Parliamentary questions

Departmental Staff

Pauline Tully

282. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of access officers responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing his Departments’ services who are employed in his Department as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way that his Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59295/22]

Departmental Staff

Pauline Tully

310. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of access officers responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing his Departments’ services who are employed in his Department as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way that his Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59292/22]

Departmental Staff

Pauline Tully

320. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Defence the number of access officers responsible for providing, or arranging for, and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing his Department's services who are employed in his Department as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way that his Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59287/22]

Departmental Staff

Pauline Tully

367. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Education the number of access officers responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing her Departments’ services who are employed in her Department as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way that her Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59288/22]

Departmental Staff

Pauline Tully

432. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of access officers responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing her Department's services who are employed in her Department as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way that her Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59299/22]

Departmental Staff

Pauline Tully

510. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of access officers responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing his Departments’ services who are employed in his Department as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way that his Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59286/22]

Education Costs

Pauline Tully

527. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if students studying graduate entry medicine at University College Dublin can apply and avail of scholarships; if not, the reason therefore; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59084/22]

Education Costs

Pauline Tully

528. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will review SUSI grant eligibility criteria for those studying graduate entry medicine to ensure that students can apply and avail of this grant and are not ineligible due to their course being viewed as not progressing on the National Framework of Qualifications due to the fact that the entry level for this course is level 8 and the qualification on successfully completing this course is also at level 8; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59085/22]

Departmental Staff

Pauline Tully

539. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of access officers responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing his Departments’ services who are employed in his Department as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way that his Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59293/22]

Departmental Staff

Pauline Tully

583. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Justice the number of access officers responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing her Departments’ services who are employed in her Department as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way that her Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59296/22]

Departmental Reviews

Pauline Tully

610. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health if a review of the boarding out model of care has been carried out recently; if so, if it comprised a review of the financial supports available to those providing this service; the findings of this review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58743/22]

Departmental Staff

Pauline Tully

694. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health the number of access officers responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing his Departments’ services who are employed in his Department as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way that his Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59294/22]

Departmental Staff

Pauline Tully

793. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of access officers responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing his Department's services who are employed in his Department, as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way his Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59285/22]

Departmental Staff

Pauline Tully

806. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of access officers responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing her Department's services who are employed in her Department, as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way her Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59298/22]

Special Educational Needs

Pauline Tully

80. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Education the actions that she is taking to improve July Provision in advance of summer 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58433/22]

School Transport

Pauline Tully

108. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Education the status of the review of the school transport system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58432/22]

Departmental Schemes

Pauline Tully

92. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total funding allocation for the disabled persons grant scheme in respect of local authority owned housing, by local authority in 2019, 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58346/22]

Departmental Schemes

Pauline Tully

93. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total funding drawn down for the disabled persons grant scheme in respect of local authority owned housing, by local authority in 2019, 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58347/22]

National Disability Authority

Pauline Tully

136. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeframe for the announcement of the new board members of the National Disability Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58304/22]

Education and Training Provision

Pauline Tully

141. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 454 of 15 November 2022, the uptake on each of these courses over the past five years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58305/22]

Courts Service

Pauline Tully

153. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 21 of 20 October 2022, the percentage of High Court and Circuit Court judges that have availed of the training provided by the decision support service; the percentage of persons working for the Courts Service who availed of the information session provided by the decision support service. [58298/22]

Departmental Reviews

Pauline Tully

181. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 152 of 12 July 2022, if the action plan for the disability capacity review has been finalised; the timeframe for its publication; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58299/22]

Disability Services

Pauline Tully

182. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 171 of 26 October 2022, the number of children who have had an assessment of needs completed since preliminary team assessments were ceased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58300/22]

Disability Services

Pauline Tully

183. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 171 of 26 October 2022, if legal advice on the new interim clinical guidance has found it to be in compliance with the Disability Act 2005 if the new interim clinical guidance has been issued to children's disability network teams; if not, the timeframe for the new interim clinical guidance to be issued to CDNTs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58301/22]

Health Services Staff

Pauline Tully

184. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 151 of 20 October 2022, the number of additional places out of the 200 additional Irish/EU medicine places that are for disciplines employed in children's disability network teams; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58302/22]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Pauline Tully

185. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health if he has plans to close Covid-19 testing centres; if so, the centres that are to be closed; the centres which will remain open; if he has plans in place to reopen centres in the event of a winter surge in Covid-19 cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58303/22]

Northern Ireland

Pauline Tully

109. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give a commitment to take an inter-state challenge directly to the European Court of Human Rights if the British Government enacts the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, as called for by an organisation (details supplied); if preparations have begun to take an inter-state challenge given that this needs to be commenced within a four-month timeframe of the Bill becoming law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57826/22]

