Parliamentary questions

School Staff

Martin Browne

286. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Education if she will consider sanctioning the additional AP1 and AP2 positions for a school (details supplied) from September 2024 rather than September 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22458/24]

Ombudsman for Children

Martin Browne

424. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Justice to provide an update on additional funding sources to enable the office of the Ombudsman for Children to contribute to the working of the new strategy combatting domestic and gender-based violence; the reason for the delay in providing the funding despite assurances that it would be given; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22460/24]

International Protection

Martin Browne

503. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the stage at which the assessment of a facility (details supplied) as a potential site for IPAS applicants is currently at; the engagement his Department has had with Tipperary County Council, the HSE, local representatives and service providers to ascertain adequacy of services in the area to cope with additional demand; if a process of public engagement is expected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22503/24]

Road Projects

Martin Browne

81. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Transport the reasons for the delay in providing the funding needed to allow for the continuation of work on designing the upgrade to the Cahir to Limerick Junction section of the N24 road project; if he is aware that the funding received for the project to date is diminishing and the remaining funding is needed immediately to quell concerns that, otherwise, this section of the project may stall; when the funding will be made available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22069/24]

Road Projects

Martin Browne

92. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Transport the reasons for not providing an allocation to progress the N24 Waterford to Cahir transportation scheme, for which Tipperary County Council requires €2.53 million for 2024 to continue progress, and a further €5.4 million to complete the design and bring the project through An Bord Pleanála; his views on the fact seven homes are in planning limbo as long as the project remains suspended; his views on how the non-provision of funding will affect the poor road safety record of the N24 in its current state; his further views on how the non-provision of funding reflects on the €5.07 million spent to date on the current scheme; if he will reconsider the decision to withhold funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22070/24]

Business Supports

Martin Browne

100. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the details of the funding assistance available to develop business projects on bogs by the owners of these sites in light of their discontinued use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22206/24]

Disabilities Assessments

Martin Browne

238. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the criteria that would enable parents of children in need of autism assessments to secure funding to avail of a private practitioner; the funding streams available to parents of children in need of a range of therapies that cannot be assessed through CDNT teams due to staffing shortages or lengthy waiting lists, to alternatively avail of the services of a private practitioner; if additional access to the private sector in these situations is being considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22215/24]

Citizenship Applications

Martin Browne

470. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Justice the status and progress being made in respect of a citizenship application (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21783/24]

Health Services Staff

Martin Browne

485. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health the staffing numbers for the Cashel minor injuries unit for the years 2020 to 2023, inclusive, and to date in 2024, broken down by profession; to confirm whether the recruitment ban is resulting in departing staff not being replaced; if all departing staff are being replaced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20113/24]

Health Services

Martin Browne

597. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health to provide a detailed account of the work to be undertaken by the support team recently announced to address the current pressures on health services in the mid-west region; to provide any terms of reference under which they operate; to outline how their role relates to UHL, Ennis Hospital, St John’s Hospital and Nenagh Hospital individually; if the team is examining the role and the current circumstances relating to community health care provision and the nature of the work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20683/24]

Eating Disorders

Martin Browne

60. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health to outline the approach that parents of children with ARFID can take to secure the services needed to address the condition; how parents of children with ARFID are advised to secure the services needed in the absence of the condition not being included in the NICE guidelines for Eating Disorders (2017 or 2020 update); if he plans to identify and develop specific pathways for the treatment of children with ARFID in the context of the HSE’s assertion that management of children with ARFID in Ireland requires a collaborative working between professionals and would involve working between the acute hospital sector and HSE community healthcare divisions such as primary care, disability and mental health; how that management process can work efficiently in light of a lack of dietitians across primary care, outpatient paediatrics and community mental health services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19809/24]

Eating Disorders

Martin Browne

65. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health his views on the difficulties of families of children with ARFID including a person (details supplied) to access a dietician and other relevant staff in areas where community teams lack such staff; the impact this and overall staff shortages has on the management of children with eating and feeding disorders; the difficulties that the families of such children experience in securing the services of a paediatric consultant to work with CDNTs when a child has immediate needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19810/24]

Passport Services

Martin Browne

66. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs when a decision will be made in relation to a passport application (details supplied) given that the required documentation as requested by the Department has been submitted. [19590/24]

Invasive Species Policy

Martin Browne

208. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on calls for the suspension of log imports from Scotland, in light of the most recent detection of the bark beetle; to outline the possibility that arises that the bark beetle may have been introduced here from produce imported from Scotland’s pest-free area; the biosecurity measures in place to prevent the introduction of alien species to Ireland and how they compare to best international standards, if such standards are taken into account; the measures that will be employed to prevent any further instances in which the bark beetle is identified here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19623/24]

Invasive Species Policy

Martin Browne

209. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide details on the volume of spruce with bark present imported from Scotland in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19624/24]

Derelict Sites

Martin Browne

218. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he can provide an update on the extension of the local authority home loan to include derelict properties. [18656/24]

Disabilities Assessments

Martin Browne

1062. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total amount spent by the Health Service Executive on the regional assessment of need hubs in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13690/24]

Disabilities Assessments

Martin Browne

1063. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of assessments of needs accepted by the regional assessment of need hubs in 2023; and the number of assessments completed by the regional hubs in 2023. [13691/24]

Disabilities Assessments

Martin Browne

1064. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of assessments of need outsourced in 2023; the total cost of these outsourced assessments of need in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13692/24]

Disability Services

Martin Browne

1107. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the current children's disability network team, CDNT, whole-time equivalent, WTE, vacancies across each of the teams in CHO 5; the number of administrative posts vacant; the number of approved posts in each of the teams; and the actions that are being taken to address those vacancies, in tabular form. [14258/24]