Parliamentary questions

Energy Schemes

Jonathan O'Brien

333. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to fully implement the national energy efficiency action plan; and the estimated savings should these measures be applied to all school buildings. [24020/13]

Departmental Staff Remuneration

Jonathan O'Brien

334. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide in tabular form the number of personnel working within his Department and FÁS who received an annual take-home pay based on salary and allowances that exceeded €100,000 annually in the 2012-13 academic year. [24021/13]

Third Level Staff Remuneration

Jonathan O'Brien

335. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide in tabular form the number of third level lecturers who receive an annual take-home pay based on salary and allowances that exceeded €100,000 annually in the 2011-12 academic year. [24022/13]

Teachers' Remuneration

Jonathan O'Brien

336. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide in tabular form the number of teachers who receive an annual gross pay that exceeded €100,000 annually in the 2011/12 academic year. [24023/13]

Fee Paying Schools

Jonathan O'Brien

337. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide in tabular form the amount paid in State subsidies to fee charging schools for the 2012/13 academic year. [24024/13]

State Examinations

Jonathan O'Brien

338. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide in tabular form the amount spent by his Department to provide substitute cover for teachers assessing oral examinations in the 2011/12 academic year. [24025/13]

Third Level Fees

Jonathan O'Brien

339. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide in tabular form a breakdown of the total number of third level students for the 2012-13 academic year, to include separately the number of Irish students who paid the student contribution fee, and the number whose student contribution fee was paid by the State via a grant, EU students and international students. [24026/13]

Third Level Fees

Jonathan O'Brien

340. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the total amount paid by his Department through student grants to provide for the student contribution fee paid to third level educational institutions for the 2012-13 academic year; and if he will provide the total cost to his Department of subsidising in full third level fees for the 2012/13 academic year including student grants to provide for the student contribution fee. [24027/13]

Foreign Conflicts

Jonathan O'Brien

31. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the recent statements from the Russia and American Governments in which they agreed to work together to end the Syrian conflict and host an international conference on the issue in search of peace; and his views on whether this is a positive step. [23226/13]

Treatment of Prisoners

Jonathan O'Brien

38. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment’s (CPT) report into prison conditions between 31 May to 13 June 2011 in Spain, which was released on 30 April 2013; which found that some Basque political prisoners were subject to mistreatment and torture in Spanish prisons; and if he will raise the issue with the Spanish Government. [23239/13]

Sports Funding

Jonathan O'Brien

81. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide specific details of the total amount of money spent to date on development of the National Sports Campus; the way the funds were spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22852/13]

Rail Network

Jonathan O'Brien

94. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to expand access to the rail network across the State; and his views on recent EU statements which indicate a move towards increased privatisation of rail networks which would only make the State's limited service worse. [22905/13]

Primary Care Centres Provision

Jonathan O'Brien

96. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the roll out of the promised 20 primary care centres at different locations across the State; the number and details of the additional primary care centres that are being provided by direct capital expenditure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22557/13]

Hospital Waiting Lists

Jonathan O'Brien

114. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Health the action he will take to address the excessive waiting times for outpatient appointments across our hospital system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22555/13]

Irish Language Issues

Jonathan O'Brien

239. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure that the office, and employees of the Council for Gaeltacht Education, and Irish Medium Education will not be located in the offices of the NCCA, but that the offices of COGG will be a satellite, located in a separate building, as it is internationally recognised that a dominant language, will impact upon minor languages, and because there will be far more people working for the NCCA which will mean that there be a threat to Irish as the working language of COGG; if he will reconsider this decision as to whether it would be preferable to reverse this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22217/13]

Irish Language Issues

Jonathan O'Brien

240. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline, specifically, which administrative services will the NCCA be able to provide to COGG, in Irish, to a standard equal to that in English; if he had examined whether these services would be available in Irish prior to the decision being made to merge COGG with the NCCA; if he will reconsider this decision as to whether it would be preferable to reverse the decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22218/13]

Teaching Qualifications

Jonathan O'Brien

88. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the findings of the International Review Panel on Initial Education and the recommendations it makes for reform of the current system which if implemented should enhance teacher professionalism by increasing the research capacity of providers of initial teacher education. [21976/13]

