Wednesday, 20 Jun 2018

Written Answers Nos. 136-155

Data Protection Commissioner

Questions (136, 137, 138, 139, 140)

Bríd Smith

Question:

136. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if the Data Protection Commissioner is obliged to fully explain decisions his office takes on cases of alleged data protection breaches, specifically sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 13, 21, 22, 29 and, consequently, section 30 in circumstances in which he decides to reclassify a complaint or recategorise sections 2, 4 and 6 only; and if she will request the Commissioner to do so in a case (details supplied). [26971/18]

Bríd Smith

Question:

137. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the timeframe in which the Data Protection Commissioner will respond and act upon section 4 requests; the reason in a case (details supplied) the person initially raised the challenges in 2015 and made specific section 4 requests since April 2016 which is still ongoing; the circumstances in which an investigation under section 10 is necessary in relation to section 4 requests; and the reason section 10 was initiated to a section 4 request in the case. [26972/18]

Bríd Smith

Question:

138. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if a full explanation will be forthcoming from the Data Protection Commissioner as to the reason enforcement of the Revenue Commissioners' Data Code per section 13 of the Acts has been obstructed in a case (details supplied). [26973/18]

Bríd Smith

Question:

139. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation when the investigation of a case (details supplied) will commence; and the timeframe to complete an investigation whereby there are no standards set out in either the legislation or customer service standards regarding the length of time it will take to complete an investigation. [26974/18]

Bríd Smith

Question:

140. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the reason a person (details supplied) has recorded delays of 49 weeks between responses in relation to a case; and the reason no explanation has been provided by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. [26975/18]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

I propose to take Questions Nos. 136 to 140, inclusive, together.

The Data Protection Commission was established following the enactment of the Data Protection Bill by the Minister for Justice and Equality on 25 May 2018.  The newly established Data Protection Commission succeeded the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner on this date.

The Department of Justice and Equality has advised my Department that the questions tabled by the Deputy relate to operational matters in the Data Protection Commission, which is completely independent in the exercise of its powers and performance of its functions. In the circumstances, therefore, I cannot provide any further information in this matter.

IDA Ireland Data

Questions (141)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

141. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of new IDA client companies that have been set up by county in each of the years 2009 to 2017 and to date in 2018, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27008/18]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

The Government is working hard to achieve the most even possible distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI) across the country. IDA Ireland is focused on that same goal, with the Agency targeting an increase of investment of 30% to 40% in every region as part of its 2015-2019 strategy.

The Agency's 2017 results demonstrate that significant progress is being made towards these objectives, with 45% of all new IDA client company jobs created last year being outside Dublin. There are now over 122,000 people employed across 649 firms in IDA client companies outside the capital. In total, there are currently 210,443 people employed across 1,384 IDA Ireland client companies with 279 new FDI companies establishing themselves in Ireland since 2009.  

The following table outlines the number of IDA client companies in each county from 2009 to 2017.  The figures for 2018 will not be available until my Department's Annual Employment Survey (AES) is carried out in November 2018.

Table A: Total number of IDA Client companies by County 2009-2017.

IDA County	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Carlow	9	7	7	7	7
Cavan	6	7	7	6	7
Clare	60	62	66	66	66
Cork	138	137	135	141	148
Donegal	14	12	12	13	13
Dublin	522	524	539	563	609
Galway	54	57	62	63	63
Kerry	15	16	13	14	13
Kildare	30	31	29	29	28
Kilkenny	4	4	3	5	5
Laois	4	4	2	2	3
Leitrim	6	6	5	5	5
Limerick	39	39	41	44	43
Longford	7	6	6	6	6
Louth	20	20	20	23	23
Mayo	17	17	17	18	18
Meath	17	17	16	15	15
Monaghan	6	6	6	6	6
Offaly	10	10	11	11	11
Roscommon	9	8	8	8	9
Sligo	21	21	21	21	23
Tipperary North Riding	4	3	3	3	3
Tipperary South Riding	11	11	9	8	8
Waterford	35	34	32	31	30
Westmeath	15	15	15	14	14
Wexford	13	13	14	14	14
Wicklow	19	20	18	18	18
Total	1,105	1,107	1,117	1,154	1,208

Table ctd.

