Written Answers Nos. 102-121
102. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science The measures in place to provide added protection for those living in student-specific accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36848/21]
View answerIn 2019, in response to steep increases in the price of some student accommodation, legislation was brought in to ensure that students would have the same affordability measures as tenants within Rent Pressure Zones. Student accommodation will be similarly included in any future measures brought in around Rent Pressure Zones and caps on rent increases. Under the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 students residing in student-specific accommodation under licence agreements also have access to the Dispute Resolution Services of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).
Affordability must be a key pillar in the student accommodation sector and my Department has been working with the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government on measures to ensure greater affordability of student accommodation. Legislation is being progressed which will restrict the up-front payments required to secure accommodation, including student accommodation, to no more than the equivalent of two months’ rent, and limit payments thereafter to on month’s rent at a time. At present this legislation is passing through the Oireachtas, and it is intended for it to be enacted in time for the beginning of the new academic year.
This legislation was discussed with stakeholders in the sector at most recent meeting of the Working Group on Student Accommodation, and affordability will continue to be one of the key topics of discussion in future meetings.
103. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the supports in place to assist universities in the construction of purpose-built student accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36849/21]
View answerThe National Student Accommodation Strategy is designed to ensure that there is an increased level of supply of purpose built student accommodation to reduce the demand for accommodation in the private rental sector by both domestic and international students attending our Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Several of the actions in this strategy centre around ensuring that HEIs have access to low-cost financing in order to support their building of student accommodation.
One of these actions involved the introduction of legislation to empower the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) to lend directly to HEIs for the development of students accommodation. This legislation was commenced in 2017, and so far three universities - TCD, UCC and UCD have had a total of €157 million in loans approved by the HFA, which will provide more than 1,400 new student bed spaces.
Last month I, along with my colleagues the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, announced that €75 million of financing had been successfully sourced for the Council of Europe Bank for the building of student accommodation in universities.
My Department and I will continue to work to ensure that our HEIs have access to the financing they need to build student accommodation.
104. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount and share of the State expenditure on research and development spending in the area of cyber security since 2016, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30808/21]
View answerResearch projects often encompass a multitude of subjects, and are funded by multiple sources including public, private and European funding. At present it is not possible to determine an exact figure for R&D expenditure across the system on this specific area. My Department is progressing a standard classification system for public expenditure on research for Ireland, which is intended to provide greater system-level monitoring, management and impact assessment.
Having said that, it is understood that there is currently a lot of activity in this area. There are over 6,000 people working in the cyber security industry in Ireland. Over 30,000 professionals in Ireland have cyber security related skills and six of the top ten global cyber security software companies are located in Ireland.
With respect to my Department’s agencies, since 2016, the Irish Research Council has funded eight awards in the area of cybersecurity at a total cost of €674,000 across several of its programmes.
There are currently 16 SFI Research Centres, three of which are particularly focused on those areas of technology relevant to cyber security. They are:
- Lero, the SFI Research Centre for Software, hosted at the University of Limerick
- Connect, SFI Research Centre for Future Networks and Communications
- Insight, SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics
Each of these Centres are heavily networked and collaborate with other cyber security experts around the world.
The SFI Centre for Doctoral Training in Artificial Intelligence and the SFI Centre for Doctoral Training in Artificial Training will ensure that students have the technical skills required to innovate at the cutting edge of AI, that they are prepared to deal with the ethical challenges posed by the technology, and can work seamlessly in team-based industrial settings. This important investment will equip our companies and public sector with the skills we need to protect us from risks associated with cybercrime.
The majority of Science Foundation Ireland investment in research related to cyber security has been through the SFI Research Centres Programme and the SFI Centres for Research Training. Investments have been made in the SFI Industry Fellowship Programme, SFI Frontiers for the Future Programme and the SFI Spokes Programme. The total active SFI investment (i.e., those awards that have commenced and research is being undertaken) between 2016 and present in those research projects that are working in areas of strong relevance to cybersecurity is in the region of €291m. It is important to state that this does not mean that the full amount of this investment is 100% focused on cybersecurity research – this is particularly the case for SFI Research Centres.