Departmental Schemes

Pauline Tully

313. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total funding allocation for the disabled persons' grant scheme by local authority in 2019, 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58012/22]

Departmental Schemes

Pauline Tully

314. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total funding drawn down for the disabled persons' grant scheme by local authority in 2019, 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58013/22]

Departmental Schemes

Pauline Tully

315. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total funding drawn down by local authority for the housing adaptation grant scheme to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58014/22]

Departmental Schemes

Pauline Tully

316. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the value and total number of grants awarded under the housing adaptation grant scheme in 2022 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58015/22]

Departmental Schemes

Pauline Tully

317. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when annual waiting list data will be published for the housing adaptation grant scheme, a commitment contained in the Housing Options for Our Ageing Population policy statement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58016/22]

Medical Aids and Appliances

Pauline Tully

699. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health if plans and supports are in place to assist vulnerable persons living at home who are reliant on essential medical equipment in the event that there are electricity power outages; if not, the steps that he will take to put in place a plan and supports to assist persons in this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57951/22]

Asylum Seekers

Pauline Tully

122. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the additional supports that he has put in place to ensure that communities that have welcomed refugees and asylum seekers are not in a position of having to use funding and resources that were previously allocated before the current crisis in Ukraine; and the supports that he has ensured are delivered from other Departments [56979/22]

Asylum Seekers

Pauline Tully

129. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the additional supports that he has put in place to ensure that local communities in counties Cavan and Monaghan that have welcomed refugees and asylum seekers are not in a position of having to use funding and resources that were previously allocated before the current crisis in Ukraine; the supports that he has ensured are delivered from other Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56980/22]

Social Welfare Eligibility

Pauline Tully

132. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection the rationale behind excluding persons from receiving the €500 disability support grant payment who were on disability allowance but transferred to a training allowance when taking up a training course; if her attention has been drawn to reports that this is having a knock-on effect of lowering uptake on courses and participation in education by disabled persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56914/22]

Social Welfare Eligibility

Pauline Tully

133. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who were in receipt of disability allowance and are currently on training courses and who are now going to be excluded from the €500 disability support grant payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56915/22]

Social Welfare Eligibility

Pauline Tully

134. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection if disabled persons were given assurances by the Government that they would not be made less financially well-off as a result of taking up a training programme and that their payments and secondary benefits would be retained; if not, if this decision can be justified at a time of escalating costs of living for persons with disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56916/22]

Housing Schemes

Pauline Tully

269. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the ready to build scheme, serviced sites for new homes will be extended to rural areas as part of the croí cónaithe towns fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56287/22]

Departmental Schemes

Pauline Tully

447. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if one-off payments in budget 2023 will be counted as income in the means test when applying for the SUSI grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55723/22]

Education and Training Provision

Pauline Tully

454. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if postgraduate conversion courses exist to allow a person holding an undergraduate degree to acquire a qualification in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and psychology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56526/22]

Housing Policy

Pauline Tully

231. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if each local authority is required to have in place a housing and disability steering group; if the names and contact details of the members of local authority housing and disability steering groups are required to be in the public domain; if the agenda and minutes of housing and disability steering group meetings should be made available to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55931/22]

Social Welfare Eligibility

Pauline Tully

82. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection if the one-off payments in budget 2023 will be counted as income when applying for a means-tested social protection payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55722/22]

Defence Forces

Pauline Tully

489. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Defence the membership of the independent review group to examine the effectiveness of systems, policies and procedures dealing with workplace issues relating to bullying, discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in the Defence Forces; if new members have been appointed to this group since it was first established; the details as to the process for appointing these new members in an open and transparent manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54734/22]

Hospital Staff

Pauline Tully

1031. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health the total number of dietitians employed by Cavan and Monaghan hospitals; the specific services within which these dietitians are employed, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54632/22]

Health Services Staff

Pauline Tully

1052. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 151 of 20 October 2022, the number of additional places that have been agreed out of the 200 additional Irish-EU medicine places to be phased in by medical schools; the number of these place that were rolled out in September 2022 as part of the additional 60 offered in the first phase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54725/22]

Nursing Education

Pauline Tully

1053. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 151 of 20 October 2022, the number of additional places in nursing programmes out of the 135 announced in July that have a discipline relevant to recruitment to children’s disability network teams; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54726/22]

Disability Services

Pauline Tully

1071. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health the number of professionals (details supplied) who were based within a special school setting in each of the five years prior to the introduction of children’s disability network teams; the number of these professionals who were based within a special school setting in the first quarter of 2021; the number of these professionals who are currently recruited and based within a special school setting, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54783/22]

Employment Support Services

Pauline Tully

27. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the actions that he has taken to support and promote self-employment as a viable option for people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53852/22]

Departmental Strategies

Pauline Tully

46. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is satisfied that Action 2.10 of the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities is being implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53853/22]