Parliamentary questions

Drug Treatment Programmes

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

204. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health the current registered number of addicts accessing services in County Dublin and combined regional areas. [12592/15]

National Drugs Strategy Implementation

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

205. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if the Government will provide a commitment to review drug policy over the past two decades, as it moves towards reviewing and implementing the national drugs strategy from 2017 to 2022, to include a national consultation process with key players, and the form this review will take. [12593/15]

Departmental Contracts

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

206. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health the name of the company that was paid to supply methadone; the amount the company has been paid by the State in the past 17 years; and the savings this has secured to the State in the past 17 years. [12594/15]

Hospital Consultant Recruitment

Gabrielle McFadden

207. Deputy Gabrielle McFadden asked the Minister for Health the timeframe, if any, for a second palliative care consultant for the midlands region to take up the post in the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar in County Westmeath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12599/15]

Medical Card Applications

Bernard Durkan

208. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the progress to date in determining an application for a medical card in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12622/15]

Departmental Contracts Data

Catherine Murphy

209. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a list, in tabular form, of all contracts and tenders awarded by his Department to a company (details supplied) since 1 January, 2004, including any such awarded singularly or as a joint bid or consortium including said company; if he will indicate which Department, agency or semi-State company was the contacting party in each case; the value in each case; the purpose of each contract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13112/15]

Passport Applications Data

Ruth Coppinger

210. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of passport applications that have been made, by year, where the applicant is seeking to record a different gender on the passport than that which is on the applicant's birth certificate; the number of passports that have been issued, by year, where a different gender is recorded than the gender recorded on the applicant's birth certificate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12363/15]

Passport Applications Data

Ruth Coppinger

211. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of passport applications made in the Irish language from 2004 to 2014, inclusive; and the total number of passport applications in those years. [12364/15]

Legislative Process

Pearse Doherty

212. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of pieces of legislation that were submitted for pre-legislative scrutiny by his Department since 2011; his plans to allow pre-legislative scrutiny for any upcoming pieces of legislation from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12414/15]

Emigrant Support Services

Bernard Durkan

213. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which he has been able to verify the claim that undocumented Irish in the United States of America can obtain a visa from that country's embassy in Dublin, to facilitate their unrestricted return to the United States of America, after a visit here for family reasons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12588/15]

Departmental Contracts Data

Catherine Murphy

214. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide a list, in tabular form, of all contracts and tenders awarded by his Department to a company (details supplied) since 1 January, 2004, including any such awarded singularly or as a joint bid or consortium including said company; if he will indicate which Department, agency or semi-State company was the contacting party in each case; the value in each case; the purpose of each contract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13111/15]

Skills Shortages

Bernard Durkan

215. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which any skills shortage might exist in the workplace at present; if an evaluation has been done to identify those skills in most demand, and the ability to respond to any shortage now and in the future, with particular reference to the improving economic situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12563/15]

Skills Shortages

Bernard Durkan

216. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which it remains possible to identify in advance the full extent of the skills requirement in the modern workplace, with particular reference to the urgent need to meet any such requirements and to plan accordingly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12565/15]

Institutes of Technology

John Halligan

217. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the projected cost of the proposed merger between Waterford Institute of Technology and Carlow Institute of Technology; if parallel management structures will be retained at each institute after the merger; the projected cost of retaining parallel management structures at each institution; the amount that has been spent to date by each college on due diligence on the proposed merger; the amount the State will contribute to the cost of the proposed merger; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12384/15]

Institutes of Technology

John Halligan

218. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update regarding the proposed construction of a new campus for Waterford Institute of Technology at Carriganore in County Waterford; the estimated cost of the building project; the amount the Government has committed to the project; the way the shortfall will be made up; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12385/15]

Scientific Research

Terence Flanagan

219. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the concerns of a substantial number of science academics that the current science policies of the Government are negatively affecting research and science education; if she will meet with academics to discuss their concerns first-hand, with a view to making changes to current policies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12389/15]

School Curriculum

Terence Flanagan

220. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to promote the teaching of sign language in schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12390/15]