In November 2018, Cyber Ireland, the national cyber security cluster was established with funding from IDA Ireland and support from Cork IT (now Munster Technological University). IDA Ireland also provides grant support directly to its clients as part of its mandate to increase the scale, value and impact of company R&D (including in cyber security) activities, in Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland’s Technology Gateway Programme provides business development resources to the TUs and IoTs to help them interact with industry on a local, regional and national basis in order to develop and manage new RDI projects which IoTs have the capability to deliver on. The Walton Institute (formerly TSSG) and Nimbus are both working in the Cybersecurity area. Under the Technology Gateway / Technology Centre Capital Call 2021, funding of €247,424 euro was provided for a Cyber Range at NIMBUS in MTU Cork. A Cyber Range is specifically used to test the robustness of systems to cyber-attacks.
CeADAR, Ireland’s Technology Centre for applied AI, is also currently working on a demonstrator project in cybersecurity.
105. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh den Aire Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta an bhfuil plé déanta aige riamh leis an Údaráis um Ard-Oideachas mar gheall ar an dualgas atá acu faoi alt 4 den Acht Údarás um Ard-Oideachais, 1971, i leith athchóiriú na Gaeilge mar theanga náisiúnta; an bhfuil sé den tuairim go bhfuil an dualgas sin á chomhlíonadh acu; agus an bhfuil polasaí aige chun an dualgas sin a threisiú agus a chinntiú. [36779/21]
View answerTá tiomantas an ÚAO chun tacú leis an nGaeilge mar atá cumhdaithe in Acht an ÚAO 1971:
“Ag comhlíonadh a fheidhmeanna don Údarás coimeádfaidh sé i gcuimhne i gcónaí na haidhmeanna náisiúnta atá ann an Ghaeilge a aisiriú agus an tsaíocht náisiúnta a chaomhnú agus a fhorbairt agus féachfaidh sé le cabhrú leis na haidhmeanna sin a chur i gcrích.”
Agus a oibleagáidí faoin bhforáil sin á gcomhlíonadh aige, tá ról lárnach ag an ÚAO i dtacú leis an nGaeilge a úsáid agus i dtaca le cur chun cinn na Gaeilge in institiúidí ardoideachais. Le breis agus deich mbliana, tá foráil speisialta curtha san áireamh ag an ÚAO ina chroídheontas do thionscnaimh atá dírithe ar thacú le húsáid níos mó a bhaint as an nGaeilge i measc mic léinn agus baill foirne ollscoileanna agus coláistí níos lú. Áirítear leis sin tacú le teagasc (lena n-áirítear tacaíocht teanga agus forbairt ábhair teagaisc i nGaeilge), tacú le mic léinn (maidir le meantóireacht teanga, scoláireachtaí, ranganna Gaeilge), agus úsáid na Gaeilge a chur chun cinn ar champas institiúidí. Thacaigh sé freisin le múineadh ábhar agus modúl i nGaeilge d’fhonn tacú leis an Máistreacht an Oideachais san Oideachas trí mheán na Gaeilge agus san Oideachas Gaeltachta do mhúinteoirí bunscoile agus iar-bhunscoile agus do phríomhoidí ar cuireadh tús leis i gColáiste Mhuire gan Smál i Meán Fómhair 2018.
