county child-care committee, to enable children with special needs to attend the early childhood care and education programme; if he is aware that in County Donegal 65% out of 170 children with special needs are unsupported by any form of grant assistance or specialist support at the programme level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33982/15]

Primary Care Centres

Thomas Pringle

334. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of the concerns raised regarding the future of Dunfanaghy health centre in County Donegal, including the need for an upgrade, to avail of facilities such as wheelchair access, disability access and extra space to carry out its clinical functions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35769/15]

Hospital Staff Recruitment

Thomas Pringle

335. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health in relation to vacant posts not being filled in Letterkenny General Hospital in County Donegal, his plans to recognise the peripherality of Donegal's location and its unique geographical circumstances as part of the process of recruiting hospital staff and retaining them in the county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35770/15]

Proposed Legislation

Thomas Pringle

442. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when he expects the maritime area and foreshore (amendment) Bill 2013 to be introduced in the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35673/15]

Inshore Fisheries

Thomas Pringle

3. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress that has been made on implementing recommendation No. 10 of the Joint Sub-Committee on Fisheries report on promoting sustainable rural coastal and island communities regarding the issuing of heritage licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34379/15]

Rural Development Programme Projects

Thomas Pringle

8. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider allowing farmers to be members of more than one knowledge transfer group to offset the potential for sheep groups to be undermined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34203/15]

Agriculture Scheme Administration

Thomas Pringle

13. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will seek an increase in the budget allocation for areas of natural constraint in order to reverse the cuts from previous budgets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34204/15]

Common Fisheries Policy

Thomas Pringle

22. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views that the integrity of the penalty points system of the Common Fisheries Policy has been undermined by the recent refusal of the Danish authorities to allocate points to a vessel detected fishing without a quota in Irish waters over the summer of 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34207/15]

Bovine Disease Controls

Thomas Pringle

34. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will remove the 10% threshold for compensation for farmers with tuberculosis reactors; if he will remove the prohibition on purchasing into restricting holdings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34205/15]

GLAS Applications

Thomas Pringle

36. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason he is downgrading the low input permanent pasture measure in the latest round of the green low-carbon agri-environmental scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34206/15]

School Funding

Thomas Pringle

130. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will respond to concerns of the Irish National Teachers Organisation with regard to schools in rural Ireland, including the issues of class sizes, funding inequality between primary and secondary schools and the increased workload for many school teachers and principals who lack the support of a middle-management infrastructure in the sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33981/15]

Harbours and Piers

Thomas Pringle

373. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to provide emergency funding to Donegal County Council for the removal of sand at the pier in An Bun Beag in County Donegal, as the accumulation of sand is in danger of making the pier unusable, and will impact on the ability of the local Coast Guard to launch a rescue boat, if required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34273/15]

Health Services Staff

Thomas Pringle

490. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health if he will meet with section 39 funded organisations to discuss the opportunity of pay restoration, in light of the upcoming budget, as their members have experienced a decline in working conditions, after a continuous cycle of budget cuts, while demand for their services has increased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33419/15]

School Accommodation Provision

Thomas Pringle

667. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 185 of 24 September 2015, the reason a school (details supplied) in County Donegal was not included on this list; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34562/15]

Rural Development Policy

Thomas Pringle

7. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the long-term capital spending plan will have a strong focus on rural regeneration, including active targeting of geographical barriers to economic growth, for counties such as Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33420/15]

Income Inequality

Thomas Pringle

145. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Finance the steps he will take to address income inequality in the forthcoming budget 2016, taking into account the widening gap between the wealthy and poor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32874/15]

Post Office Network

Thomas Pringle

146. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Finance if he will enact section 67 of the Post and Telecommunications Act 1987 to allow institutions such as An Post to provide financial services, including a standard bank account. [32873/15]

Tax Code

Thomas Pringle

263. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Finance when persons retire, the point at which their self-employment status ends; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33240/15]

Tax Data

Thomas Pringle

264. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Finance the number of retirees who are registered as self-employed with the Revenue Commissioners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33241/15]

EU Directives

Thomas Pringle

640. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the progress made by her Department in relation to the ongoing European Union review of development restrictions in special areas of conservation and special protection areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33244/15]

School Accommodation Provision

Thomas Pringle

185. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will supply a list of all schools, by county and in tabular form, which are currently housed in prefabricated buildings with no permanent structures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32584/15]

Tourism Project Funding

Thomas Pringle

27. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is aware of the lack of amenities for tourists in the Malin Head, Errigal and Dún Luiche areas of County Donegal, as well as in other scenic areas in the county; the support he will provide to enable the development of lay-bys, toilets, seating, and rubbish facilities for visitors along scenic routes across County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31947/15]

Coast Guard Station Closures

Thomas Pringle

35. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will support the reinstatement of the Coast Guard Unit Cliff Rescue Service in An Bun Beag; the other supports he will make available to communities along the Wild Atlantic Way to ensure a high standard of safety is established within the tourism sector, as tourist numbers are set to increase in County Donegal and other counties along the Wild Atlantic Way; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31946/15]