Parliamentary questions

Vaccination Programme

Gino Kenny

657. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if there is evidence of a general lack of awareness of the pneumococcal vaccination in the at-risk population and, if so, if there are plans to address this with a public health awareness campaign similar to that addressing the availability and importance of the flu vaccine for these groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34546/20]

Health Promotion

Gino Kenny

88. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the status of the women’s health task force that was established over a year ago; the actions taken or achieved in the intervening period; the plans in the area of women’s health over the next three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33543/20]

Nursing Education

Gino Kenny

89. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if he will clarify the position of student nurses in the health service; if they have been offered healthcare assistants' contracts and work; if while on placement they will be offered similar payments as in March 2020; the supports that will be in place on an ongoing basis for student nurses serving in the public service given the risks of Covid-19 infection; if he will increase the current allowance of €50.79 a week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33542/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Gino Kenny

144. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the details of his negotiations with the private hospital sector to ensure increased capacity as the country enters the second wave of Covid-19; the cost per bed of an agreement by ICU and acute bed capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33541/20]

Covid-19 Tests

Gino Kenny

153. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health his plans for further investment in testing tracing infrastructure and public health tracing teams in the coming weeks; the number of whole-time equivalents employed in this service since April 2020, by month, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33540/20]

Mental Health Services

Gino Kenny

155. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the perinatal mental health services available for women; his plans to improve or add to these services in the near future; the perinatal mental health services available in each county in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33544/20]

Local Authority Housing

Gino Kenny

620. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the person or body that sets the income threshold for persons to apply for local authority housing; and if the income threshold is set by his Department or the local authorities. [33145/20]

Local Authority Housing

Gino Kenny

621. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the year the current income threshold for applicants on local authority housing list was set. [33146/20]

Local Authority Housing

Gino Kenny

622. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department allows local authorities to set their own income threshold for persons applying for local authority housing; if his Department monitors each authority; the way in which this is monitored; and the year each local authority set their current income threshold for the local authority housing list. [33147/20]

Local Authority Housing

Gino Kenny

623. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the criteria and factors taken into consideration to determine the income threshold for persons applying for local authority housing. [33148/20]

Local Authority Housing

Gino Kenny

624. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if national average wage increases, minimum wage increases and increases in the private rental market are taken into consideration when setting income thresholds for persons applying for local authority housing. [33149/20]

Local Authority Housing

Gino Kenny

625. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department plans to increase the income threshold for persons applying for local authority housing. [33150/20]

Social Welfare Offices

Gino Kenny

918. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Social Protection when her Department plans to centralise and gather information from INTREO offices to obtain a national picture regarding complaints made by persons applying for a social welfare payment or persons in receipt of a social welfare payment in order that her Department gathers all complaints to her Department relating to the process of applications, reviews, appeals, inspections or other complaints to INTREO offices. [33314/20]

Social Welfare Offices

Gino Kenny

919. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason her Department does not, to date, centrally gather information from INTREO offices relating to complaints made by persons applying for a social welfare payment or persons in receipt of a social welfare payment to her Department in order that her Department can monitor application processes, review processes, appeal processes or inspections carried out in order that her Department can monitor complaints nationally or to determine if there are local problems with a particular INTREO office. [33315/20]

Legislative Measures

Gino Kenny

13. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his plans to introduce legislation to allow for a mechanism for workers to be prioritised as creditors in the event of a liquidation in the future; if legislation that stops workers seeking redundancy in certain circumstances will be ended or extended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30568/20]

Industrial Disputes

Gino Kenny

62. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has discussed a dispute (details supplied) with the Minister for Finance; if so, if he has discussed the proposal that the State and the Revenue Commissioners stand aside as creditors to allow the liquidators prioritise former workers in order to achieve a resolution of the dispute; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30567/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Gino Kenny

71. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will respond positively to calls from nurses and other healthcare professionals to reinsert the requirement that infectious diseases, including Covid-19, are reported by employers to the Health and Safety Authority as infectious diseases in the workplace; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23678/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Gino Kenny

33. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education the number of staff in secondary and primary schools confirmed as having contracted Covid-19 since schools reopened; the procedures for their return to work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30252/20]

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Gino Kenny

95. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education if schools that have lost a teacher as a result of a reduction in the September 2019 numbers of pupils can apply to her Department for support in recruiting a replacement teacher if they find it difficult to enforce Covid-19 safety guidelines in their school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30251/20]

Defence Forces Operations

Gino Kenny

191. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Defence if he will address a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29569/20]

Maternity Leave

Gino Kenny

371. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Justice if she will commit to increasing maternity leave and benefit to nine weeks in acknowledgement of the difficult situation parents of new babies are in as a result of the public health emergency; the amount that current legislation permits; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29865/20]

Medicinal Products

Gino Kenny

537. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if there is an appeals process for those who have been refused reimbursement by the HSE for the use of the breast cancer drug pertuzumab despite a consultant oncologist’s opinion that it would be beneficial to use as treatment in a particular case (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30191/20]

Departmental Reviews

Gino Kenny

154. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Social Protection the criteria selection for the child maintenance review group. [27435/20]

Taxi Licences

Gino Kenny

16. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Transport if the demands of representative groups of taxi drivers will be agreed to, namely to dissolve the taxi advisory committee and instead establish a national transport forum with strong representation from these representative groups, to extend the 10 year rule for replacing taxis to 12 years, to instigate an immediate moratorium on the issues of licence, and to establish a licence buy back scheme for taxi drivers wishing to exit the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25892/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Gino Kenny

34. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Transport his plans to ensure that public transport is available to all those that need it during the Covid-19 crisis in view of the fact that most transport is running at 50% capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25891/20]

Covid-19 Tests

Gino Kenny

222. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if some maternity hospitals have the facilities to carry out quick turnaround Covid-19 testing; if this facility can be extended to cover partners of pregnant persons in order that they can be present for scans and other maternity services and resume the much-needed support of their partners during hospital maternity visits and labour; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26012/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Gino Kenny

53. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Transport when Irish Rail, Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann will resume full services in view of the pressures on existing services with reduced capacity due to Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15994/20]

Hospital Services

Gino Kenny

95. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health his plans to increase capacity in hospitals permanently; his further plans to increase the current 45 ICU beds in view of the worrying recent increase in the number of Covid-19 infections and in anticipation of another wave of the virus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23677/20]

Visa Applications

Gino Kenny

612. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Justice if she will address a series of matters (details supplied) regarding visa applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23940/20]

Cannabis for Medicinal Use

Gino Kenny

707. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health when the medical cannabis access programme will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23551/20]

Cannabis for Medicinal Use

Gino Kenny

708. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the details of the budgetary constraints stated by his Department as the reason for the delay in the roll-out of the medical cannabis access programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23552/20]

Cannabis for Medicinal Use

Gino Kenny

709. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if a date has been established for the commencement of the medicinal access programme; the concerns and obstacles to the roll-out of the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23553/20]

Legislative Process

Gino Kenny

24. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Justice the role her Department will play in overseeing new regulations being brought in by the Minister for Health that will be made into criminal offences under section 13 of the new Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018; if there will be a vote taken in Dáil Éireann prior to the regulations becoming law; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22926/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Gino Kenny

184. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education if provision has been made for children returning to school that have parents and or siblings with serious and or a terminal illness that have been cocooning for the past six months and are at critical risk should children bring the Covid-19 virus home; the provisions that have been made in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23026/20]

Just Transition Commissioner

Gino Kenny

172. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the community and worker engagement process as set out for the midlands region, Bord na Móna workers and communities; the way in which the process is operating in view of Covid-19; his plans to advance community and worker engagement in respect of Bord na Móna and the just transition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20971/20]

Just Transition Commissioner

Gino Kenny

173. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on whether the community engagement aspect of just transition has been applied successfully in other jurisdictions; his plans to instigate some of the measures in the just transition plan for the midlands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20972/20]

Just Transition Commissioner

Gino Kenny

174. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the work of the midlands regional transition team; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20973/20]

Climate Action Plan

Gino Kenny

175. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the new citizens’ engagement model mentioned in chapter 15 of the Climate Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20974/20]

Bord na Móna

Gino Kenny

176. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans for job creation and redeployment of Bord na Móna workers in the midlands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20975/20]

Local Authority Housing

Gino Kenny

326. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of households that each local authority has removed from the housing list as a result of not responding to the housing needs assessment in each of the years 2015 to 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18006/20]

Land Development Agency

Gino Kenny

45. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the way in which the LDA will address the housing crisis; if representatives of NGOs or bodies that have campaigned on behalf of the homeless or on the housing crisis will be represented on the board of the LDA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17626/20]

Housing Issues

Gino Kenny

62. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if he will re-examine the policy on co-living accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17625/20]

Employment Rights

Gino Kenny

72. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Question No. 29 of 14 July 2020, the way in which migrant workers who do not hold valid permits can access the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, in view of a recent court case which found the definition of civil proceedings in one particular case excluded the findings of the WRC and Labour Court; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17234/20]

Immigration Policy

Gino Kenny

565. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide clarity in relation to the process of stamp 4 renewal for persons living outside of Dublin in particular; if she will address the issue of access to locally-based immigration officers which is difficult and or sporadic as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the pressure this is placing on employees that need renewals urgently; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16492/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Gino Kenny

170. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that disability service providers have not received extra funding to cover the costs of deep cleaning, sanitising and other associated Covid-19 hygiene protocols as they begin to resume their services for persons with disabilities; if extra funding will be provided in the interest of public health to organisations providing these services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16371/20]

Medical Cards

Gino Kenny

172. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health when the income threshold level for medical card eligibility is to be raised; the details of the new levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16380/20]

Proposed Legislation

Gino Kenny

26. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when he expects to move legislation to ban oil and gas exploration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15995/20]

Covid-19 Tests

Gino Kenny

166. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the availability of Covid-19 antibody tests, that is, post-infection blood tests, for persons going for private surgeries in private hospitals and for those who can pay amounts varying from €79 to €250; if he will consider providing this test free of charge in the first instance to persons who have been shielding and cocooning to enable them to improve their mental and physical health and restore confidence; his plans to roll out the Covid-19 antibody test to all who require it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16270/20]

Legislative Measures

Gino Kenny

29. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation his priority legislation in the area of workers’ rights and employment legislation; if the Employment Permits Act will be amended for migrant workers to make it possible to access the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court; if legislation regarding SEOs and collective agreements will be strengthened; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15814/20]

Legislative Measures

Gino Kenny

33. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if the amending of employment legislation and the Companies Act 2014 will be made a priority in view of a dispute at a company (details supplied) and the past failure to legislate and in further view of the Duffy Cahill report; if the passage of the Protection of Employees (Collective Redundancies) Bill 2017 will be supported, which passed Second Stage in the Thirty-second Dáil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15813/20]