Ina theannta sin, soláthraíonn ÚAO maoiniú ar leith atá curtha in áirithe do thionscnaimh speisialta agus d’fhorálacha chun tacú leis an nGaeilge, lena n-áirítear Acadamh na hOllscólaíochta Gaeilge atá lonnaithe in OÉ, Gaillimh. Cuireann an tAcadamh roinnt cláir fochéime agus iarchéime ar fáil a sheachadtar trí mheán na Gaeilge in OÉ, Gaillimh, in ionaid Ghaeltachta agus in ionaid for-rochtana eile. Tá an tAcadamh cómhaoinithe ag an ÚAO agus ag an Roinn Cultúir, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta. Cheadaigh ÚAO leithdháileadh ar leith de €1,766,000 atá curtha in áirithe do OÉ Gaillimh don Acadamh le roinnt blianta anuas. Ina theannta sin, in 2018 gheall an Roinn Cultúir, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta (an Roinn Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus na Meán anois) €900,000 a sholáthar in aghaidh na bliana acadúla 2018/19, 2019/20 agus 2020 / 21 d'Acadamh na hOllscólaíochta.
Tá réimse leathan cúrsaí ar fáil i nGaeilge in institiúidí ardoideachais. Ó 2015 i leith, tá níos mó ná 7,000 mac léinn cláraithe ar chúrsaí a bhfuil gnéithe suntasacha Gaeilge iontu. Tá méadú 24% tagtha ar líon na mac léinn atá cláraithe ó 2015 i leith agus in 2019/2020 bhí 72 cúrsa ar fáil agus 1,565 mac léinn cláraithe ar chúrsaí a bhain leis an nGaeilge.
Táim sásta mar sin, go bhfuil an tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas ag comhlíonadh a oibleagáidí maidir le hathnuachan na Gaeilge. Tá mo Roinn tiomanta do chur chun cinn na Gaeilge, agus leanfaidh sí de bheith ag obair chun a chinntiú go ndéantar an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn agus a chothú ar fud an stáit.
106. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice if she has signed-off on the approval of the appointment of a person (details supplied) to positions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36602/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, appointments to the positions of General Secretary or Deputy General Secretary of the Association concerned are made by the Central Executive Committee of the Association, in accordance with procedures set down by the Annual Delegate Conference of the Association, and in accordance with Regulations 16 and 17 of the Garda Síochána (Associations) (Amendment) Regulations, 1998 (Statutory Instrument No. 63 of 1998).
These Regulations also provide that, where a person proposed to be appointed to either of these positions is not a member of An Garda Síochána, or is a member of An Garda Síochána but not a member of the relevant Association, the appointment is subject to the approval of the Minister for Justice.
No such request has been received from the Association concerned in relation to the person referred to by the Deputy.
107. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice if she will consider revising the licensing laws to extend the opening hours of licensed premises such as public houses in order to mitigate the loss of earnings caused by restrictions on indoor services being provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36608/21]
View answerOn Friday last, I was pleased to announce the enactment of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021. Notwithstanding local authorities powers’ to make bye-laws, this important piece of legislation introduces changes in the law to allow for the sale and consumption of alcohol in relevant outdoor seating areas, where those outdoor seating areas have been permitted by the relevant local authority on public land, or where they are on private land abutting the licensed premises, as provided for in the Act.
These relevant outdoor seating areas are deemed to be part of the licensed premises while this legislation remains in force. As the Deputy will be aware, the Act has been introduced in response to the unique circumstances of the pandemic and therefore is time-bound. The provisions of the Act will remain in place until 30 November 2021, but can be extended for up to 6 months at a time, if a resolution is passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas.Importantly, this legislation provides the clarity that has been sought and ensures that we can deliver on the Government’s commitments for an outdoor summer and to give certainty to thousands of businesses and their staff that they can remain open and continue to serve their customers in a safe and compliant way. The Act preserves the existing obligations on licence holders, including to maintain good order on their licensed premises, and the relevant trading hours. Failure to do so will be grounds for objection to the renewal of the licence, even if, at the time of renewal, the licensee has ceased to operate the outdoor seating area. It should be borne in mind that, in the context of supporting business to operate in outdoor seating areas, extended hours would not be suitable for many licensed premises operating in these outdoor areas in light of community and neighbourhood concerns. There is a balance of considerations in all such decisions. The Act also makes it an offence not to comply with a direction by a member of An Garda Síochána to take any steps necessary to ensure compliance with the licensing legislation. This is liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to €2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to 6 months. Compliance with the relevant COVID-19 health regulations will also apply to outdoor seating areas. From a longer term perspective, the Justice Plan 2021, published on 22 February, commits to reviewing and modernising alcohol licensing. It is my intention as part of the work of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce looking at innovative approaches to support and develop a vibrant, diverse night-time culture and economy in Ireland, to bring forward legislation that will contain proposals to update the law relating to the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol in licensed premises and registered clubs, by replacing both the Licensing Acts 1833 to 2018 and the Registration of Clubs Acts 1904 to 2008 with streamlined provisions more suited to modern conditions. Trading hours for licensed premises will be part of that legislative review.
108. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Justice if the right of the family members of EU citizens under EU Directive 2004/38/EC to accompany an EU citizen exercising their free movement rights in Europe includes the right to accompany an EU citizen to Ireland, in this case the spouse of the EU citizen; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36634/21]
View answerArticle 5(1) of EU Directive 2004/38/EC provides for the right of entry of an EU citizen into the territory of another Member State on production of a valid identity card or passport and for their qualifying family member, in this case the spouse, who is not a national of a Member State to enter their territory with a valid passport. This is provided for in Irish law under Regulations 4(1) and 4(2) of the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 548 of 2015).
If the EU citizen is coming to the State to exercise their free movement rights, their qualifying family member may require an entry visa, if they are a national of a visa required country for Ireland. Article 5(2) of the EU Directive provides for this and it has subsequently been transposed into Irish law under Regulation 4(3)(a) of the Regulations of 2015. These visas will be issued free of charge. The only exception to this requirement is where the EU citizen has already exercised their rights in another Member State, that is not their own, and their qualifying family member has been issued with a residence card in accordance with Article 10 of the EU Directive 2004/38/EC.
Once they have entered the State, the Union citizen and their accompanying family member must satisfy the relevant residence requirements set out in the Regulations and domestic immigration requirements.
109. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice if she will examine the situation in cases of shared custody arrangements that permission is needed from the other parent if one wishes to bring their children to Northern Ireland recognising the freedoms granted by the Good Friday Agreement in respect to an open Border and the unnecessary difficulties this presents for families living in Border communities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36657/21]
View answerWhere the parents of a child cannot agree on custody or access arrangements for their child, it is open to them to apply to the courts to decide on the matter.
Section 11 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 provides that either parent of a child, whether or not he or she is also a guardian of the child, may apply to court for a direction regarding the custody of a child or the right of access to the child. A court may also make any necessary orders under section 11 when it is dealing with proceedings relating to divorce or judicial separation.
Section 3 of the 1964 Act provides that the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration for the court in any proceedings where guardianship, custody or upbringing of, or access to, a child is in question. Section 31 of the 1964 Act sets out a wide range of factors that the court is required to take into account when determining the best interests of the child in such proceedings. These factors include, where applicable, proposals made for the child’s custody, care, development and upbringing and for access to and contact with the child, having regard to the desirability of the parents or guardians of the child agreeing to such proposals and co-operating with each other in relation to them. The courts shall have regard to all of the factors or circumstances that it regards as being relevant to the child concerned and his or her family and make its decision accordingly.
Section 12A of the 1964 Act provides that in making any order under the Act, the court may impose such conditions as it considers to be necessary in the best interests of the child.
The Minister for Justice has no role in the making of court orders in relation to guardianship, custody and access to children. This is a matter for the courts, which are, subject to the Constitution and the law, independent in the performance of their functions.
110. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the progress to date in the determination of an application for citizenship in the case of a person (details supplied) who applied in 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36673/21]
View answerAn application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person referred to by the Deputy on 1 October 2019.
