Parliamentary questions

Hare Coursing

Paul Murphy

209. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the rabbit haemorrhagic disease variant two, RHD2, exclusion zone specified in the 2021-2022 hare coursing licence has been reduced from 25 km to 3 km and does not now cover the discovery of infected rabbits; and if he will revoke the coursing licence following a warning from the National Parks and Wildlife Service that the catching of hares in nets, their transportation in boxes and the collection and holding of hares in confined areas can all be considered to increase the risk of disease spread (details supplied). [44270/21]

Hare Coursing

Paul Murphy

210. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will revoke the coursing licences he issued in view of concerns that a form of myxomatosis that has crossed over to hares could have a devastating impact on the species if it surfaces in Ireland. [44271/21]

EU Directives

Paul Murphy

211. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on whether allowing wood pigeons to be shot for a 12-month period between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022 breaches the EU Birds Directive; and if he will remove the birds from the directive derogations or reduce the period during which they may be shot. [44272/21]

EU Directives

Paul Murphy

212. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason threatened, red-listed birds of high conservation concern are included in the latest open season order; and if he will remove them from the order. [44273/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Paul Murphy

266. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the number of children with special needs living in south-western areas of Dublin; the number of therapists working in the area to provide essential services for these children; his plans to ensure that these services which are crucial for the families of these children will resume to pre-Covid-19 levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44246/21]

Hospital Waiting Lists

Paul Murphy

269. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the way consultants and surgeons triage a patient for surgery in relation to elective surgeries; and the location in which this is recorded. [44249/21]

Hospital Waiting Lists

Paul Murphy

270. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the body or agency in which waiting lists of patients who are pending surgeries are recorded in relation to elective surgeries. [44250/21]

Hospital Admissions

Paul Murphy

271. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the way consultants and surgeons communicate with the admissions office in relation to elective surgeries regarding patients and waiting lists changes. [44251/21]

Greyhound Industry

Paul Murphy

311. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of paid views registered on Greyhound Racing Ireland's pay-per-view online channel (details supplied) by week, track and country of viewer since its launch in March 2021; and the associated revenue generated and the cost of running the channel. [44275/21]

Horse Racing Industry

Paul Murphy

312. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of horses injured and that died or were killed at Galway Racecourse to date in 2021; if an investigation will be carried out into the high level of fatalities; and if consideration will be given to ending State funding to Horse Racing Ireland in view of the growing number of horse deaths. [44276/21]

Hare Coursing

Paul Murphy

313. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the direct or indirect funding provided to an organisation and a publication (details supplied) in the past ten years up to September 2021. [44277/21]

Horse Racing Industry

Paul Murphy

314. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will stop Horse Racing Ireland's major financial supports to foxhunting groups for point-to-point races of more than €10 million since 2001 given that this funding is sustaining foxhunts whose hunting activities are opposed by a majority of citizens due to the animal cruelty involved. [44278/21]

Animal Diseases

Paul Murphy

315. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of culled badgers that are tested for TB; the number of badger post-mortems for TB that have been carried out by county in each of the past ten years; and the number of badgers that tested positive and negative, respectively for TB. [44279/21]

Animal Diseases

Paul Murphy

316. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of badgers vaccinated and culled in 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will immediately end the cull in view of the findings of his Department funded study which concluded that vaccination could be a highly effective means of reducing the incidence of tuberculosis in badger populations. [44308/21]

Health and Safety

Paul Murphy

97. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on whether adequate resources have been allocated to the Health and Safety Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43833/21]

Job Creation

Paul Murphy

112. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has plans to develop a green jobs programme in view of the climate crisis and the current situation of mass unemployment. [43832/21]

Flexible Work Practices

Paul Murphy

171. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps he is taking to ensure that workers who wish to do so can work from home. [44022/21]

National Minimum Wage

Paul Murphy

172. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on lower minimum wages for young workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44023/21]

Employment Rights

Paul Murphy

173. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps he is taking to ensure rapid implementation of the employment regulation order for the security sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44024/21]

Housing Schemes

Paul Murphy

342. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he plans to introduce a deposit protection scheme for tenants as promised in Housing for All; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44149/21]

Work Permits

Paul Murphy

16. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide information in relation to his Department’s recent decision to allow non-EEA care assistants to work in hospitals and nursing homes but not in private homes; the reason home carers remain on the ineligible occupations list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41940/21]

Driver Test

Paul Murphy

160. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport when a driver test is expected for a person (details supplied). [42860/21]

Driver Licences

Paul Murphy

161. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport when a driver licence renewal may be expected to be processed for a person (details supplied). [42861/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Paul Murphy

269. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when a plan will be produced for safe reopening for staff, children and parents involved in the performing arts and a timeline for the safe resumption of indoor classes. [41826/21]

Departmental Schemes

Paul Murphy

276. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the status of the basic income guarantee pilot scheme for artists as per the report by the oversight group which she previously advised was due at the end of July 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42149/21]

Renewable Energy Generation

Paul Murphy

316. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide information on his Department's review of siting and size conditions for rooftop solar panels on homes and review of exemptions for educational and community buildings as part of the current development of interim planning regulations; if he will provide information on the stated need to consider environmental assessment reporting before finalisation; when the interim planning regulations will be submitted to the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41863/21]

Hare Coursing

Paul Murphy

323. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide all of the findings returned following the research carried out by the National Parks and Wildlife Service into the survival and behaviour of hares released back into the wild after they have been used for coursing; the survival and movement patterns of hares that have been returned to the wild after coursing; and the results in relation to releasing hares in the territory in which they were captured when compared to random locations. [41938/21]

