Parliamentary questions

Stamp Duty

Michael McGrath

101. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the revenue generated from commercial stamp duty and the number of individual cases in each of the years 2006 to 2016 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16511/16]

VAT Yield

Michael McGrath

102. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the Value Added Tax generated from the sale of new residential housing and the number of cases in each of the years 2006 to 2016 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16512/16]

Tax Data

Michael McGrath

103. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the reason for the substantial increase in exit tax paid on life assurance policies in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16514/16]

Film Industry Tax Reliefs

Michael McGrath

104. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of projects that availed of section 481 film tax relief; the number of jobs supported by the relief in 2015 and in 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16515/16]

Irish Strategic Investment Fund

Niall Collins

105. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Finance the process regarding reports that an organisation (details supplied) received a loan from the Irish Strategic Investment Fund in November 2015, whose subsidiary was previously involved in transactions relating to the closure of a company in June 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16543/16]

Mortgage Interest Relief Eligibility

Brendan Griffin

106. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding mortgage interest; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16549/16]

Motor Insurance

Michael McGrath

107. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the amount insurance companies reported to the Central Bank as having been paid out on motor insurance claims and the number of claims the payouts related to in each of the years 2011 to 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16575/16]

Banking Sector

Seamus Healy

108. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Finance if he will recommend that small shareholders be compensated at least to the extent of the entitlement of depositors under the bank deposit guarantee scheme given the conviction of two former executives of Anglo Irish Bank on a charge of conspiring to defraud investors, the fact that the office of the financial regulator was aware of the relevant transaction in advance of the publication of the misleading accounts of the bank and the other evidence and remarks of the judge in court (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16592/16]

Departmental Properties

Peadar Tóibín

109. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance the properties his Department and the agencies under its remit leased; the number leased on upward-only rents and the number of the lessors who were involved with the National Asset Management Agency or with any of the State banks; and the details of each lease. [16600/16]

Education and Training Provision

Shane Cassells

110. Deputy Shane Cassells asked the Minister for Education and Skills to alleviate the hardship and social exclusion experienced by persons over 25 years of age and those in the one-parent family payment scheme who cannot afford to participate in education and training as they receive just €4 per week in subsistence payments while participating in courses under the local training initiative and under the auspices of the Education and Training Boards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16532/16]

After-School Support Services

Bernard Durkan

111. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has received submissions in respect of the closure of an after-school care service (details supplied); if he will ensure this service remains available to students and parents, given the high number of families who utilise it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16398/16]

Education Standards

Fergus O'Dowd

112. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will introduce standards for all primary teachers equivalent to the standards that currently apply to post-primary teachers on their probation year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16400/16]

Education Standards

Fergus O'Dowd

113. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Skills if newly qualified Irish primary teachers can complete their probation year in other jurisdictions of comparable educational standards, as they can currently do in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16401/16]

Teacher Recruitment

Fergus O'Dowd

114. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure a common protocol is put in place for the advertising of all teaching posts, including e-mail; if he will ensure that all qualified applicants are acknowledged and if unsuccessful, that the reasons for not being successful are communicated to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16403/16]

Teaching Council of Ireland

Michael Healy-Rae

115. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question Number 175 of 2 June 2016, his views that that information contradicts the information which is on the Teaching Council website (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16409/16]

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund

Clare Daly

116. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the long promised review of the Caranua scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16472/16]

School Accommodation

Seán Fleming

117. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills when he will issue grant approval for a project in a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16473/16]

Teaching Council of Ireland

Brendan Griffin

118. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will seek clarification from the Teaching Council on course requirements and qualifications for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16476/16]

School Staff

Bernard Durkan

119. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the loss of a teacher at a school (details supplied) with the objective of maintaining the current number of teachers and with reference to reconfiguring class sizes upwards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16483/16]

School Admissions

Róisín Shortall

120. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will publish or otherwise set out his understanding of the legal advice available to his Department in respect of repealing section 7(3)(c) of the Equal Status Act 2000, further to a contribution by a former Minister for State (details supplied) in the debate on the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013 in Dáil Éireann on 2 December 2015. [16486/16]

School Admissions

Róisín Shortall

121. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills his policy in relation to the repeal of section 7(3)(c) of the Equal Status Act 2000 or the addition of an amendment to this subsection so that it does not apply to schools in receipt of State funding or public money. [16487/16]

School Transport

Martin Heydon

122. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of school bus services to primary school children; if he has recently introduced changes that result in children who started school before the 2011-2012 school year who are not attending their closest school are now being offered concessionary bus tickets only whereas last year they got full tickets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16488/16]

Teachers' Remuneration

Seán Fleming

123. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills how soon pay equalisation will occur for persons entering the teaching profession; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16523/16]

School Staff

Seán Fleming

124. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for and when he will reduce class sizes in primary schools to 20; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16524/16]

Schools Building Projects

Pearse Doherty

125. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to expedite a school building project (details supplied); if he recognises the need to accelerate this project, given the deteriorating condition of much of the school's existing accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16550/16]

Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Scheme

Pearse Doherty

126. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills when he will formally complete the review of the Delivering Equality of opportunity in Schools scheme; if he will include additional schools under the scheme following the review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16552/16]

Student Grant Scheme Applications

Anne Rabbitte

127. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason Student Universal Support Ireland declined an application for a grant by a person (details supplied). [16584/16]

Departmental Properties

Peadar Tóibín

128. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Skills the properties his Department and agencies under its remit leased; the number they leased on upward-only rents and the number of the lessors who were involved with the National Asset Management Agency or with any of the State banks; and the details of each lease. [16598/16]

Student Grant Scheme Eligibility

Bernard Durkan

129. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if and when a person (details supplied) will qualify for higher education grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16629/16]

Seanad Reform

Róisín Shortall

130. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government her plans to give legislative effect to the constitutional change in 1979, facilitating the extension of voting rights to Seanad Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16494/16]

Local Authority Staff

Anne Rabbitte

131. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if Galway County Council has sufficient staff to work efficiently and to comply with health and safety regulations. [16392/16]

Pyrite Resolution Board Data

Darragh O'Brien

132. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of applications received and accepted and number of homes remediated by the pyrite remediation board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16430/16]

Water and Sewerage Schemes

Brendan Griffin

133. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will reinstate the former rate of subsidy to householders under the group water scheme, given that many schemes are insufficiently funded to cover costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16458/16]

Waste Disposal

Róisín Shortall

134. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to introduce amendments to Statutory Instrument No. 24 of 2016 to prevent excessive service charges being applied by domestic waste collection companies and to ensure the polluter-pays-principle as required by the same instrument is observed. [16484/16]

Waste Disposal

Róisín Shortall

135. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware of the case of a waste management company (details supplied) which is changing its charging regime to allow for far higher service charges for many customers, especially older persons, resulting in much higher bills for those concerned before any use of the same bins; and if he will review Statutory Instrument No. 24 of 2016 in view of this practice which means those with the lowest use of waste collection services will see the biggest increase in bills. [16485/16]

Tenant Purchase Scheme Data

Martin Heydon

136. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of tenants of co-operative housing organisations who wish to buy out their homes, including his plans to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16491/16]

Housing Issues

John Brassil

137. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of HomeBond; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16517/16]

Waste Management

Catherine Murphy

138. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware of the sizeable increases some domestic waste collectors have recently imposed; the measures available to cap charges; if he is engaged in dialogue with the waste collection sector; if he will consider a waiver system for low-income or vulnerable households; if he is concerned the increased charges will prompt further problems with dumping which will impose an increased burden on local authorities, TidyTowns committees and so on; if he is concerned regarding damage to the environment; if he will initiate a full review of the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16525/16]

Housing Adaptation Grant

Martin Heydon

139. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will review the rules of the housing adaption grants for persons with a disability, as administered by local authorities (details supplied), to extend their application to persons with disabilities which are not physical, but which require alterations to homes, to make them safer and more suitable for the disabled person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16544/16]

Housing Issues

Brendan Griffin

140. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of a housing project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16548/16]

Wind Energy Guidelines

Pearse Doherty

141. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will formally finalise the revision to the 2006 wind energy development guidelines; if the revision will be informed by recent developments abroad in terms of enhanced regulations governing the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16553/16]

Social and Affordable Housing

Michael Healy-Rae

142. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on correspondence regarding a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16557/16]

Traveller Accommodation

Éamon Ó Cuív

143. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if Traveller-specific housing will come under the remit of the new special delivery unit being established to drive specific house building projects from start to finish, given the exceptional housing issues Travellers face and the lack of progress for many years in dealing with these issues; if the establishment of this unit will provide a quicker planning route for such housing independent of local authority members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16587/16]

Departmental Properties

Peadar Tóibín

144. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the properties leased by his Department and agencies under its remit; the number leased on upward-only rents and the number of the lessors involved with the National Asset Management Agency or any of the State banks; and the details of each lease. [16599/16]

Jobseeker's Allowance Payments

Darragh O'Brien

145. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Social Protection the assistance he provides to jobseekers in receipt of payments under the disability allowance scheme seeking employment; the schemes available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16427/16]

Carer's Allowance Applications

Brendan Griffin

147. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will prioritise and grant an application by a person (details supplied) under the carer's allowance scheme; the reason for the unacceptable delay; if the recently requested further information is in the original application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16391/16]

Carer's Allowance Applications

Michael Healy-Rae

148. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection to set out the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the carer's allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16397/16]

Disability Allowance Payments

Willie O'Dea

149. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection when arrears will issue from the period January to November 2009 to a person (details supplied) under the disability allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16416/16]

Rent Supplement Scheme Payments

Bernard Durkan

150. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will continue to issue payments to a person (details supplied) under the rent support scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16425/16]

Child Benefit Payments

Bernard Durkan

152. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection when he will restore payment to a person (details supplied) under the child benefit scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16462/16]