Teaching Qualifications

Jonathan O'Brien

89. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will respond to the criticism of the International Review Panel on Initial Teacher Education that there is an over-reliance on part-time ITE staff and that casualisation is not conducive to high-quality outcomes, particularly in the area of research and systematic quality improvement. [21977/13]

Teaching Qualifications

Jonathan O'Brien

90. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department will be implementing a recommendation of the International Review Panel on initial teacher education that has called on the State to monitor the quality of entrants to all Initial Teacher Education providers, including private ones; the reason the number of entrants to publicly funded institutions remains capped while private-sector numbers remain uncapped at a time when many graduate teachers are unemployed. [21978/13]

School Enrolments

Jonathan O'Brien

84. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the mechanisms in place to ensure that children who have been adopted or fostered are not disadvantaged from enrolling in local schools where their is a high demand due to their inability to enrol at an early age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21613/13]

School Enrolments

Jonathan O'Brien

185. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the mechanisms that are in place to ensure that children who have been adopted or fostered are not disadvantaged from enrolling in local schools where there is a high demand due to their inability to enrol at an early age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21516/13]

Proposed Legislation

Jonathan O'Brien

45. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when he intends to bring forward legislation or amending legislation to facilitate separate family law courts. [20852/13]

Property Taxation Exemptions

Jonathan O'Brien

7. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason some unfinished estates were excluded from liability for the property tax and some in similar conditions were not. [20493/13]

Local Authority Staff Issues

Jonathan O'Brien

51. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will outline in tabular form, the number of assistant fire chiefs who were employed in local authorities in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and the cost per year. [20497/13]

Student Grant Scheme Administration

Jonathan O'Brien

108. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of existing personnel who have gained experience administering third level grants under Student Universal Support Ireland during the past 12 months who are to be retained by SUSI for the 2013-14 academic year; and the total number of personnel to be employed by SUSI to process grants when the new cycle of grant applications commence. [20609/13]

Proposed Legislation

Jonathan O'Brien

193. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to introduce an amendment to section 37 of the Employment Equality Act that is needed to enshrine in legislation the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers; and his plans to include provision that will also protect the rights of transgender teachers. [17568/13]

Prospecting Licences

Jonathan O'Brien

112. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the drilling rigs at Catherline bog, County Limerick; if his attention has been drawn to the purpose of these rigs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20189/13]

Arts Council Funding

Jonathan O'Brien

21. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if his attention has been drawn to the recent controversy surrounding the Cork Film Festival and the resignations that followed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19370/13]

Údarás na Gaeltachta Issues

Jonathan O'Brien

25. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will discuss the current functioning of the board of Údarás na Gaeltachta; if the board has met yet and in particular if he will make a statement to Dáil Éireann on the representation of Donegal County Council on the board of Údarás; and if he will provide a timescale as to when all places on the board of the Údarás are likely to be filled. [19291/13]

Departmental Properties

Jonathan O'Brien

35. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Social Protection the number and locations through which her Department operates; the amount being paid in rent for each unit for each of the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18846/13]

Anti-Poverty Strategy

Jonathan O'Brien

38. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the implementation of the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18847/13]

In-service Training

Jonathan O'Brien

102. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if retired principals are being employed by his Department, the vocational education committees or directly by schools or colleges to provide continual personal development in-service training for teachers; and if he will provide in tabular form the money paid to retired teachers providing this service on an individual basis for the past two years. [19468/13]

Public Sector Staff Recruitment

Jonathan O'Brien

103. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if persons who have worked in the education sector and have availed of retirement under the terms of the Croke Park 1 deal are barred from returning in any way to public service or receiving payments for constituency work, training teachers, principals, deputy principals or school/college management in-service training or delivery of continual personal development of any kind. [19469/13]

Local Enterprise Offices Establishment

Jonathan O'Brien

109. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the stage at which the creation of the new local enterprise offices are at; and when will they be functioning. [18635/13]

Job Creation Data

Jonathan O'Brien

115. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the jobs that have been secured for each county by each of the trade missions in the past 12 months. [18634/13]