This application for naturalisation continues to be processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision in due course.
It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. The nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time.
The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at INISOireachtasMail@justice.ie, which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
111. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Justice the status of the Garda Síochána review overseen by the Policing Authority into the cancelling of 999 calls; if she has received the conclusions of the review to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36750/21]
View answerI can advise the Deputy that An Garda Síochána wrote to the Secretary General of my Department on 4 December 2020 to inform the Department that a number of 999 calls had been cancelled on the AGS Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and that An Garda Síochána was carrying out a review of the reasons behind this. An Garda Síochána also brought the issue to the attention of the Policing Authority the same month. Minister McEntee wrote to the Policing Authority on 5 February 2021 to request that the Authority oversee the review being carried out by An Garda Síochána in this regard.
Following Minister McEntee's request, the Policing Authority wrote to Minister McEntee with updates on 17 February 2021 and 27 April 2021 and to myself with an update on 7 June 2021. The Garda Commissioner wrote to me with an update on 16 June. I have also been briefed by both the Commissioner and the Chair of the Authority. The Garda review, and the Authority's oversight of it is ongoing.
Once the Authority has completed its work, I will examine its conclusions and take any action that needs to be taken on foot of its report.
112. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Justice if she will consult with the Garda Commissioner to consider the introduction of a medal scheme for members of An Garda Síochána in recognition of their service during the Covid-19 pandemic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34293/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, which includes matters in relation to any medal or commendation scheme. I, as Minister, have no role in these matters.
I am informed by Garda authorities that there are currently no plans being considered in respect of a medal scheme specifically for service during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, I am assured that Garda members' excellent police work during the pandemic will be acknowledged and incorporated into the Garda Centenary celebrations in 2022.
113. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the regional breakdown of transcatheter aortic valve implantation and surgical aortic valve replacement procedures performed throughout the State on a regional and hospital basis. [30248/21]
View answerAs this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems.
The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.
114. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Health the funding available to a child (details supplied) for a device. [30249/21]
View answerAs this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services.Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.
115. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Health the number of psychology posts currently operative and unfilled in north County Kildare; the length of time each post has been vacant; the process and length of recruitment for each; the date on which he expects these to be filled; the number of children currently waiting for psychological treatment in the area in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30250/21]
View answerAs this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.
116. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Health if further consideration has been given to exempting those vaccinated with WHO approved vaccines from mandatory hotel quarantine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30251/21]
View answer174. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if persons travelling into the country from states on the mandatory hotel quarantine list will be provided with an exemption to mandatory hotel quarantine in cases in which they are fully vaccinated with a World Health Organisation approved vaccine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30512/21]
View answer182. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health if he plans to extend the exemption from mandatory hotel quarantine to persons fully vaccinated with a vaccine (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30592/21]
View answer185. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he will consider the recognition of a vaccine (details supplied) that if taken by a passenger would allow them to avoid mandatory hotel quarantine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30596/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 116, 174, 182 and 185 together.
As of 17th April, passengers who are fully vaccinated and have the documents to confirm this are no longer required to complete mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival in Ireland. Dependents, including children, will also be exempted from the requirement to complete mandatory hotel quarantine in this instance.
Please note that the 4 EMA approved vaccines currently accepted have specific definitions for when a person would be considered fully vaccinated.
The following table sets out the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’;
|
A full course of any one of the following vaccines |
Regarded as fully vaccinated after |
|
2 doses of Pfizer-BioNtech Vaccine: BNT162b2 (Comirnaty®) |
7 days |
|
2 doses of Moderna Vaccine: CX-024414 (Moderna®) |
14 days |
|
2 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine: ChAdOx1-SARS-COV-2 (Vaxzevria® or Covishield) |
15 days |
|
1 dose of Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Vaccine: Ad26.COV2-S [recombinant] (Janssen®) |
14 days |
Fully vaccinated travellers are still required to have a negative pre-departure RT-PCR test and complete a period of self-quarantine at home or wherever specified in their passenger locator form.
