Written Answers Nos. 121-140
121. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked 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 cooperatives (details supplied) to give further consideration to the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26437/23]
View answerMy Department is not making any amendments to the Veterinary Council of Ireland's (VCI) Code of Professional Conduct, in relation to issuing any temporary COS licences to cooperative organisations nor any prescribing protocols. The making of amendments to the Code of Professional Conduct is a matter for the VCI.
I am currently bringing the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed, and Fertilisers Regulation Bill 2023, through the legislative process. This will inter alia provide for powers to make regulations on areas that recent EU Regulations on veterinary medicines left to be determined by national law. These include areas such as the retailing of veterinary medicines, for the licensing and importation of veterinary medicinal products in circumstances permitted under EU law, the prescribing and dispensing of these products, enforcement powers in respect of the possession and administration of such medicines and the creation of a new national veterinary prescription database. The Bill, when enacted will also enable my Department to capture and process information on the import, manufacture, sale, supply and use of fertiliser in the State.
122. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked 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 forestry, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26501/23]
View answer123. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of parcels of land, and size of the land, that Coillte sold in 2020, 2021 and 2022, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26502/23]
View answer124. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of parcels of land that Coillte is renting to farmers; the number of these that are rented on leases of five years or longer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26503/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 122 to 124, inclusive, together.
Coillte is a private limited company established under the Forestry Act 1988 and is operationally independent from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I have referred the matters raised to Coillte for direct follow-up with the Deputy.
125. Deputy Holly Cairns asked 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 Departmental operatives; what happens to the remains of the badgers; and what terms and conditions are attached to the licence issued by the NPWS which facilitates the killing. [26521/23]
View answerFor the purpose of clarity, all badgers captured are caught using a stopped body restraint. My Department does not deploy snares.
Badgers that are culled, are done so in a humane manner, either by the use of a licensed firearm or by the administration of barbiturates by a Departmental Veterinary Inspector. All badger carcasses are sent to either a contracted private or my Department's laboratories for post mortem examination. There are multiple terms and conditions attached to the licence issued by the NPWS. The purpose of these is to ensure that:
• The NPWS are informed of numbers and locations of badgers captured
• That the conditions laid down in various wildlife acts, regulations and statutory instruments are adhered to
• That procedures are followed to mitigate any risks to human or domestic animals
• That procedures are followed to ensure there is no unnecessary suffering or stress for any badgers captured.
126. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will assess the case of a person (details supplied). [26430/23]
View answerAs this question refers to operational / service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
127. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will sanction a nursing post to a child (details supplied) so that they can attend school. [26440/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
128. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide a breakdown of the amount of rehabilitation training funding allocation per school-leaver and adult service-user accessing HSE-funded training and day services, within each county, in tabular form. [26513/23]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
129. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the services and therapies in place for a child (details supplied) in Dublin 9; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26556/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
130. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when a new scheme will be introduced to replace the motorised transport grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26729/23]
View answerThe Government decided to close the Motorised Transport Grant and Mobility Allowance administrative Schemes in 2013, on foot of the Ombudsman reports in 2011 and 2012 regarding the legal status of both Schemes in the context of the Equal Status Acts. Both schemes remain closed. Under the National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2022, the Action 104 Transport Working Group was established in 2020 to make progress on an important cross-Government action to review transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities and to advance proposals for the enhancement of these supports going forward. As Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, I chaired meetings of the Transport Working Group from January 2022 up to its conclusion in December 2022. The Group's work has now concluded and the final report was published in February 2023. The Report is available on the website of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and sets out the contributions made by members for the enhancement of transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities.
131. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will clarify whether a young person who has reached the age of 18 years but is still in school must transition from disability child services to disability adult services. [26732/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
132. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the HSE has paid any professional service for children who are awaiting a service from the CDNT and have completed their assessment of needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26751/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
133. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked 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 Health into the broader remit of his Department; the implications this will have on his Department's annual budget; the ambitions of his Department to progress work in the sphere of disability matters; the achievements of his Department to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26460/23]
View answerOn the 1st March 2023, responsibility for policy, functions and funding relating to specialist community-based disability services transferred from the Department of Health to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. This coincided with the commencement of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022.
One of the central principles and opportunities of the transfer of functions was to ensure a legally and operationally robust governance framework that provides for appropriate budgetary and performance management of the specialist disability services delivered by or on behalf of the Health Service Executive.
The legislative framework now in place is underpinned by a suite of cooperation and reporting arrangements to provide for close collaboration between my Department, the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health.
Responsibility for the delivery of theses specialist services remains with the HSE following the transfer. Importantly, the HSE has its own governance arrangements in place with individual service providers and continues to implement and monitor these on an ongoing basis.
