Parliamentary questions

EU Presidency Expenditure

Micheál Martin

64. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the basis upon which it was decided where to spend the public funding on promoting the Irish Presidency and if moneys were spent on any newspaper supplements or advertisements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33979/13]

EU Presidency Expenditure

Micheál Martin

65. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if moneys were spent on promoting or outlining achievements during Ireland's EU Presidency after the Presidency was concluded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33980/13]

Departmental Advertising Campaigns

Micheál Martin

66. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will list the national and local newspapers that his Department would have placed articles in on a commercial basis in the past six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33981/13]

EU Presidency Expenditure

Brendan Smith

67. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the cost associated with publication of the special report on the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the Irish Independent on 5 July 2013, the Metro Herald on 2 July 2013 and any other similar publications, either online or printed, within the past month or planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33988/13]

Emigrant Support Services

Thomas P. Broughan

68. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there will be a further round of emigrant support programmes brought on stream later this year. [34000/13]

Diplomatic Representation Issues

Andrew Doyle

69. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline, in tabular form, the most recent visit that ambassadors and officials from his Department have taken from their various Embassies of Ireland, where they are permanently based around the world, to countries that particular embassies have secondary accreditation to other nations; the general guidelines that are issued from his Department for officials visiting countries where secondary accreditation is in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34072/13]

Foreign Conflicts

Brendan Smith

70. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had with his European counterparts regarding the current political crisis in Egypt; if the EU is proposing to adopt a common approach on this crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34128/13]

VAT Rates Application

Sandra McLellan

71. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Finance if he will maintain the current rate of 9% VAT for the restaurant sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33946/13]

EU Directives

Andrew Doyle

72. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 169 of 28 May 2013, if he will detail the representations received by him and his Department from industry stakeholders and organisation regarding the markets in financial instruments directive regarding the expansion or watering down of the directive; if he will provide a full list of the persons and organisations from whom these representations came; the number of meetings he and/or his Department officials have had with stakeholders and interested parties regarding MiFID; with whom they were held and the date on which they took place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33996/13]

Vehicle Registration Issues

Joe McHugh

73. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Finance the numbers of new motor-homes that have been registered in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; if he will consider reviewing the decision by the previous Government to introduce VRT in respect of motor-homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34017/13]

Banking Sector Regulation

Clare Daly

74. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied that Allied Irish Banks has a valid licence in accordance with the Central Bank Act 1942 and is lawfully entitled to accept deposits. [34076/13]

Fuel Laundering

Heather Humphreys

75. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance the number of instances of fuel laundering detected in counties Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, Meath and Donegal for each of the past five years; the number of these cases that were brought to court; the number of convictions arising from these cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34077/13]

Credit Unions Regulation

Finian McGrath

76. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if a final report on strengthening the credit union movement has been provided to the troika and the proposals the report contains; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34097/13]

Mortgage Arrears Proposals

Michael McGrath

77. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if the banks subject to the mortgage arrears resolution targets programme have reported on their compliance with the targets set for 30 June 2013, when the targets will be set for completion of agreements between borrowers and lenders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34117/13]

Pension Provisions

Michael McGrath

78. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance his plans to address the pension deficit at the Central Bank of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34118/13]

Tax Reliefs Availability

Dan Neville

79. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Finance if persons who are council tenants, have inherited a house which is not habitable as a family unit and they need to obtain a mortgage and planning permission to extend the house have an entitlement to mortgage allowance as vacating tenants moving to private ownership; will they have to either buy or build in the new house to become eligible for mortgage allowance. [34133/13]

Tax Collection

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

80. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Finance in July 2011, in response to a parliamentary question, in which he stated that the profits earned from the provision of stallion stud services in the income tax and corporation tax returns for 2009 were €500,000 for income tax and €4 million for corporation tax, if he will supply the corresponding profit figures for 2010, 2011 and 2012. [34162/13]

Tax Collection

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

81. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Finance in July 2011, in response to a parliamentary question, in which he stated that the profits earned from the provision of stallion stud services in the income tax and corporation tax returns for 2009 were €500,000 for income tax and €4 million for corporation tax, if he will quantify the amount of tax paid to the Exchequer on these profits. [34163/13]

Tax Collection

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

82. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Finance if he will quantify the income tax paid on the profits earned from the provision of stallion stud services in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012. [34164/13]

Tax Collection

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

83. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Finance the amount of tax generated by the Exchequer from stallion fees for each of the years, 2008 to 2012 inclusive, since the introduction of the current scheme for taxation of stallion profits and gains on 1 August 2008. [34165/13]

Tax Collection

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

84. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Finance if he will identify the amount of tax revenue to the Exchequer foregone as a result of the current scheme for the taxation of stallion profits and gains introduced on 1 August 2008. [34166/13]

Tax Collection

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

85. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Finance the reason the Revenue Commissioners do not specifically identify tax collected under the current scheme for the taxation of stallion profits and gains introduced on 1 August 2008, which has enabled many stallion owners to shelter tax and, as a result, pay no tax or very little tax to the Exchequer. [34167/13]

Tax Collection

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

86. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Finance the reason he has no visibility of the amount of tax collected and foregone under the current scheme for the taxation of stallion profits or gains introduced on 1 August 2008. [34168/13]

