Parliamentary questions

Health Services

Richard Bruton

1883. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if the treatment of patients in the UK is being covered under the refund for treatment abroad or under schemes that cover treatment not available in Ireland. [40977/22]

Nursing Homes

Richard Bruton

1884. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health the way that the sale of the home of a person within fair deal scheme and the rental of such a home are now treated within the assessment of support to be undertaken by the State for that patient’s care. [40978/22]

Climate Change Policy

Richard Bruton

69. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if Ireland’s lead in carbon efficiency over other European Union Member States has changed significantly in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38222/22]

Agriculture Industry

Richard Bruton

74. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the speed with which the framework to support carbon farming will be put in place in Ireland; and the countries that are the best international exemplars in this respect. [38221/22]

Social Welfare Payments

Richard Bruton

134. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection the proportion of persons on the contributory pension and on the invalidity pension who qualify for the fuel allowance scheme; if many are excluded who are experiencing fuel poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34938/22]

Social Welfare Eligibility

Richard Bruton

166. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if the criteria for assessment of savings needs to be updated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34937/22]

Social Welfare Benefits

Richard Bruton

590. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if the terms of the means test for a qualified adult allowance will be adversely affected if the savings of a continuous positive airway pressure claimant are put into joint names due to the claimant’s diminishing capacity to take decision; and if she will consider protecting the qualified adult allowance payment in such circumstances. [39571/22]

Asylum Seekers

Richard Bruton

402. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will outline the medical and psychological supports which are provided for those seeking asylum, who may have difficult experiences to overcome as they seek to develop a new life, and in particular services to help divert people from alcohol or other substance dependencies and whether such services are delivered on site where larger numbers are accommodated together. [38208/22]

Youth Services

Richard Bruton

404. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he intends to continue with the present system of funding for the your place your space scheme; and if his attention has been drawn to the concerns raised by community organisations that valuable networks could be damaged if the current system is changed. [38397/22]

Hospital Waiting Lists

Richard Bruton

94. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if the waiting list initiative has been impacted by the latest surge in Covid-19 hospital admissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37520/22]

Court Judgments

Richard Bruton

125. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health the way that the court decision striking down the preliminary assessment of children with special needs will affect the children who have been assessed and listed for therapeutic services; and the additional resource implications for the HSE to act upon the ruling. [37521/22]

Apprenticeship Programmes

Richard Bruton

10. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the level of advertising of apprenticeship opportunities posted on the apprenticeship website; and the initiatives to get more sectoral organisations to get their members to advertise in this way. [36446/22]

Third Level Costs

Richard Bruton

51. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he has received any estimates of the cost of participating in third level education, both when living at home and living away from home and the impact that the rising cost of living is having on those costs; and the ways in which he is supporting with these extra costs. [36447/22]

Childcare Services

Richard Bruton

91. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has sought reports from the childcare committees in the various Dublin local authority areas on the availability of childcare for children under two years of age; if there are measures which could be taken in the short term to meet supply constraints; if he will request that local authorities undertake assessments of childcare supply needs as part of their five-year development plan exercises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35723/22]

Childcare Services

Richard Bruton

137. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has considered concerns of childcare providers that the new core funding scheme poses challenges for smaller providers. [35722/22]

Commemorative Events

Richard Bruton

195. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if there are plans to mark the death of Arthur Griffith as part of the centenary celebrations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36820/22]

School Accommodation

Richard Bruton

222. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education the way that the factors such as, a very high proportion of pupils exiting the catchment, the lack of balanced mix of places for girls and boys and lack of options for those who wish for a non-religious school are taken into account when setting a framework for additional school places in a catchment area; and if this will cause her to consider a new school rather than extensions to existing school as in the case of a school planning area (details supplied). [36805/22]

School Enrolments

Richard Bruton

223. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education if she will give a breakdown by gender of the pupils entering or leaving Killester, Raheny and Clontarf school catchment area for secondary schooling. [36806/22]

School Accommodation

Richard Bruton

224. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education when a detailed review of the need for new second level schools across Dublin will be undertaken in view of the surge in housing development. [36807/22]

Social Welfare Eligibility

Richard Bruton

248. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider modifications in the threshold for the fuel allowance, particularly in cases in which both spouses have a constrained application protocol (details supplied). [36912/22]

Disability Services

Richard Bruton

305. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if the implementation plan for the disability capacity planning to 2032 has been completed; if it will be published; and if pre-planning for the forthcoming budget has incorporated the outcome of this work. [36819/22]

Artists' Remuneration

Richard Bruton

57. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the status of the scheme of basic income for artists. [36339/22]

Teacher Training

Richard Bruton

129. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education if there is a pathway into the masters programme in primary teaching for graduates whose pass grade in some of the core subjects in the Leaving Certificate, although sufficient at the time their Leaving Certificate was taken, is no longer adequate for entry into primary teaching; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36519/22]

General Practitioner Services

Richard Bruton

209. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he has received reports of the difficulty of persons in finding a general practitioner to accept them, particularly on the medical card scheme; and if he has discussed with the HSE the possibility of developing a better clearing-house system in order to assist patients in accessing care. [36341/22]

