Parliamentary questions

Industrial Relations

Bríd Smith

34. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she will take action to stop companies (details supplied) which are trying to usurp the countries labour machinery and laws that give basic protections to workers such as the Minimum Wage Act and so on. [22915/16]

Workplace Relations Services Staff

Bríd Smith

45. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to ensure that the appropriate State bodies tasked with safeguarding the rights of workers are appropriately staffed and resourced to combat attempts by employers to break labour laws that seek to provide workers with basic protections. [22763/16]

Employment Rights

Bríd Smith

56. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she is concerned about the increasing number of workers being asked by employers to sign contracts which designate them as self-employed and not as employees who have statutory rights. [22764/16]

Employment Rights

Bríd Smith

58. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps she will take to ensure that any employer in receipt of contracts from the State for the provision of certain services is compliant with the labour laws of the country which afford protections to workers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22766/16]

Economic Data

Bríd Smith

66. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she is aware of a recent report that describes Ireland as a low wage economy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22765/16]

Workplace Relations Services Staff

Bríd Smith

71. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of staff currently working in the Workplace Relations Commission and the numbers that worked in the previously named Labour Relations Commission and Employment Appeals Tribunal and associated bodies. [22767/16]

Public Transport Provision

Bríd Smith

61. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is concerned at the impact of tendering processes underway with Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann routes could have on the conditions and livelihoods of transport workers. [22484/16]

Public Transport

Bríd Smith

88. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the pay claims being discussed for transport workers, considering the time since these workers received a pay rise and the number of cost cutting deals these workers agreed over the past decade, alongside the substantial cuts to transport funding by governments over the same period which had serious consequences for those working in the State's transport companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22485/16]

Middle East Peace Process

Bríd Smith

480. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline his views on Palestine's Call, the open letter from 45 Palestinians political and civil groups calling on the Government to act to bring justice to Palestine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21955/16]

Middle East Peace Process

Bríd Smith

481. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the actions he will take in view of Palestine's Call, the open letter sent to all Oireachtas Members from Palestinian civil and political groups. [21956/16]

Middle East Peace Process

Bríd Smith

482. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will address the issues raised in Palestine's Call, the open letter recently sent to all Oireachtas Members from Palestinian civil and political society; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21957/16]

Middle East Peace Process

Bríd Smith

483. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the way in which he will respond to the open letter from Palestinian civil and political society sent to all Oireachtas Members, Palestine's Call; and the action he will take to exert pressure on the state of Israel, through the use of sanctions and other parliamentary actions, to end its illegal occupation of Palestine and to grant Palestinian people their rights in accordance with United Nations resolutions and international law, as requested in the letter. [21958/16]

Departmental Budgets

Bríd Smith

20. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to spend any savings as a result of the privatisation of the national broadband plan; the portion he expects to spend on climate change mitigation and prevention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21591/16]

Departmental Agencies Board Appointments

Bríd Smith

29. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to consider reserving a place on the board of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland for a non-governmental organisation with a track record of environmental campaigning in the area of sustainability and climate change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21595/16]

Gas Exploration Revenue

Bríd Smith

247. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the estimated value of the Corrib gas supply in its first year of operation and the estimated value of revenues the State expects directly from that gas flow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21762/16]

Trade Agreements

Bríd Smith

43. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he considered the implications for Irish agriculture of the ratification of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement; his views on the likely impact of these treaties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21264/16]

UK Referendum on EU Membership

Bríd Smith

62. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the consequences for Ireland's fishing industry and those who depend on it in view of the British exit from the EU. [21263/16]

Home Care Packages Provision

Bríd Smith

18. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the increases in staffing that have been achieved to deal with the crisis under the home help scheme and the carer respite services; the number of persons who are in hospital with their discharge delayed who are waiting to access these services; the number of carers who have been unable to continue as carers, due to the lack of respite services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20910/16]

General Practitioner Services

Bríd Smith

27. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the actions he is taking to progress the development, staff levels and contracts of general practitioners including the provision of care free at the point of use to persons under 12 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20909/16]

Abortion Services Provision

Bríd Smith

550. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if he believes that the recent United Nation's condemnation of Ireland's treatment of pregnant woman in need of abortions shows that this and previous Governments' failure to legislate or to seek to repeal the eighth amendment proves that Ireland may indeed be guilty of cruelty and inhumane treatment of all female citizens. [17506/16]

Easter Rising Commemorations

Bríd Smith

59. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht how the State paid a sum of €5 million to purchase 14 to 17 Moore Street, Dublin 1, including details of the valuation process of the properties and details of recipients of said moneys; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19852/16]

Public Sector Pay

Bríd Smith

49. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has undertaken any study or research into the effect on the Public Service of the reduction in starting salaries of newly qualified teachers, nurses and other Public Servants. [19717/16]

Public Sector Pay

Bríd Smith

52. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to reverse the reductions in the starting salaries of newly qualified teachers, nurses and other public sector workers. [19716/16]

Property Tax Exemptions

Bríd Smith

127. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the thresholds above which social protection clients will be liable for local property tax deductions; and the number of such clients who are liable for deductions in the Dublin South Central constituency. [19909/16]

National Monuments

Bríd Smith

199. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht how the State paid a sum of €5 million to purchase Nos. 14 to 17 Moore Street, Dublin 1, including details of the valuation process of the properties and of the recipients of the said moneys. [20058/16]

National Monuments

Bríd Smith

201. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the provisions she has made to protect Sceilig Mhichíl, Contae Chiarraí, from damage during the filming there; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15604/16]