IDA County	2014	2015	2016	2017
Carlow	7	7	7	7
Cavan	7	7	7	7
Clare	66	69	69	68
Cork	148	148	157	158
Donegal	13	12	12	12
Dublin	641	679	740	735
Galway	65	65	70	75
Kerry	13	13	14	14
Kildare	25	25	27	28
Kilkenny	5	5	5	6
Laois	2	2	2	2
Leitrim	5	5	5	5
Limerick	46	51	55	56
Longford	6	5	4	5
Louth	25	21	22	24
Mayo	18	18	18	16
Meath	16	16	18	17
Monaghan	6	5	5	5
Offaly	10	9	10	10
Roscommon	10	10	10	10
Sligo	22	24	23	23
Tipperary North Riding	3	3	4	4
Tipperary South Riding	8	9	8	7
Waterford	32	35	37	37
Westmeath	14	15	13	17
Wexford	15	16	17	18
Wicklow	18	17	19	18
Total	1,246	1,291	1,378	1,384

Work Permits Eligibility

Questions (142)

Catherine Martin

Question:

142. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to reinstate career guidance on the list of critical skills employment permits due to the shortage of guidance counsellors and due to the upcoming restoration of 500 guidance posts in September 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27035/18]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

At my request, my Department is currently conducting a review of economic migration policies underpinning the current employment permits system to ensure that our policies are fully supportive of Ireland’s emerging labour market needs, be they skills or labour shortages in certain sectors.  A full report on the review is due by end June.  Following on from that Report, it is expected that a review of the Lists of Occupations for Employment Permits will be conducted in the second half of this year. 

Where specific skills prove difficult to source within the State and wider EEA, an employment permit may be sought by an employer to hire a non-EEA national.  The employment permits system is managed in part through the operation of the highly skilled and ineligible lists for the purpose of grant of employment permits.  At present, ‘Career Guidance Teachers’ are listed on the Ineligible List of Occupations (ICEL) for employment permits. 

Changes to access to the Irish labour market for specific occupations via the employment permits system are made on the basis of research undertaken by the Expert Group of Future Skills Needs and, coordinated by the National Skills Council, the annual National Skills Bulletin and the annual Vacancy Overview Report in tandem with a public consultation process.  The recently published Vacancy Overview Report indicates that despite recent employment growth, vacancy notifications for this sector remain limited to a small number of roles such as lecturers, TEFL teachers and instructors/trainers.

In order to consider removing an occupation from the ICEL, organisations in the sector should engage with the relevant lead Department, the Department of Education and Skills with regard to this matter, in the preparation of a detailed business case setting out the necessary data to substantiate a case for removal from the ICEL.

Work Permits Eligibility

Questions (143)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

143. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to remove career advisers and vocational guidance specialists (details supplied) from the ineligible categories of employment for employment permits list in view of the severe shortage of guidance counsellors here and in further view of the fact that many persons who have studied for the profession here are only eligible to work here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27049/18]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

At my request, my Department is currently conducting a review of economic migration policies underpinning the current employment permits system to ensure that our policies are fully supportive of Ireland’s emerging labour market needs, be they skills or labour shortages in certain sectors.  A full report on the review is due by end June.  Following on from that Report, it is expected that a review of the Lists of Occupations for Employment Permits will be conducted in the second half of this year. 

Where specific skills prove difficult to source within the State and wider EEA, an employment permit may be sought by an employer to hire a non-EEA national.  The employment permits system is managed in part through the operation of the highly skilled and ineligible lists for the purpose of grant of employment permits.  At present, ‘Career Adviser/Guidance Counsellor' are listed on the Ineligible List of Occupations (ICEL) for employment permits. 

Changes to access to the Irish labour market for specific occupations via the employment permits system are made on the basis of research undertaken by the Expert Group of Future Skills Needs and, coordinated by the National Skills Council, the annual National Skills Bulletin and the annual Vacancy Overview Report in tandem with a public consultation process.  The recently published Vacancy Overview Report indicates that despite recent employment growth, vacancy notifications for this sector remain limited to a small number of roles such as lecturers, TEFL teachers and instructors/trainers.

In order to consider removing an occupation from the ICEL, organisations in the sector should engage with the relevant lead Department, the Department of Education and Skills with regard to this matter, in the preparation of a detailed business case setting out the necessary data to substantiate a case for removal from the ICEL.

Citizens Assembly

Questions (144)

Micheál Martin

Question:

144. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health the status of the outstanding recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly. [26883/18]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As the Deputy will be aware, on Friday the 25 May 2018, the people of Ireland voted overwhelmingly in favour of deleting Article 40.3.3 in its entirety, and substituting an article in the Constitution, the object and effect of which is to articulate clearly the principle that laws may be enacted by the Oireachtas to provide for the regulation of termination of pregnancy.