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Richard Bruton

303. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if the bodies delivering services to the HSE during Covid-19 will become eligible for the €1,000 pandemic bonus payment, for example section 39 organisations. [36520/22]

Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence

Richard Bruton

14. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice the way the environment for a person suffering domestic violence will improve under the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. [35976/22]

Crime Prevention

Richard Bruton

63. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice her views on recent crime trends in Dublin; and the reports she is receiving from the Garda Commissioner on changes in operational policing. [35975/22]

Site Acquisitions

Richard Bruton

370. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education if her Department has acquired a site for a school (details supplied); and if commencement work to service the site has begun. [36123/22]

Social Welfare Eligibility

Richard Bruton

423. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who have lost the adult dependent allowance as a result of a fresh means test undertaken in the past 12 months; if she will consider increasing the savings disregard given that the present threshold of €20,000 has not been revised in a long time and does not go very far in meeting the contingencies of old age for which many people will wish to prepare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36133/22]

Educational Disadvantage

Richard Bruton

42. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education if the supports in the DEIS scheme are sufficient to meet the needs of schools in the most acute areas of disadvantage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34942/22]

Religious Discrimination

Richard Bruton

81. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education if she is satisfied that children who do not wish to participate in the religious life of a school are being adequately accommodated. [34941/22]

Departmental Administrative Arrangements

Richard Bruton

218. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection the procedure for a divorced person to revert to their original surname; the documentary evidence that is required; and if there is a consistent approach to the matter across all public bodies. [35166/22]

Housing Provision

Richard Bruton

40. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will indicate each of the programmes or work streams of the Land Development Agency and, in each case, the target volume of land that it will release for housing development and the target number of homes to be developed, that is, public lands acquired and master-planned by the agency; the existing outstanding private planning permissions it activated for affordable construction through joint venture arrangements and other joint ventures with local authorities or other housing bodies; and the nature of the public subsidy in each case that will ensure they are delivered at an affordable price. [34602/22]

Social Welfare Benefits

Richard Bruton

109. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will change the practice whereby a person who has an entitlement to retire from their public service job is obliged to sign on weekly for jobseeker’s benefit in order to obtain their entitlement under co-ordinated pension as in the case of a person (details supplied). [34617/22]

Social Welfare Benefits

Richard Bruton

114. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if arrears of household benefits are payable in cases in which a person was unaware of their entitlement. [34686/22]

Cybersecurity Policy

Richard Bruton

78. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Defence his plans to increase cybersecurity defence in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33667/22]

Defence Forces

Richard Bruton

90. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Defence the recruitment options that he is considering to attract more individuals towards joining the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33668/22]

National Car Test

Richard Bruton

172. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Transport the waiting time for NCT appointments in various parts of the country; the plans to clear the backlog; and if he is considering extending the life of existing certificates as a way to take pressure off the system. [33679/22]

Housing Schemes

Richard Bruton

265. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage it is intended that councils will maintain standing waiting lists for affordable housing; if not, if priority for early applications will only apply after the advertisement of each new scheme. [34101/22]

Housing Schemes

Richard Bruton

266. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if affordable homes that are developed by the Land Development Agency will be allocated under the council priority scheme applied to the council’s own affordable homes; and if it is intended that all Land Development Agency affordable homes for sale will be sold under a shared equity model. [34102/22]

Electoral Commission

Richard Bruton

271. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the expected timelines for the Electoral Commission to be established; and the timelines for it to carry out the Dáil constituency boundary review, to report its findings to Dáil Éireann and to legislate for the new boundaries. [34297/22]

Social Welfare Eligibility

Richard Bruton

653. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the policy of refusing to allow persons setting up as self-employed under a franchise qualify for short-term enterprise allowance; and if such persons will instead be allowed the opportunity to demonstrate independently the viability of their initiative. [34372/22]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Richard Bruton

756. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he is satisfied with the infrastructure put in place to date to address long-Covid; if he has assessed the level of regional response that will be needed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33677/22]

Ambulance Service

Richard Bruton

771. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health the target response times for ambulances in Dublin; if he receives a regular report of performance against these; and his views on recent difficulties experienced in meeting these targets. [33712/22]

Mental Health Services

Richard Bruton

895. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health the increase in mental health funding in each of the past five years; the increase in front-line staff who have been put in place; and his vision for the sector in the coming years. [34417/22]

Public Procurement Contracts

Richard Bruton

923. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if there has been much wastage or resale of items procured during the Covid emergency; if so, the types of items involved, that is, protective gear, medication, beds and equipment; the way these items are being stored or disposed of; and whether there has been a review of the procurement approach for future learnings. [34497/22]

State Bodies

Richard Bruton

20. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of new sites identified by the Land Development Agency. [33218/22]

Housing Provision

Richard Bruton

89. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing completions annually since 2016; and the number in the 12 months between Q2 2021 and Q1 2022. [33211/22]

Trade Relations

Richard Bruton

98. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the level of economic activity between Ireland and nations in Africa and the work to increase such activity. [33212/22]

Human Rights

Richard Bruton

151. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the contribution of Ireland to ensuring the safety of journalists, photographers and other members of the media. [33213/22]