Parliamentary questions

Firearms Licences

Clare Daly

165. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if any changes have taken place regarding the registration of firearms; the rationale for these changes; and if it is the case that An Garda Síochána has been automatically refusing licences. [8555/14]

General Practitioner Services

Clare Daly

232. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will immediately engage with general practitioner representatives to agree a suitable contract for the under six medical card scheme in view of the serious problems identified by these representatives with the contract which has been drafted. [8556/14]

Public Transport

Clare Daly

106. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason public transport workers have endured a significant erosion of their wages and terms and conditions of employment on cost-cutting grounds, while the State hands over €50 million per annum to the developers of the Westlink toll bridge which has already been paid for many times over and millions more to consortia which built motorways that not enough cars are using. [7522/14]

Aviation Issues

Clare Daly

111. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his proposals to make the relevant aviation regulatory bodies subject to freedom of information legislation, to enable the public to be fully assured that their safety is being safeguarded to the highest extent and in the most transparent way possible. [7521/14]

Public Transport Provision

Clare Daly

114. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will outline a strategy in relation to the urgent necessity to deliver Metro North. [7523/14]

Sport and Recreational Development

Clare Daly

118. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in view of Ireland's boxing success, if he will prioritise working with the Irish Amateur Boxing Association to develop a major boxing training facility in Swords as a strategic location, near the airport for international and local development of the sport. [7519/14]

Property Tax Exemptions

Clare Daly

217. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance his views on a matter relating to pyrite and the property tax (details supplied). [8212/14]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Clare Daly

277. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm or deny that a report was done for the National Council for Special Education and his Department pre-2005, since the assumption is that they have used some guideline or report to base their recommendations based on the working hours of the 4,000 schools in the country, since his Department was responsible for the generation of the report, which has been used under appendix 5 of Sp. Ed. 01/05, since the NCSE did not have such information, or had come into effect. [7974/14]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Clare Daly

278. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the name of report used by his Department and the National Council for Special Education for creating Sp. Ed. 01/05, appendix 5, or request the NCSE to release the report which it used as the guideline based on the working hours of the 4,000 schools in the country, under the Freedom of Information Act; and if not, if he will provide a valid reason for same. [7975/14]

Pensions Reform

Clare Daly

354. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the terms of reference of the ad hoc group that she is chairing in relation to pensions in the State sector. [7465/14]

Inland Waterways Development

Clare Daly

427. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will amend the proposed draft canal by-laws to reflect the huge number of submissions from the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland. [7662/14]

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission

Clare Daly

547. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality in view of the seriousness of the surveillance on GSOC, when he was made aware of this; and if he will provide assurances that this surveillance not was carried out on behalf of members of the Garda who were being investigated by GSOC. [7508/14]

Hepatitis C Compensation Payments

Clare Daly

689. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason various figures outlined in Parliamentary Question No. 238 of 6 February 2014 contradict published accounts on the hepatitis C website; if he will explain the way payments figures were treated in the two accounts held by his Department; and if he will request a comprehensive, independent audit of the hepatitis C tribunal with particular reference to a fictitious surplus built up over two years. [7550/14]

Legislative Measures

Clare Daly

777. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he argued for any extra provisions to be made in the forthcoming legislation on protection of whistleblowers to protect any employees of airlines or companies associated with the provision or operation of aircraft or flight crew, who may wish to disclose information which they consider to be of significance to protecting the safety of the travelling public; and in view of some serious incidents which have occurred in the aviation sector. [7996/14]

Midwifery Services

Clare Daly

24. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will remove the public services recruitment embargo in respect of midwives as a matter of urgency in view of the closure of Mount Carmel Hospital, which is placing further pressures on maternity hospitals to accommodate 1,200 additional births every year, and in view of the confirmation of severe midwifery staffing shortages, which are jeopardising pregnant women’s care and which have been known to his Department since 2006 and to the Health Service Executive since 2008 when its own KPMG study reported a shortage of 221 midwives in the greater Dublin region. [6706/14]

European Court of Human Rights Judgments

Clare Daly

62. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he has assessed the implications of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in a case (details supplied) for the 250 or so legal actions for medical negligence taken by survivors of symphysiotomy and pubiotomy. [6707/14]

