Parliamentary questions

Beef Exports

Paul Murphy

136. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views regarding the possible future effects on the reputation of Irish beef, arising from the involvement of a company (details supplied), as the first major distributor of Irish beef in America. [6680/15]

Trade Agreements

Paul Murphy

141. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has assessed the risk of the Irish ban on hormone-treated beef being undermined by the transatlantic trade and investment partnership agreement; and his views on the quality of food standards in view of the negotiations on the agreement. [6679/15]

Animal Welfare

Paul Murphy

262. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the measures to protect the well-being of animals engaged in hare coursing in view of live hare coursing now being a criminal offence in the United Kingdom and much of the rest of Europe; his views on the continued practice of live hare coursing here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6711/15]

Animal Welfare

Paul Murphy

263. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the measures undertaken by his Department, including the numbers of site visits and other inspections carried out on dog pounds run by local authorities, private institutions and charities, to ensure animals are cared for in a manner compliant with the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013; his views on the matter of animal welfare standards at pounds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6712/15]

Diplomatic Representation

Paul Murphy

410. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide a report on the work of his Department in relation to the case of a person (details supplied) who is detained in Egypt following the release of other detainees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6746/15]

Ukrainian Conflict

Paul Murphy

411. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the current situation in eastern Ukraine; and if he supports military assistance to the Ukrainian Government. [6747/15]

Register of Electors

Paul Murphy

499. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to extensively advertise the supplement to the register of electors, prior to the upcoming referenda on presidential age and marriage equality; his views on the extension of the deadlines to facilitate prospective voters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6802/15]

Trade Agreements

Paul Murphy

31. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will report on progress on negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; his views of reported opposition to the investment state dispute settlement mechanism from the French and German Governments (details supplied) and the results of the European Commission's public consultation on TTIP in which the majority of the near 150,000 submissions expressed opposition to TTIP and the investment state dispute settlement mechanism.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2664/15]

Public Sector Staff Remuneration

Paul Murphy

22. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on pay rises in the public sector in view of the call by SIPTU, the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union, for a 5% pay rise across the economy and a minimum wage of €11.45 (details supplied); and if he will report on contacts made with trade unions on the matter of pay. [5786/15]

Community Employment Schemes Funding

Paul Murphy

39. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to reversing cuts to the pensions and other rights of persons participating in community employment schemes contained in section 7 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6272/15]

Passport Controls

Paul Murphy

483. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on discussions held with states outside the European Union-European Economic Area on the acceptance of the passport card that will be issued by his Department later this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5615/15]

Passport Services

Paul Murphy

484. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will extend the validity period of passport cards from five years to ten years; the reason the validity period is five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5616/15]

Passport Services

Paul Murphy

485. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of passport holders that have registered for the passport reminder service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5617/15]

Foreign Conflicts

Paul Murphy

488. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the execution of a Jordanian airforce pilot by the group called ISIS and the execution of prisoners in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in reprisal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5793/15]

Foreign Conflicts

Paul Murphy

489. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on any contact his Department has had with the Embassy of Israel to Ireland and on any contact the Embassy of Ireland to Israel and the Representative Office of Ireland in Palestine has had with Israeli authorities regarding a case (details supplied); his views on the matter of the Israeli state jailing and detaining minors arrested in the occupied territories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5826/15]

Pupil Data Collection

Paul Murphy

516. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the matter of schools collecting the personal public service, PPS, numbers of their pupils; if this is being done to comply with a policy or a requirement from her Department; the details of this policy or requirement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5796/15]

School Staff

Paul Murphy

518. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will report on the date for the issuing of P60s for 2014 to special needs assistants. [5802/15]

Animal Welfare

Paul Murphy

580. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 61 of 28 January 2015 and Nos. 553 to 555, inclusive, of 20 January 2015, if his Department is responsible for the health and well-being of dogs seized and under the care of local authorities; if so, the measures in place by his Department to ensure that these dogs are adequately cared for with appropriate accommodation and veterinary care, including those put into the care of outsourced companies or institutions by local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5761/15]

Jobseeker's Allowance Payments

Paul Murphy

18. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will review the policy of reduced jobseeker’s allowance to those under 25 years of age in view of the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 16 who is living alone following the death of their sole guardian yet still has had a maximum of €100 applied to their jobseeker’s allowance. [4976/15]

National Internship Scheme Data

Paul Murphy

28. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on the use of JobBridge interns by companies which are running job clubs on behalf of her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4977/15]

Blood Donations

Paul Murphy

219. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health his plans for the reduction of the age of consent for blood donations to 16 or 17 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5252/15]

Blood Donations

Paul Murphy

220. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health his plans for an information campaign on blood donation among secondary school students in order to increase awareness and support for blood donations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5253/15]

Driver Licence Renewals

Paul Murphy

307. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views regarding facilitating persons who are ordinarily resident in the State, but are unable to renew their driving licence due to being outside the State for an extended period, by renewing driving licences with more than three months left to expire and allowing the licence to be renewed by correspondence or any other means. [5223/15]

Debt Restructuring

Paul Murphy

3. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance his views on the matter of a proposed European debt conference in the view of the recent Greek parliamentary election. [4708/15]

State Banking Sector

Paul Murphy

5. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if he will report on the appointment of a banking firm (details supplied) as advisers on the sale of the State's share in AIB; his views on the matter of the sale of the State's stakeholding in the banks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4709/15]