Ireland supports the EU Procurement Process, the purpose of which is to secure safe and efficacious vaccines for EU citizens.
Covid 19 vaccines can only be approved and used if they comply with all the requirements of quality, safety and efficacy set out in the EU pharmaceutical legislation. No vaccine will be used until market authorisation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is obtained and any authorised vaccine will be subject to ongoing monitoring in Ireland by the Health Product Regulatory Authority (HPRA).
The delivery of vaccines under Advanced Purchase Agreement that the Commission has negotiated on behalf of Member States are predicated upon a Conditional Marketing Authorisation (CMA) being obtained from the Commission (on the basis of a positive recommendation being awarded by the EMA).
The awarding of a CMA provides a high level of assurance that a vaccine has undergone rigorous testing and has met the requirements of the independent regulatory process as regards demonstrating its safety and efficacy.
The Sinopharm vaccine has not been awarded a CMA to date.
117. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Health if fully vaccinated persons from the USA can visit Ireland without mandatory hotel quarantining once they have been vaccinated with an-EMA recognised vaccine and present with a negative PCR test carried out within the previous 72 hours on arrival. [30252/21]
View answerAll persons who enter the State from abroad are subject to the Government's current travel restrictions upon arrival, unless exempted.
As of May 28th, persons arriving from the United States of America are no longer automatically subject to Mandatory Hotel Quarantine. However, they are still subject to other travel restrictions such as home quarantine, supplying passenger locator form information and ensuring they have evidence of a negative RT-PCR test which was taken in the 72 hours before arrival in the State.
All information in relation to Travelling to Ireland during the Covid-19 Pandemic is set out at www.gov.ie/quarantine.
118. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) from County Donegal will receive their Covid-19 vaccination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30253/21]
View answerAs this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.
119. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health the actions taken to date to implement the commitment in the Programme for Government to examine how Government can continue to support drugs and alcohol taskforces in identifying local need in communities and support targeted initiatives addressing drug and alcohol misuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30254/21]
View answerIn November 2020, the Department of Health provided once-off funding of €480,000 for the restoration of drug and alcohol services, including the adaptation of services, premises, online meetings, and personal protective equipment. This funding was allocated to the network of 24 Drug and Alcohol Task Forces for distribution to community and voluntary drug and alcohol services in their areas. Each task force could apply for up to €20,000 in once-off funding to meet Covid-19 related costs.
€1 million was provided in additional funding in Budget 2021 for drug and alcohol task forces. It is intended that this funding will provide for the development of targeted drug and alcohol initiatives through the network of drug and alcohol task forces in 2021.
The priorities emerging from the midterm review of the national drugs strategy, which is nearing completion, will inform key decisions on the allocation of this funding. It is envisaged that a scheme for the disbursement of this funding will be developed following the mid term review and that funding will be administered in Quarter 3.
Over the last year, I have met with representatives of drug and alcohol task forces to discuss ongoing support for their work in identifying and responding to local needs. I am committed to supporting targeted initiatives addressing drug and alcohol misuse.
I very much acknowledge the dedication and leadership that task forces, in association with drug and alcohol service providers, have shown in helping to reduce the impact of drug and alcohol use during COVID-19.
120. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health when University of Limerick Hospitals' adult diabetes service will have the level of staffing required to initiate the DAFNE (details supplied); and when DAFNE will be operational in University of Limerick Hospital for adults with type 1 diabetes. [30255/21]
View answerAs this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.
121. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health when the three whole-time equivalent dietitian posts announced in January 2021 will be recruited as part of winter plan and will commence their posts in University of Limerick Hospital adult diabetes services; and to outline the portion of the three whole time equivalent posts that are assigned to adult diabetes care in the acute services in Limerick, Ennis and Nenagh diabetes clinics. [30256/21]
View answerAs this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.”