Residential Institutions Redress Scheme

Clare Daly

113. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if persons are being employed under JobBridge or any other labour activation scheme in relation to operating Caranua; and his views on whether it is appropriate that unqualified persons would work in such a sensitive area with persons who are extremely vulnerable as a result of the abuse they suffered. [7345/14]

Residential Institutions Redress Scheme

Clare Daly

114. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the Linden Home in Blackrock was excluded from the residential institutions redress scheme; and the steps that are open to former residents to obtain redress. [7365/14]

Office of Public Works Staff

Clare Daly

128. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of engineers and technical staff who have left the flood management section over the past five years and not been replaced; the amount of money paid during that time on reports carried out by external engineers; and the number of those reports that were commissioned to Irish-based engineers and companies. [7347/14]

Pension Provisions

Clare Daly

148. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection in view of the Element Six Commercial Court decision delivered on 4 February 2014, if the Pensions Board guidance notes will now give formal recognition to compensation funds which are being proposed, as well as comments on the expected behaviour of employers and the relationship between a funding proposal and contract. [7360/14]

Social Welfare Code

Clare Daly

149. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason the monthly docket system for casual workers is being replaced by a requirement for workers to submit their dockets to the local social welfare office on a weekly basis. [7361/14]

Garda Vetting of Personnel

Clare Daly

193. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when gardaí will be told that their vetting process is to adhere to the National Vetting Bureau Act 2012, since this Bill became an Act of law upon the President's signature on 26 December 2012, under which those convicted under section 1(1) of the Probation Act 1906 would finally see the minor details of their offences deemed withheld upon the grounds of specified information, that is, upon the nature of the given offence, as such a conviction may not be revealed if it deems one not to be a threat to children or vulnerable people; and the reason citizens are not being vetted in accordance with the new law. [7335/14]

Asylum Applications

Clare Daly

194. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 459 of 25 June 2013, the number of persons living in direct provision and elsewhere here who made their application for protection more than five years ago and are awaiting or engaged in asylum related judicial review proceedings; and if he will provide a breakdown by duration of persons within this group who have has deportation orders made against them, and by duration and current stage of asylum process of persons within this group who do not have deportation orders against them. [7362/14]

Hospitals Building Programme

Clare Daly

256. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will direct the Health Service Executive to organise a public briefing for the community in Portrane and Donabate and elected public representatives with regard to the redevelopment plans currently on display by Fingal County Council relating to the redevelopment of lands at St. Ita's Hospital in Portrane. [7363/14]

Public Transport Initiatives

Clare Daly

299. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the terms of reference of the consultation for the bus rapid transit corridor and swiftway system which commences on 17 February 2014; with whom will the final route decisions rest; and the role of the local authorities in same. [7364/14]

Adoption Records Provision

Clare Daly

25. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in view of the undeniable evidence, in writing, that religious run adoption agencies participated in and facilitated illegal adoptions, the reason neither her Department nor the Adoption Authority of Ireland has carried out an audit of every adoption record held in the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6523/14]

National Carers Strategy Status

Clare Daly

36. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the plans she has to support the thousands of children in the State who are currently acting as carers. [6524/14]

Forestry Sector

Clare Daly

109. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will explain the connection between Coillte and the Irish Forestry Unit Trust; and the steps he has taken to examine the trust deed of the IForUT committing Coillte to providing liquidity to the fund if needed and selling forests to the IForUT without these forests being put out to tender. [6324/14]

Animal Welfare

Clare Daly

116. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extra resources he has targeted to deal with the increasing levels of animal cruelty and abandonment; and if he will ensure that those responsible face very considerable penalties. [6323/14]

Pensions Levy

Clare Daly

149. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance if he will abolish the pension levy on pension scheme assets. [6419/14]

Autism Support Services

Clare Daly

203. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the National Council for Special Education is undertaking new research on advising him on the preparation of a policy document on educating children with autism in view of the fact that the NCSE commissioned research in 2008 which it described as the most extensive research in the area of special education. [6430/14]

Autism Support Services

Clare Daly

204. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if Project IRIS only included one ASD unit despite the fact that more than 500 such ASD units have been rolled out throughout the country over the past number of years. [6431/14]

National Monuments

Clare Daly

233. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he will take to ensure that the Croppies Acre monument to the insurgents of 1798 is cleaned and opened to the public by being appropriately monitored so that it can be used by residents and tourists as intended. [6174/14]