Tax Collection

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

87. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Finance if he will request the Revenue Commissioners to provide a report with an analysis of the tax paid by corporate and individual stallion owners for the duration of the current scheme for the taxation of stallion profits or gains introduced on 1 August 2008. [34169/13]

Tax Collection

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

88. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Finance the reason he has no visibility whatsoever of the contribution of revenues to the Exchequer as a result of taxation legislation covering stallion profits and gains, particularly in view of the scale of the horse breeding sector here. [34170/13]

School Staffing

Ciaran Lynch

89. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the employment conditions of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33955/13]

School Transport Eligibility

John McGuinness

90. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the school transport needs of persons (details supplied) in County Kilkenny will be examined with a view to granting them a place on the school transport scheme; and if he will expedite a response. [33959/13]

Student Grant Scheme Applications

Denis Naughten

91. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Skills when Student Universal Support Ireland will make a final determination on a grant application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33977/13]

Schools Refurbishment

Noel Coonan

92. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a refurbishment project for a school (details supplied) in County Tipperary; the timeframe for completion of works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33978/13]

Schools Building Projects Status

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

93. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the provision of permanent accommodation for a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34020/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Andrew Doyle

94. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Education and Skills the supports available to school leavers with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34034/13]

Student Grant Scheme Payments

Charlie McConalogue

95. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a Student Universal Support Ireland grant has still not been paid to a college in respect of a student (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34053/13]

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Eoghan Murphy

96. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he is considering restructuring the current process of allocating resource teaching posts in favour of a ratio system (details supplied) that would allocate a resource teacher based on the number of mainstream teachers employed in a school. [34054/13]

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Eoghan Murphy

97. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he is considering putting in place measures that will ensure that resource teachers and special needs assistants are not assigned to more than one school; and the reason special needs assistants are paid on a 32 hour basis when the primary school week is approximately 26 hours long. [34055/13]

Third Level Facilities

Michael Healy-Rae

98. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the statutory limitations on what he describes as the statutory autonomy of publicly funded universities. [34056/13]

Third Level Facilities

Michael Healy-Rae

99. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the exclusion of the public from the libraries of publicly funded universities. [34057/13]

Third Level Facilities

Michael Healy-Rae

100. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there are reasonable grounds for contending that the functions of a university were being performed in a manner which prima facie constitutes a breach of the laws, statutes, or ordinances applicable to the university; if he has ever been of that opinion; the university or universities on which he has had that opinion. [34058/13]

Third Level Facilities

Michael Healy-Rae

101. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason he maintains that the publicly funded universities are at liberty to exclude as a rule the public from their libraries; his views on what is meant by promoting learning in society generally, one of the statutory objects of universities, according to section 12 of the Universities Act 1997, if not the admission and use of the public of the libraries of publicly funded universities. [34059/13]

Site Acquisitions

Andrew Doyle

102. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update in tabular form of all school sites purchased by his Department in 2012 and to date in 2013; the price paid for each site; the size of each site; the address of each site; the name of the vendor of each site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34087/13]

Student Grant Scheme Eligibility

Martin Heydon

103. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the eligibility of PhD students for grant assistance beyond four years in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34100/13]

School Accommodation

Gerry Adams

104. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Education and Skills the cost of the temporary accommodation on the site of a school (details supplied) in County Louth for a proposed autism unit which the National Council for Special Education proposed; if the accommodation has been purchased or leased by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34102/13]

Schools Building Projects Status

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

105. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the development of a new school (details provided) in County Dublin ; if that school is part of the new build schedule; the date on which works will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34123/13]

Schools Building Regulations

Martin Heydon

106. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Education and Skills the role his Department has in improving road safety and parking issues at a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; the plans in place in this regard for this school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34127/13]

Student Grant Scheme Eligibility

Bernard Durkan

107. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent of further assistance by way of higher education grant available in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34135/13]

Oireachtas Members' Remuneration

Eric J. Byrne

108. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reasons behind the payment of a whips allowance to the Socialist Party and the People Before Profit Alliance in view of the fact that both of these parties only have one member in Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33989/13]

Oireachtas Members' Remuneration

Eric J. Byrne

109. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number and names of all Deputies in Dáil Éireann who receive the independent leader's allowance; the amount they receive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33990/13]

Public Sector Staff Issues

Finian McGrath

110. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if a civil servant can be sacked or sent home if they have a mental illness; and the procedures that are in place to safeguard persons with a mental disability in the Civil Service [33992/13]

Oireachtas Members' Remuneration

Eric J. Byrne

111. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason behind the payment of a whips allowance to the Socialist Party and the People Before Profit Alliance in view of the fact that these parties only have one member in Dáil Éireann and for a group to be recognised for speaking rights in Dáil Éireann it requires seven members; the reason this payment is made to these Deputies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33993/13]

Flood Relief Schemes Applications

Michael McGrath

112. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he expects a flood relief project (details supplied) in County Cork to be approved and a contract awarded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34037/13]

State Properties

Thomas P. Broughan

113. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of State owned properties in the Dublin City Council area that are currently vacant; and if any of these properties are to sold off by the council. [34001/13]