The overall amount of funding transferred from the Department of Health to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is 2.647 billion euros. The disability budget now accounts for almost 45% of the Department's total Vote, and disability policy and service oversight will therefore receive significant and consistent attention in the Department.
The ambition of the Department is to ensure stability post-transfer of functions, particularly in the areas of financial governance and oversight of the HSE, and to significantly develop and reform services for the benefit of persons with disabilities and their families.
The level of unmet need in specialist disability services is clearly set out in the Capacity Review of Disability Services. Finalising the Action Plan for Disability Services and developing the successor strategy to the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS) will be key to enhancing services and ensuring that we take a human rights, person-centred approach to both policy and service delivery. These over-arching strategies, and a focus on urgent areas such as children’s services, are the main priorities in 2023. Our programme of work requires a concerted, whole of Government approach to disability, with each Minister and Government Department contributing to a ‘Mainstream First’ approach, which will be an ongoing challenge to develop and encourage. Making progress on this agenda requires a phased, progressive approach and people with disabilities and their representatives will be engaged in the design and delivery of these policies and services.
The Department will continue to build on the achievements to date in advancing the disability agenda and has put in place and resourced a dedicated disability division to support the Government’s vision for a more integrated and person-centred policy approach to serving people with disabilities. This involved the successful transfer of staff and corporate knowledge to the new division. The division now combines the former specialist disability related responsibilities of the Department of Health and the disability equality agenda which previously transferred from the Department of Justice.
In terms of developments in primary legislation, the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 was commenced on March 1st 2023 and the recently commenced Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 abolishes wardship in the State, and provides for new tiered decision-making to ensure that persons lacking capacity are supported and their will and preference is respected.
134. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked 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, following commitments made in Dáil Éireann in relation to the provision of publicly funded autism assessments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26478/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
135. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked 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 (ineligible); and the number who were found to be minors (eligible) between 2021 to date, broken down by nationality of applicants. [26486/23]
View answerStatutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
136. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked 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 have not been seen or have not received an appointment for services for six months; if so, the rationale for this change in policy; and if he will provide a breakdown of the number of children who have been waiting for more than six months for each specialised service, including waiting times, by each CDNT, and each county within each CDNT, in tabular form. [26490/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
137. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of staff for each specialised support service within each CDNT for each of the past five years. [26491/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
138. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the 12 respite beds will re-opened in St. Aidan's Day Care Centre, Millands, Gorey, County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26518/23]
View answerAs the query relates to service matters, I am referring it to the HSE for direct response to the Deputy.
139. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will immediately intercede to alleviate the current closure of 12 respite beds in St. Aidan's Day Care Centre, Millands, Gorey, County Wexford, which have been closed for three months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26520/23]
View answerAs the query relates to service matters, I am referring it to the HSE for direct response to the Deputy.
140. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps he has taken in response to a Health Information and Quality Authority inspection report concerning a home (details supplied) where children were confined upstairs for days on end due to a broken lift; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26526/23]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2007, the Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA) disability inspection team is legally responsible for the monitoring, inspection and registration of designated centres for adults and children with a disability.
Additionally, HIQA has responsibility for setting standards for healthcare services, and monitoring compliance with those standards. It also regulates facilities providing care for those with disabilities, to determine if they are meeting the relevant National Standards
At the time of inspection, due to the findings, HIQA required the provider to take immediate and urgent action.
I am advised that following on from the inspection, the lift was repaired, with a service level agreement in place to ensure the lift is serviced on a regular basis. An electric evacuation chair has been purchased, with staff receiving training on its use, and certain staff have received training in Fire Safety and Evacuation procedures. Additionally, two residents previously impacted upon due to the lift malfunction have had their bedrooms relocated downstairs.
I am informed by HIQA that inspectors have undertaken a further inspection of the centre which found that the provider’s actions had been implemented and that there was a significant improvement in compliance levels. The inspection report will be published once it has gone through due process and inspectors continue to monitor the centre closely. Inspectors continue to monitor the centre.
The HSE has confirmed that it became aware of the issues that occurred at the premises in question following the publication of the HIQA report on the matter, but was not made aware of the unacceptable situation where a lift was broken in the premises for significant periods.
I have been advised by the HSE that as the organisation concerned is in receipt of funding from CHO7 and CHO8, both CHOs immediately contacted and visited the service on foot of the HIQA report.
A detailed plan of improvements is now agreed between the HSE and the service provider and these improvements will be reviewed in the next 3 months.
A Joint Review is being commissioned by the HSE and Tusla to establish the circumstances of this issue and the learnings from it. This review will be completed by the end of July 2023.