Pensions Legislation

Clare Daly

300. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will introduce legislative changes in order to emphasise employer responsibility for pension schemes and for funding future pension protection schemes, as is the case in most other EU countries. [6418/14]

Control of Dogs

Clare Daly

362. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will clarify whether section 9 of the Control of Dogs Act 1986 outlaws a person from tying up their dog outside a shop for a brief period; and what "keeps it under effectual control" means. [6422/14]

Garda Oversight

Clare Daly

461. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has read the Frontline Defenders report Breakdown in Trust published in 2010; if he has read the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders on their visit to Ireland, published March 2013; the reason he has not taken into account the recommendations in both reports calling for the repeal of section 106 of the GSA Act 2005; and if he will finally and immediately repeal section 106 by which the independence of GSOC is compromised. [6731/14]

Aquaculture Development

Clare Daly

509. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will detail the damage to aquaculture operations during the recent stormy weather; the number of fish which escaped as reported to his Department under the licensing conditions for fin fish operations, with specific reference to a company (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he is satisfied that fish escaping from salmon farms have not and will not have an irreversible impact on the genetic integrity of native wild salmon stocks. [6714/14]

Aquaculture Licence Application Numbers

Clare Daly

510. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a list of the current and any outstanding applications for temporary aquaculture licences, together with their terms. [6715/14]

Aquaculture Licences

Clare Daly

511. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a list of all unauthorised aquaculture operations of which he is aware; the method of inspections on which he bases this information; and his views on whether the current licence regulation is adequate. [6716/14]

Aquaculture Development

Clare Daly

512. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 660 and 661 of 15 January 2014 if he is satisfied that his Department is fully compliant with the Aarhus Convention in regard to the provision of environmental information; if he will make available the aquaculture and foreshore licences applications with their maps online, together with the decisions when made; and the reasons requirements regarding copies of objections and instructions for lodging an appeal, as is the custom with development applications within the jurisdiction of local authorities, were not met. [6717/14]

Health Services

Clare Daly

568. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) has not been given the medical treatment they were promised [6176/14]

Environmental Policy

Clare Daly

635. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will investigate the health implications arising from Professor Jacqueline McGlade's report for the European Environment Agency in terms of assessing the cost of air pollution, which the Irish Environmental Forum has put before him showing the effects emissions from the seven plants are causing to the health of people and the impact this is having on the health service. [6779/14]

EU Battle Groups

Clare Daly

12. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Defence the State's commitment to participation in EU battlegroups in terms of the likely cost to the State; and the number of Defence Forces personnel that will be involved over the next five years. [5577/14]

Defence Forces Properties

Clare Daly

14. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Defence if he will initiate a cross-departmental meeting with representatives from his Department and the Departments of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; Environment, Community and Local Government,;Public Expenditure and Reform; and Heath, in order to evaluate how the history and heritage that exists in the Curragh Camp can be preserved; and if he will conduct a cost-benefit analysis of utilising the substantial amount of property that exists in the area. [5579/14]

Military Archives

Clare Daly

20. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Defence if he will ensure that the Curragh military history museum takes immediate steps to document and outline the history of the garrison community that existed at the Curragh Camp for almost 100 years, and is unique here, with particular reference to mapping and gathering oral histories. [5580/14]

Defence Forces Properties

Clare Daly

24. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Defence if he will consider the costs of renovating to acceptable standards the units of family accommodation that remain in the Curragh Camp. [5581/14]

Defence Forces Deployment

Clare Daly

30. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces personnel that were involved in aid to the civil power security duties at Shannon Airport from 2010 to 2013 and the dates on which they were involved. [5578/14]

Hepatitis C Compensation Payments

Clare Daly

238. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 708 of 28 January 2014, if he will conduct a comprehensive audit of the hepatitis C tribunal in relation to the specific issue of the €100 million surplus which accumulated in two years; if he guarantees to the Oireachtas that no mishandling of public moneys has occurred; and if he will agree to provide the health committee with full access to all records of the tribunal which can show that this surplus was used on award payments. [6043/14]

Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest

Clare Daly

25. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views in relation to the functioning of the Garda confidential recipient; and his views on whether it needs to be reformed in order to protect Garda whistleblowers. [5308/14]