Legislative Process

Pearse Doherty

221. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of items of legislation that have been submitted for pre-legislative scrutiny by her Department since 2011; her plans to allow pre-legislative scrutiny for any upcoming legislation from her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12411/15]

Coinníollacha Oibre Mhúinteoirí Bunscoile

Éamon Ó Cuív

222. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna cén uair a athraíodh na rialacha maidir le saoire mháithreachais do mhúinteoirí bunscoile; go mór mhór do dhaoine a mbíonn páistí acu i rith Mhí Iúil agus Lúnasa; ar aontaigh Cumann Múinteoirí Éireann leis na socruithe nua; agus an ndéanfaidh sí ráiteas ina thaobh. [12425/15]

School Patronage

Olivia Mitchell

223. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Education and Skills when the patronage determination process will commence for the new primary school in the Goatstown-Stillorgan area of County Dublin; the timeframe for this process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12432/15]

School Accommodation Provision

Tom Fleming

224. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will examine a submission by a school (details supplied) in County Kerry for additional accommodation space and for continuing the replacement of deteriorating prefabricated buildings. [12433/15]

Schools Building Projects Status

Terence Flanagan

225. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a new school building will be provided in respect of a school (details supplied) in Dublin 13; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12464/15]

Residential Institutions Redress Scheme Eligibility

Clare Daly

226. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an explanation for the inordinate delays regarding the operation of the Caranua scheme and the stress being caused to applicants by waiting periods of nine to ten months before they are contacted. [12472/15]

Residential Institutions Redress Scheme Eligibility

Clare Daly

227. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the criteria used in respect of determining hardship in the context of the Caranua handbook, in view of the fact that this is an area which applicants believe is being too harshly monitored and that these criteria could be employed to provide necessary relief for those who are continuing to suffer as a result of abuse they experienced. [12473/15]

Residential Institutions Redress Scheme Eligibility

Clare Daly

228. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to amend the residential institutions statutory fund in order that the partners and children of the survivors of residential abuse can gain some of the assistance outlined in respect of the Caranua fund, in view of the fact that they are also suffering and that their needs are often a huge source of stress to the abuse victim. [12474/15]

Educational Projects

Michael McGrath

229. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the role she envisages certain third level institutions will play in a project (details supplied) in County Cork; the funds that have been committed towards the project by these institutions and her Department or any body under its aegis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12541/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Catherine Murphy

230. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will account for the under-provision of spaces for children with special needs in the east Offaly/west Kildare area; her plans to address this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12549/15]

School Staff

Sean Conlan

231. Deputy Seán Conlan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will reverse her Department's decision to place a permanent teacher at a school (details supplied) in County Cavan onto the panel, in circumstances where the school has in excess of 25 hours allocated for resource and learning support, and has now lost two permeant teachers in one year. [12657/15]

Non-Principal Private Residence Charge Administration

Willie O'Dea

232. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware that many persons who reside outside the country and own homes here were unaware of the introduction of the non-principal private residence tax, and yet they are now facing interest and penalties for not paying the original tax; his views that this is fair; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12540/15]

Local Authority Funding

Clare Daly

233. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware that his Department set aside an allocation of €1 million in additional funding for Sligo County Council in 2014, conditional on a realistic financial plan being agreed between his Department and the council by the end of 2014; that the Department decided to provide only €250,000 of the €1 million to the council, and that in the absence of a detailed plan being agreed before the end of 2014, no further payment was made to the council; if there are ongoing negotiations between his Department and the council in respect of the remaining €750,000; if the decision not to pay the €750,000 to the council is final or if will his Department will reconsider the matter, if a realistic financial plan is submitted to it; if consideration will be given to adding the €750,000 to the extra €1 million allocation set aside for 2015, if a realistic and achievable financial plan is agreed to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12365/15]

Local Authority Housing Maintenance

Joe Costello

234. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of housing voids in Dublin City Council; the number back into use by the council in 2014 and in 2015 to date; the average length of time for repairs to be carried out; the amount of money drawn down by the council from his Department to bring voids into use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12373/15]