Rental Sector

Paul Murphy

353. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on whether the RTB website should be used to make rental histories of properties public, without tenant details, allowing persons search via address and thus allowing tenants to research illegal increases without the involvement of landlords or estate agents; and if his Department will take steps to implement this.. [42440/21]

Departmental Investigations

Paul Murphy

389. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 230 of 6 July 2021, if the file relating to the investigation, which named two suspects, into the missing file is still in the possession of his Department. [42980/21]

Departmental Investigations

Paul Murphy

390. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 230 of 6 July 2021, the reason An Garda Síochána were not contacted in relation to the missing file. [42981/21]

Government Communications

Paul Murphy

453. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the circumstances whereby his mobile phone was hacked; the information taken from the phone; the reports that were made to An Garda Síochána; the date on which they were made; the investigations that were conducted by An Garda Síochána or his Department in relation to the hacking; and the measures in place to minimise the chance of his phone being hacked again. [42596/21]

Government Communications

Paul Murphy

454. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the measures taken to ensure that his text messages used for official business are filed as part of the records management process as required by the decision of the Information Commissioner (details supplied). [42597/21]

Rights of People with Disabilities

Paul Murphy

509. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the fact that there are several pieces of legislation which have not been fully implemented in relation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities meaning that persons with Down syndrome do not have the necessary mechanisms to access their rights, for example, their right to inclusive education and equality before the law; her plans to ensure Ireland honours its commitments (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41668/21]

Special Educational Needs

Paul Murphy

512. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education the reason there is no panel for SNA substitute teachers given that it is the process deemed necessary for mainstream substitute teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41700/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Paul Murphy

515. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if she will allow more transparency regarding workplace assessments for high-risk and pregnant staff; and if provisions will be made for these assessments to be completed locally in schools prior to their return given that there have been many appeals of the decisions made by a company (details supplied) that carried out these assessments. [41798/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Paul Murphy

516. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if her Department will allow more transparency regarding workplace assessments for high risk and pregnant staff; if she make provisions for these assessments to be completed locally in schools prior to their return given that there has been many appeals of the decisions made by a company (details supplied) who carried out these assessments changing the status of teachers who had previously been considered very high risk to high risk and have refused appeals submitted offering vague explanations for the change in status. [41814/21]

School Staff

Paul Murphy

537. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the fact that school secretaries are still required to sign onto jobseeker's benefit over the school summer holidays and other school breaks despite the commitments made in October 2020 by the Government to regularise the employment, terms and conditions and pension rights of school secretaries (details supplied); the status of progress in relation to the commitment made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42139/21]

School Staff

Paul Murphy

546. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the commitments made in October 2020 to regularise the employment, terms and conditions and pension rights of school caretakers; the status of the progress of this commitment made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42205/21]

Departmental Schemes

Paul Murphy

655. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the vetting procedure that is carried out on positions submitted by an employer to the work placement experience programme before it is advertised publicly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41532/21]

Rights of People with Disabilities

Paul Murphy

750. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are several pieces of legislation which have not been fully implemented in relation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (details supplied); if he will share his proposal to ensure that the Government honours its commitments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41819/21]

Third Level Education

Paul Murphy

820. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his attention has been drawn to the requirement for students studying social care in ITT to sign a declaration advising that they will not go between their place of paid work and their college work placement (details supplied); and his plan to ensure that these students who are reliant on income from their jobs will be compensated financially to allow them to meet this condition of studying social care. [41701/21]

Further and Higher Education

Paul Murphy

838. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will make formal enquiries to Solas regarding the delay in making the education and training fund agreed available to workers (details supplied); and the way they can accelerate the progress given the drawn out struggle which has resulted in these workers not receiving same after years of dutiful employment. [42293/21]

Legislative Measures

Paul Murphy

883. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice her plans to bring forward amendments in relation to the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016. [41729/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Paul Murphy

995. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the difficulty faced by Irish citizens who are abroad in obtaining a Covid-19 recovery certificate when they have tested positive while away; and if a plan is in place to ensure these persons can fly home with this certificate as proof of their recovery. [41511/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Paul Murphy

1022. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a campaign by an organisation (details supplied) calling for compensation for healthcare staff in recognition for their sacrifices made as workers on the frontline of a health service dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will provide a formal response to the campaign. [41579/21]

Departmental Contracts

Paul Murphy

1023. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the amount a company (details supplied) is being paid to operate the EU digital Covid certificate helpline on behalf of his Department; and if there are penalties for missed targets and poor delivery of service by the company. [41580/21]

Cannabis for Medicinal Use

Paul Murphy

1041. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union in a case (details supplied) in which it was ruled that an EU member state may not prohibit the marketing of a cannabis product when it is extracted from the cannabis sativa plant in its entirety; and if clarification on the way Ireland will implement workable rules that are consistent with EU legislation and regulations will be provided. [41642/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Paul Murphy

1057. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the Department of Education instructions which advise pregnant teachers that they are to return to work in September whether they are vaccinated or not; the way in which sending pregnant women into an environment in which they face possible Covid-19 infection for them and their unborn child can be justified given the presence of new and more infections strains in Ireland. [41693/21]

Homeless Persons Supports

Paul Murphy

1137. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if the HSE plans to shut down existing soup runs in Dublin (details supplied); and if a plan is in place to feed homeless persons if these soup runs are forced to cease operating. [41844/21]

Health Service Executive

Paul Murphy

1145. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the status of the cyberattack on the HSE and his Department; the computer systems that are now fully working; the systems yet to be fixed; and when the systems that are not yet functioning will be fully operational. [41865/21]