Pensions Reform

Clare Daly

96. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 125 of 28 January 2014, if a pensionable service tapered table dealing with service and recognising different contributions will be implemented in calculating pension benefits; and if she will acknowledge that this would not constitute age discrimination as applying different criteria to different age groups has been found to be justified. [5870/14]

Courts Service

Clare Daly

150. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will outline in the interests of open and transparent justice and in view of the fact that €16 million was spent in installing digital audio recording facilities in most of our courts as an accurate and cost effective method of recording evidence, the reason CDs of digital audio recordings of court hearings are not available to participants who are instead forced to acquire stenographers' transcripts, despite the fact that most EU states make available CDs as they are cheaper and more accurate. [5871/14]

Disease Awareness

Clare Daly

190. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will initiate an awareness campaign in relation to the signs /symptoms of type one diabetes particularly in relation to children, along the lines of the awareness campaign operating in Britain which has had considerable success [5872/14]

Irish Water Staff

Clare Daly

128. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding claims of alleged significant levels of over-staffing in Irish Water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5023/14]

Student Grant Scheme Eligibility

Clare Daly

250. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills since the abolition of maintenance grants for postgraduate students, the provisions that are being made for students from lower socio-economic groups to help them with the financial means to complete their studies. [5599/14]

Library Services

Clare Daly

429. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has conducted any research into staffless libraries; his views that this is a direction in which the local authorities should proceed, in view of the fact that the savings in staff are often replaced by significant cost in relation to security and surveillance hardware. [4869/14]

Electricity Transmission Network

Clare Daly

450. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has instructed his Department to ensure that assessments are conducted into the impact of the Grid 25 project on the heritage and wildlife along the planned routes of the project. [51462/13]

Court Accommodation Provision

Clare Daly

507. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his position regarding the closure of the courthouse in Balbriggan; when this will take place; the alternative uses that will be made of this prominent building in the town; and the alternative arrangements that are in place for District Court hearings. [5099/14]

Prisoner Data

Clare Daly

546. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a breakdown of female prisoners currently incarcerated in the State in the 70-80 age group. [5598/14]

HSE Legal Cases

Clare Daly

614. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if there will be further legal action taken regarding the financial irregularities uncovered at an organisation (details supplied) in 2012. [5601/14]

Air Pollution

Clare Daly

640. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason he has refused to investigate a public report, put before him by the Irish Environmental Forum, which was published by Professor Jacqueline McGlade of the European Environmental Agency entitled, The Cost of Air Pollution. [5100/14]

Public Transport Initiatives

Clare Daly

765. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to extend the DART commuter transport link to residential areas of Donabate and further areas on the rail network in north County Dublin. [5600/14]

Hydraulic Fracturing Policy

Clare Daly

31. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his Department will conduct any studies into the increased threat of environmental problems from fracking in areas that are prone to flooding in view of such experiences in parts of the United States. [4117/14]

Special Educational Needs Data

Clare Daly

47. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way the National Council for Special Education and his Department arrived at the number of 32 hours as the benchmark for a full-time post for a special needs assistant. [4580/14]

Special Educational Needs Data

Clare Daly

48. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a list of the number of schools where special needs assistants' hours equate to the full 32 hours that were stated in the report or recommendation. [4581/14]

Special Educational Needs Data

Clare Daly

56. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills which report or recommendation the National Council for Special Education used as the guideline for implementing the 32-hour system as a basis for calculating an hourly rate. [4717/14]

Autism Support Services

Clare Daly

57. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills when his officials will be in a position to discuss the concerns and questions of organisations involved with preschool ASD classes to the recent changes to the home tuition grant and policy pertaining to the opening of preschool ASD classes and provision of early intervention. [4718/14]

National Council for Special Education

Clare Daly

58. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the criteria upon which the National Council for Special Education determines who is a stakeholder in determining with whom they will consult in terms of the policy advice due out in 2015 on the education of persons with ASD; the criteria to be included on the list of stakeholders; and the way a person or organisation may submit their recommendations and research for consideration. [4719/14]