Private Residential Tenancies Board Remit

Joe Costello

235. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce legislation to provide certainty and security in the residential rental market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12379/15]

Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme

Joe Costello

236. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will re-establish the inner city partnership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12380/15]

Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme Funding

Joe Costello

237. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware that the budget for community groups in Dublin’s inner city has fallen in 2015 by 38% for the period April to December 2014; the steps he will take to address this anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12381/15]

Local Authority Housing Provision

Joe Costello

238. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason he plans to spend €75,000 per unit to refurbish 70 temporary units of accommodation in O’Devaney Gardens in Dublin 7, when the O’Devaney Gardens site has been proposed over the past ten years for a major programme of regeneration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12382/15]

Irish Water Establishment

Thomas P. Broughan

239. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will immediately dissolve Irish Water and return moneys and responsibility to local authorities for local water supplies and maintenance. [12399/15]

Proposed Legislation

Pearse Doherty

240. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of Bills that were submitted for pre-legislative scrutiny by his Department since 2011; his plans to allow pre-legislative scrutiny for any upcoming legislation from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12412/15]

Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas

Brendan Griffin

241. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the findings of the report of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas have been costed; if he will consider selecting an area (details supplied) in County Kerry to pilot the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12430/15]

Private Residential Tenancies Board

Barry Cowen

242. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details on the operation and financing of the proposed deposit retention scheme that is to be provided for in the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2012; his plans that the custodial model proposed will be self-financing; and the factors that would mitigate against the scheme being self-financing. [12451/15]

Waste Management

Barry Cowen

243. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details of the proposed full producer responsibility initiative scheme for waste tyres; if there will be significant costs associated with the new obligation for retailers and producers and additional costs for consumers; and the measures being put in place to ensure the new obligation will not lead to commercial activity migrating to other jurisdictions with less costly compliance schemes. [12453/15]

Constitutional Amendments

Robert Dowds

244. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reasons the Government could not proceed with a referendum to insert a clause into the Constitution to prohibit the privatisation of water at any point in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12465/15]

Pyrite Remediation Programme

Ruth Coppinger

245. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason a letter from the Pyrite Remediation Board, stating that a house is scheduled for remediation due to severe damage, would not suffice as proof that it suffered significant pyritic damage to claim an exemption from the local property tax from the Revenue Commissioners. [12481/15]

Motor Tax Collection

Patrick O'Donovan

246. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding commercial motor tax designation on scheduled commercial vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12496/15]

Housing Adaptation Grant Data

Patrick O'Donovan

247. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide, in tabular form by county, the number of persons awaiting assistance under the housing aid for older persons scheme and the mobility aids grant scheme; the total amount required by each local authority in respect of approvals made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12504/15]

Seaweed Harvesting Potential

Michelle Mulherin

248. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on whether moving the administration and issue of seaweed harvesting licences to local authorities or other municipal entities would unduly fragment the accountability and responsibilities of private enterprise engaged in this activity, and that the preference should be to keep a national focus in the development of our seaweed industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12516/15]

Seaweed Harvesting Potential

Michelle Mulherin

249. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the State's legal position on historical seaweed rights being asserted by certain landowners along the foreshore and the extent of these rights; the consequent restriction or impact on the State's ability to issue licences for seaweed harvesting to third parties along these sections of foreshore; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12517/15]

Departmental Records

Lucinda Creighton

250. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason there were no minutes of meetings held between his Department and Bord Gáis Energy on dates (details supplied); the subject of these meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12519/15]

Voluntary Sector Funding

Michael McCarthy

251. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the future of funding for the scheme to support national organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12538/15]

Leader Programmes Funding

Catherine Murphy

252. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown of Leader programme funding awarded by county in each of the past seven years and in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12561/15]

Local Authority Housing Provision

Bernard Durkan

253. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which his attention has been drawn to the housing needs of Army overholders at the Curragh, County Kildare; the number accommodated through the local authority over the past ten years; the extent to which it might be expected to meet these needs in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12587/15]