State Examinations

Jonathan O'Brien

2. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide in tabular form the number of students who in 2012-13 were refused a waiver by the State Examinations Commission for the assessment of spelling, grammar and punctuation in language subjects when sitting their leaving certificate examination; the number of these children who were granted a waiver to assist them when sitting their junior certificate examination; and if he has the authority to intervene directly and overrule a decision of the State Examinations Commission when disputed cases are appealed. [17828/13]

Fee Paying Schools

Jonathan O'Brien

23. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the measures, if any, he intends to implement in response a report into the 55 private fee-charging schools in the State which have more than €81m in discretionary income to spend on extra teachers, ancillary staff, state-of-the-art facilities and extra-curricular activities; and his plans to reduce or end the paying of State subsidies to these schools. [17562/13]

Croke Park Agreement Issues

Jonathan O'Brien

43. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the TUI's rejection of the Croke Park II agreement; and if he will review the current proposals tabled by the Labour Relations Commission in the view of the anger expressed by teachers to cuts and changes to employment conditions imposed across the second level sector. [17561/13]

Children's Strategy

Jonathan O'Brien

141. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the cross-departmental consultations on the proposed new children and young people's policy framework have concluded as anticipated by end of March, 2013; if the analysis of the public consultation is nearing completion; her now anticipated time-frame for the publication of the new policy framework; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17275/13]

Early Child Care Education

Jonathan O'Brien

1094. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will respond to the findings of an evaluation of an early years service that is coordinated by Childhood Development Initiative which showed that in countries such as Finland, well-funded pre-school supports can help children overcome many of the barriers that otherwise prevent them from achieving their potential at school; and if she has plans to implement some of the findings contained in the report. [11747/13]

Hospital Waiting Lists

Jonathan O'Brien

1294. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of people currently waiting for hip-replacement operations in the public health system; and the percentage that have been waiting for this operation for more than six months and for more than 12 months. [17191/13]

Fiscal Policy

Jonathan O'Brien

45. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if, in view of the joint statement issued by An Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister regarding the promotion of prosperity and rebalancing the economy in Northern Ireland, he has promoted with the British Government, the matter of the transfer of fiscal powers from London to Stormont including the ability to vary corporation tax. [15537/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Jonathan O'Brien

103. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he accepts the advice of the special education support service, as presented in its document, Special Education Support Service Information on Autism, which outlines the way his Department should provide ongoing supervised training from professionally qualified behaviour analysts to teachers working with children; and if his Department does not provide this type of supervision, the reason guidelines issued by the SESS are being ignored. [15793/13]

Road Maintenance

Jonathan O'Brien

66. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps he will take to aid local authorities to tackle serious road maintenance issues and to penalise and hold to account local authorities which do not work adequately to address these problems. [15057/13]

Tourism Capital Investment Programme

Jonathan O'Brien

78. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide specific details of the way he expects the recent extension of the employment and investment incentive scheme to encourage investment in tourism accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15310/13]

Teachers' Remuneration

Jonathan O'Brien

236. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will clarify the implications for substitute teachers arising from recent circulars issued by his Department that stated any work conducted prior to 2011 must have been in a qualified capacity and teachers must have been registered with the Teaching Council during that time; if this change will mean teachers paid under the old guidelines have their pay reassessed retrospectively; and the estimated savings as a result of this change in the payment guidelines. [14770/13]

Budget 2013 Impact

Jonathan O'Brien

34. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Finance the consideration that was given to rural proofing in the design of Budget 2013. [14071/13]

Banking Sector Remuneration

Jonathan O'Brien

45. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Finance his views on the fact that even after a 10% cut the salary of the CEO of Bank of Ireland will still be more than €500,000. [14084/13]

Provision of Neuro-Rehabilitation Services

Jonathan O'Brien

61. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Health if he will protect funding for not-for-profit organisations that provide neuro-rehabilitation supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13783/13]

Provision of Neuro-Rehabilitation Services

Jonathan O'Brien

122. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Health if he will invest in the implementation of the neuro-rehabilitation strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13782/13]