Building Regulations Qualifications

Clare Daly

140. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will revoke SI No. 9 relating to building regulations, due to come into effect on 1 March 2014, as the mandatory certification by an architect or similar professional will increase costs and will not improve standards, and instead to revert to the system of oversight by local authorities as enforcement action is the only way to avoid some of the appalling breaches of regulations that took place over the past number of years. [4673/14]

Legal Aid Service Expenditure

Clare Daly

150. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the fee rate for each fee type for senior counsel, junior counsel and solicitors for each year, or part of a year, from 1987 to 2013 for all fee types and for District Court, Circuit Court, Central Criminal Court and Special Criminal Court, for murder, rape and standard cases under the criminal legal aid system. [4576/14]

Departmental Investigations

Clare Daly

208. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason he will not investigate documents from the Cappagh Farmers Support Group relating to an investigation (details supplied). [4716/14]

Architectural Heritage

Clare Daly

11. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the supports that are available from his Department, and the contact he has had with the Department of Defence, to preserve the heritage that exists of a garrison community, unique in Ireland in the Curragh Camp which although under the Department of Defence contains much civilian history and is of national historical importance. [3952/14]

Inland Waterways Maintenance

Clare Daly

25. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht regarding the review of the Canals Act (Amendment) By-Laws 2014, his plans to extend the review and include provisions similar to those existing in Britain for long-term barge dwellers; and if not, the way he proposes to deal with this issue. [3953/14]

Pensions Reform

Clare Daly

125. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps she has taken to ensure, in the guidance notes for the Pensions Board relating to the recently enacted Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013, that a scale of protection to recognise length of service, age, duration and varying contributions made is included to protect members with long pensionable service and contributions; and that the Pensions Board is required to not just notify pensioners about reductions but to provide for negotiations and appeals. [3527/14]

Community Welfare Services Provision

Clare Daly

138. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the criteria for the establishment and location of Intreo offices; if it is appropriate that these services should lead to existing well supported amenities being relocated. [3526/14]

Tax Compliance

Clare Daly

209. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 143 of 15 January 2014, if he will confirm that the identified companies are now predominantly insolvent property development or building firms and that this will impact on the outcome for the Exchequer; if the tax scheme in question involved the use of charitable trust structures; and if so, will he elaborate on same. [4142/14]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Clare Daly

303. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason, 15 months after his Department promised the children's ombudsman that it would promptly publish its autism policy, his Department has failed to do so; and his views on whether it is reasonable to expect the teachers of those people with autism to be able to summarise Government policy from the existing legislation, regulations, rulings, order plans, strategies and stated polices when it has taken more than 15 months for the experts in his Department to do so. [4324/14]

Departmental Properties

Clare Daly

310. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason the Office of Public Works acquired a building and handed ownership to Fingal County Council, in order to move their existing library into it along with a small museum, while the premises of the existing library will be sub-let from the county council by the OPW for an Intreo office; and if it would be more efficient to acquire the building and have Intreo sub-let the new building, rather than engage in the extra expense and dislocation of moving the library. [3545/14]

Local Authority Finances

Clare Daly

531. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the restriction imposed on county councils freezing development levies and mandating that expenditure on capital projects had to be confined to the amount of levies raised in a particular year is still in place; and the reason for same. [2575/14]

Prisoner Data

Clare Daly

578. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the age profile of female prisoners currently incarcerated in the State. [3667/14]

Equality Issues

Clare Daly

593. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps he will take to address the gaps in Irish equality laws with regard to equal access to goods and services for those receiving social welfare payments, in particular access to rented accommodation for persons currently in receipt of rent allowance. [4177/14]

Equality Issues

Clare Daly

594. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will take action to address the ongoing discrimination against social welfare recipients with regard to rented accommodation being advertised with a no rent allowance accepted stipulation. [4178/14]

Hospital Appointments Administration

Clare Daly

701. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health his plans for a hospital accompaniment service for elderly or vulnerable citizens who might otherwise miss important hospital appointments and fail to adequately engage with the medical profession. [3669/14]

Tribunals of Inquiry Expenditure

Clare Daly

706. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to risks or improprieties which led to his decision to overhaul completely the staff of the Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation tribunal in Autumn 2012; and his views on the manner in which the tribunal operated its financial affairs from 2007 to 2012. [3768/14]

Tribunals of Inquiry Expenditure

Clare Daly

707. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will put on record any financial data, consultants' reports or relevant disclosures that he relied upon to overhaul the staff of the Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation tribunal. [3769/14]