Human Rights

Bríd Smith

30. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to bring home a person (details supplied) from his detention in Egypt. [19410/16]

Middle East Issues

Bríd Smith

48. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is concerned at the treatment of Palestinian academics in the West Bank and Gaza at the hands of the Israeli Defence Force; and his plans to raise this issue with the Israeli ambassador. [19411/16]

Home Help Service

Bríd Smith

556. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of applications for home help hours applied for in Dublin city by area; the number of those applications which qualified for home help hours; and the number provided to those who qualify for home help. [19536/16]

Community Childcare Subvention Programme

Bríd Smith

691. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of the 8,000 community child care subvention scheme places from budget 2016 which have become available; the level of the uptake from child care service providers; and the number of places which have become available since the scheme was launched, by area, in Dublin and nationwide. [19546/16]

Employment Support Services

Bríd Smith

18. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on whether it is appropriate for his Department to insist persons who are unemployed are sent on training courses to an organisation (details supplied) that professes itself to operate with a Christian ethos; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18772/16]

Employment Support Services

Bríd Smith

20. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if he funds in any way an organisation (details supplied); and if so, if he is monitoring the success it has in helping persons currently unemployed achieve employment. [18771/16]

Social Welfare Benefits

Bríd Smith

137. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will carry out an impact assessment on the cuts to the one-parent family payment to analyse the impact of these cuts on child poverty and to ascertain if this has directly added to the high poverty levels of children living in one-parent households; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15214/16]

School Enrolments

Bríd Smith

17. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he is aware that the consequences of the policy of the patron of a school (details supplied) in refusing to enrol new children is having a detrimental effect on class sizes in adjacent schools; his plans to open a community national school in an area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18290/16]

Equality Legislation

Bríd Smith

34. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the advice his Department sought or received on the constitutional issues in relation to amending the Equal Status Act, to cease discrimination on school admission. [18289/16]

Departmental Staff Remuneration

Bríd Smith

135. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount saved by having a lower level of pay for new recruits to the public service in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13012/16]

Climate Change Policy

Bríd Smith

238. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware of the recent confirmation from scientists in the southern hemisphere that global levels of carbon dioxide have passed 400 parts per million; if he is concerned that such levels pose a threat to the earth's biodiversity and to human civilisation, given that the last time levels reached this stage humans did not exist; the radical steps he proposes to cut emissions of carbon dioxide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16175/16]

Climate Change Policy

Bríd Smith

239. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is concerned that the new structures introduced into the various Ministries and their respective responsibilities mean a downgrading of climate change as an issue, and to outline which Minister is responsible for answering questions relating to climate change. [17120/16]

Family Income Supplement Data

Bríd Smith

270. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the details of legislation which changed family income supplement, FIS, to be means tested for rent allowance by local authorities and social housing bodies (details supplied). [18166/16]

Direct Provision System

Bríd Smith

13. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will bring forth proposals to end the inhuman conditions attached to the direct provision model operating under her control; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17151/16]

Refugee Resettlement Programme

Bríd Smith

58. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if Ireland has met its moral obligations to act in the refugee crisis in the Middle East and elsewhere, given that the figures for the number of refugees that Ireland has accepted are below the targets that the Government has set and that her Department has stated that it has not as yet decided on a mechanism to increase the numbers of refugees admitted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17150/16]

Public Sector Pay

Bríd Smith

89. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount saved by having a lower level of pay for new recruits in her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13012/16]

Industrial Disputes

Bríd Smith

558. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is aware of the actions of management at an organisation (details supplied). [16977/16]

Industrial Disputes

Bríd Smith

559. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will intervene in the ongoing strike at an organisation (details supplied) to make clear that this Government is opposed to employers forcibly making staff redundant in the selective manner that management has tried to do here and that Government funding will not be dispensed to employers who treat their workers in this manner. [16978/16]

Industrial Disputes

Bríd Smith

560. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she aware of the actions of an organisation (details supplied). [17167/16]

Defence Forces Operations

Bríd Smith

570. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he shares the sentiments of his counterpart in Finland, the Finnish Defence Minister, Jussi Niinistö, who recently stated that he supports reform of Finnish law to provide a legal mandate to expand the Finnish Defence Forces ability to participate in European wide international crisis management; and if those who opposed Ireland's participation in the United Kingdom led battle group which also had Finnish participation would be concerned with this statement in view of general concerns regarding the use and purpose of such battle groups. [16782/16]

Defence Forces Operations

Bríd Smith

571. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he shares the views of his predecessor, who stated he wanted Ireland to become a testing zone for advanced military and weapons guidance systems (details supplied); and if he will assure Dáil Éireann that he does not wish Ireland to become a haven for firms trading or researching such weapons of mass destruction. [16783/16]

Energy Policy

Bríd Smith

18. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his proposals to swiftly situate Ireland as a carbon dioxide-free energy user; the steps he will take to ensure Ireland no longer relies on imports of fossil fuels, on the future extraction of energy sources or on hydraulic fracturing in Ireland that would contribute to carbon dioxide levels rising, given that carbon dioxide levels have surpassed 400 parts per million and that the rate of increase is greater than at any previous time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16179/16]

Low Pay

Bríd Smith

55. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she is concerned at a recent report that shows that young persons and women are hardest hit by the growth of low wages; and if the phenomenal increase in the low wage sector undermines any claim this or the previous Government made regarding economic success. [15832/16]

Joint Labour Committees

Bríd Smith

57. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the action she proposes to take to encourage the joint labour committees to sit, formulate and impose employment regulation orders where the JLCs have not met; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15831/16]