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Paul Murphy

11. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance the cost each year of tax exemptions for real estate investment trusts; and if he will report on the impact of REITs on the housing market. [4697/15]

EU Meetings

Paul Murphy

13. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if he will report on the most recent ECOFIN meeting. [4693/15]

Mortgage Arrears Rate

Paul Murphy

21. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance his views on the level of mortgage arrears and on the increased rate of repossessions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4694/15]

Banking Sector Staff

Paul Murphy

31. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance the consultations he or his Department has had with AIB management concerning the recently announced intention to outsource jobs and other industrial relations issues notably reform of the pension scheme and upcoming pay discussions; his views on the industrial relations climate in the AIB group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4696/15]

Banking Sector Staff

Paul Murphy

39. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance his views on the failure of AIB to honour an agreement on pensions with EBS staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4695/15]

Sale of Aer Lingus

Paul Murphy

134. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the sale of Aer Lingus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4360/15]

Sale of Aer Lingus

Paul Murphy

161. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will report on discussions held with trade union representatives and community organisations on the sale of Aer Lingus. [4361/15]

Family Income Supplement Data

Paul Murphy

227. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of public servants in receipt of family income supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47835/14]

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Paul Murphy

274. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a list of investment funds and real estate investment trusts to which the National Asset Management Agency has sold commercial and residential properties; the value of sales to each; the value of the loan with which the property was bought by the original developer; and if he will provide a list of each of the properties concerned. [4839/15]

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Paul Murphy

275. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown of Irish properties sold by the National Asset Management Agency detailing their original owners; the buyers of same; the profits or loss on each transaction relative to the original face value of the loan; and the price for which NAMA purchased the property from the banks. [4840/15]

Water Conservation Grant

Paul Murphy

555. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the conditions that will be attached to the issuing by his Department of the water conservation grant; and if there will be a requirement that applicants for the grant have or will spend money on a water conservation measure. [4784/15]

Housing Data

Paul Murphy

171. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide information in tabular form on the number of households currently on the transfer lists of each of the local authorities or for as many local authorities for which this information is available, and the numbers for each year since 2007 with a breakdown of these figures according to the main reasons households were placed on the transfer list. [4120/15]

Homelessness Strategy

Paul Murphy

25. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the steps taken on the issue of homeless since his meetings in December 2014 following the death of a person (details supplied). [3649/15]

Animal Welfare

Paul Murphy

61. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 553 to 555, inclusive, of 20 January 2015, the measures in place to ensure dogs in the care of local authorities comply with the provisions of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 and are adequately cared for with appropriate accommodation and veterinary care including those put into the care of outsourced companies or institutions by local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3991/15]

Industrial Disputes

Paul Murphy

125. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the measures taken by her Department to ensure that subcontractors used on school construction programmes are compliant with legislation and agreements in place covering pay and conditions in the sector, and that RCT1 contracts are not abused to undermine workers' pay and conditions; her views on the strike taking place at a college among workers employed by a company (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3373/15]

Waste Management

Paul Murphy

540. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the progress that has been made regarding the promised review of the waste management industry that was made by the Government during the Greyhound company strike in 2014 and its immediate aftermath. [3739/15]

Social and Affordable Housing Provision

Paul Murphy

541. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown by local authority area of the number of new social homes that are targeted to be built by local authorities in 2015 and 2016; the number that are projected to be built by private developers under the proposed planning (No. 1) Bill; and the number under public-private partnerships. [3740/15]

Seanad Reform

Paul Murphy

542. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 1485 of 17 September 2014, the number of meetings of the technical working group on Seanad Éireann university constituencies that have taken place since 17 September 2014; and when the work of the technical working group will be concluded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3759/15]

Seanad Elections

Paul Murphy

543. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has conducted any research on the accuracy of the National University of Ireland and University of Dublin Seanad Éireann electoral registers; and if he will report on any interaction his Department may have had with these institutions regarding their electoral registers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3760/15]

Building Regulations Compliance

Paul Murphy

544. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of inspections of building projects by building control officers, by county, since the introduction of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014; and if he will report on the technical capacity of the building control management system to check calculations submitted. [3761/15]

Roadworthiness Testing

Paul Murphy

596. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views that a change is required to the regulations relating to the definition of vintage cars so that there is a rolling 30-year age criteria rather than the current fixed date of pre-1980 vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3538/15]

Rail Services

Paul Murphy

609. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 993 of 14 January 2015, if his Department has funding available for the opening of railway stations; the extent that private funding is relied upon for the opening of railway stations; his views on the matter of providing railway stations in communities that are less commercially attractive to private investors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3827/15]

Human Rights Issues

Paul Murphy

30. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the continued detention of Ibrahim Halawa, in particular the further postponement of his trial, and if he will report on the work of his Department on the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2665/15]

Export Controls

Paul Murphy

85. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the measures in place to ensure that technologies and research developed by companies and institutions based here that are involved with the research and development of military capabilities are not used in the violation of human rights; his views on Ireland’s compliance with the Arms Trade Treaty and EU regulations on the export of dual-use items; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3068/15]

Animal Welfare

Paul Murphy

89. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will report on measures taken to ensure that greyhounds bred for racing but not used for racing are not destroyed or mistreated; the number of incidents that have been investigated in 2011 to 2014, inclusive; if he will report on any investigations into destruction of identification of greyhounds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3123/15]