Tribunals of Inquiry Expenditure

Clare Daly

708. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if there was a budget deficit carried over on the Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation tribunal accounts of €17 million in 2007, which improved to a €106.6 million surplus in 2009; and the reason the tribunal switched the format of its online reports in 2010 in a manner which prevented tracking and public accountability of this item on its accounts. [3770/14]

General Practitioner Services Provision

Clare Daly

741. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health when the free general practitioner care system for children aged five and under will come into effect. [3980/14]

Company Closures

Clare Daly

22. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the outcome of discussions that he had with Lufthansa Technik in relation to saving the hundreds of jobs at the company's plant; the reason for the closure, including addressing the level of State investment that had been made in the facility over the past number of years; the future plans for the site and buildings; the options that exist for alternative employment; and if he raised the fact that the company approvals were transferred from the IAA to its German counterpart during the year, which would indicate that they had made a decision to close substantially earlier than the announcement. [2777/14]

Coastal Protection

Clare Daly

34. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount of funds that will be available to deal with the serious problem of coastal erosion at the Burrow in Portrane, both in terms of the emergency works required as a result of recent damage and in respect of a more sustainable longer-term solution. [2576/14]

Military Aircraft Landings

Clare Daly

39. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason, if the principle of sovereign immunity does not interfere with obligations arising from the international treaties, the laws giving effect to the international treaties are not being enforced; and given that the Geneva Conventions Act 1962, as amended in 1998, provides that any minor breach of the 1949 Geneva Convention is a punishable offence, if gardaí should be ensuring there are no breaches of the convention taking place at Shannon. [3110/14]

Military Aircraft Landings

Clare Daly

41. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the laws which give effect to the principle of sovereign immunity. [3273/14]

Animal Welfare

Clare Daly

182. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will investigate the circumstances in which a dog owned by an organisation (details supplied) was found abandoned and abused on 18 December, 2013; if he will ensure that those responsible for this outrageous incidence of animal cruelty are brought to justice. [3081/14]

Education and Training Provision

Clare Daly

139. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will re-examine his decision to require apprentices to fund the part of their apprenticeship when they attend college as this will have a serious impact on participation rates in apprenticeships. [2321/14]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Clare Daly

151. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he has taken to avoid the problems he noted his predecessor was facing in February 2008 with regard to institutional rigidities and being bullied by teachers' interests and Civil Service conservatism when it came to providing ABA interventions for children with autism. [2318/14]

Special Education Review

Clare Daly

157. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the National Council for Special Education literature review will not be published until 2015 in view of the fact that those tendering for the project were informed that it should be completed by January 2014; the reason he is not requesting a systematic review; the reason, given professional criticisms of the 2001 task force report, tendering parties were told they would not be allowed to re-evaluate evidence presented in that review. [2320/14]

Consultancy Contracts Expenditure

Clare Daly

180. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Taoiseach the amount his Department spends on an annual basis in payments to consultancy firms (details supplied). [2484/14]

Consultancy Contracts Expenditure

Clare Daly

184. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount his Department spends on an annual basis in payments to consultancy firms (details supplied). [2478/14]

Consultancy Contracts Expenditure

Clare Daly

204. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance the amount his Department spends on an annual basis in payments to consultancy firms (details supplied). [2477/14]

European Central Bank

Clare Daly

205. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance the reason he has not taken action under Articles 35:1 and 340 of ECB statutes and initiated the taking of a case to the ECJ seeking clarification of the legality of the ECB's actions in October-November 2010 in forcing Ireland to repay unsecured debts. [2486/14]

Tax Credits

Clare Daly

217. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance if he will clarify comments made during discussion on the Finance Bill in relation to changes to the single parent credit to the effect that the higher band would be retained by single fathers, resulting in them losing the credit of €1,650 but not the credit of €840 associated with the higher band, whereas it has now emerged that they will in fact lose both amounting to a very serious cutback for this category of person; and the action he will take regarding same. [2701/14]

Tax Credits

Clare Daly

220. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance if he will clarify the statement made during discussions on the recent Finance Bill that the cuts to the single parent tax credit would not cost the full amount in the first year, as these changes seem to have come into effect immediately. [2806/14]