On the 29 May, Government approved the drafting of legislation to regulate termination of pregnancy. This legislation will be based on the General Scheme of a Bill to Regulate Termination of Pregnancy approved by Government on the 27 of March and published on my Department’s website. 

The provisions of the General Scheme are based on the recommendations of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which was established to consider the report and recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly.

HSE Reports

Questions (145)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

145. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a report by the HSE (details supplied); and if he will request the HSE to publish the report [26940/18]

Written answers

Minister for Health

I am advised that the report of the Working Group on a Model of Care for Lymphoedema and Lipoedema Treatment in Ireland established by the HSE is being finalised and I expect that it will be published in the coming months.

Hospital Appointments Status

Questions (146)

Timmy Dooley

Question:

146. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will have a procedure carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26941/18]

Written answers

Minister for Health

Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.

The National Waiting List Management Policy, a standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, since January 2014, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has been adopted by the HSE, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.

In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.

Legislative Process

Questions (147)

Micheál Martin

Question:

147. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health if he expects the abortion Bill following the May referendum on the eighth amendment to go through Second Stage before the summer recess. [26880/18]

Written answers

Minister for Health

The Thirty-Sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018 seeks to delete Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution and substitute it with wording confirming that the Oireachtas may make laws for the regulation of the termination of pregnancy. The Bill passed all stages in the Houses of the Oireachtas on 28 March 2018.

The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government made a Polling Day Order for a referendum to be held on 25 May 2018 and the referendum was passed. A certificate with the provisional result of the referendum was published in Iris Oifigiúil on Tuesday, 29 May 2018.

Once the provisional result of the referendum was published, there followed a seven day period during which applications to make petitions could be received. Three applications for permission to challenge the result of the referendum have been made to the High Court under section 42 of the Referendum Act 1994. The High Court has fixed 26 June to hear the three applications. It is possible that the hearings may run over a number of days, after which a decision will be made by the Court.

The bringing of the legal challenge by way of referendum petition has meant that, on a number of occasions, the introduction of proposed legislation into the Oireachtas has been delayed pending the determination of a referendum petition. For example, following the marriage referendum, the introduction of the Marriage Bill into the Oireachtas was delayed until the 15 September 2015 when the applications for leave to bring the referendum petitions to challenge the result of the marriage referendum were finally determined on appeal and leave to bring a petition was refused on 30 July 2015.

It remains my absolute determination to have the legislation to regulate termination of pregnancy finalised by mid-July. However, it is not possible to initiate this legislation in the Oireachtas until the Court proceedings have concluded, the result of the referendum has been confirmed, and the President has signed the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Reports

Questions (148)

John Deasy

Question:

148. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health if a report on child and adolescent mental health services operated by HSE South East Community Healthcare services, including current staffing levels and vacancies at all grades and urgent recruitment efforts, will be provided. [26952/18]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

On Tuesday 19 June 2018 I met with national and local HSE representatives (from Waterford and Wexford) to discuss the current situation with regards to CAMHS services in the South East region.  They have provided me with a report with regard to the issues arising in that area and the steps being taken to ensure ongoing delivery of services in the South East. I have arranged a further meeting with these officials to take place in early July to report on progress.

I will also be responding to statements in the Seanad this evening on this matter to provide an outline of the situation to the members.

Mental Health Services Staff

Questions (149)

John Deasy

Question:

149. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health the contingency plans in place should consultant psychiatric posts in the south east not be taken up within a reasonable timeframe in view of the difficulty in filling such vacancies nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26953/18]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Provision

Questions (150)

John Deasy

Question:

150. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health the waiting lists and waiting times for child and adolescent psychiatric services within the HSE’s South East Community Healthcare services; the way in which these compare with national averages and best practice indicators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26954/18]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Funding

Questions (151)

John Deasy

Question:

151. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health the capital and operational investment in child and adolescent psychiatric services in the south east over the past five years; the level of expenditure in this area indicated in future funding programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26955/18]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Orthodontic Services Provision

Questions (152)

Barry Cowen

Question:

152. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Health the status of the case of a person (details supplied); and when an appointment for orthodontic treatment will be expedited. [26956/18]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.

Medical Records

Questions (153)

Eugene Murphy

Question:

153. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Health if medical records will be released to a person (details supplied) as a matter of urgency. [26957/18]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As this is a service issue, I have asked the HSE to reply to you directly.

Home Help Service Provision

Questions (154)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

154. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if home help hours will be allocated to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26965/18]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Home Help Service Provision

Questions (155)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

155. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if home help hours will be allocated to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26966/18]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.