Parliamentary questions

Social and Affordable Housing

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

300. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the projected number of council houses and approved housing body houses to be built in County Donegal in each of the next five years. [6529/21]

Local Authority Housing

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

301. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will raise the income threshold in County Donegal for persons or families to join the public housing list in order to reflect the real income and cost of housing in the county. [6530/21]

Housing Data

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

304. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the full cost per unit of council houses built in County Donegal in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [6539/21]

Housing Data

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

305. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the full cost per unit of turnkey public housing units in County Donegal in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [6540/21]

Vaccination Programme

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

754. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if it will be ensured that the residents at the 24-hour high dependency unit at St. Columbcille Village, Clonmany, County Donegal, receive the Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible; and his views on whether such older persons in 24-hour care should not have been left behind in the first round of vaccines. [6565/21]

Patient Forums

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

962. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the reason a body (details supplied) did not engage with the patient group since October 2020 in spite of a promise to keep this group with over 200 members updated in respect of the partisan application. [7418/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

992. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason his Department has not submitted a notification to the European Commission under the State aid Temporary Framework for support measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic specifically for the fisheries sector. [6588/21]

Departmental Reviews

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

993. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress his Department has made in implementing the recommendations of the Independent Aquaculture Licensing Review Group from 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6589/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

994. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will amend the Covid-19 aquaculture support scheme to include those recent entrants to the industry with sales on their books from 2020 and who have been seriously financially affected by the global pandemic; and if he will engage with an association (details supplied) and other representative bodies in relation to the way the scheme can be improved and reintroduced in 2021. [6590/21]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

41. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Finance if all share fishermen in the State are being treated in the same manner by the Revenue Commissioners in accordance with the High Court judgements of October 2001 and subsequent tax and duty manual published following same; if section 2.5 is being applied, that is, capital allowances shared between boat owners and crew on the same basis in different locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6113/21]

Human Rights

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

87. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he supports the growing international calls for the release of a person (details supplied) from prison in India on bail on humanitarian grounds. [6043/21]

Consular Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

91. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the consular and counselling support from his officials and other Departments provided to the family of a person (details supplied); and if he will establish with his Indian counterpart if the ongoing trial of the man accused of the murder can be included in the fast-track special courts for expeditious disposal of rape and POSCO act scheme to avoid the ongoing distress and anguish to the family caused by the long delays in this trial. [6053/21]

Ambulance Service

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

207. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the date on which the National Ambulance Service plans to replace the interim additional ambulance cover measures for the Inishowen peninsula, County Donegal with permanent rostered staff in a permanent base in Buncrana, County Donegal; the way in which the National Ambulance Service plans utilising the six staff sanctioned; and the level of cover the service plans to provide to Inishowen. [6112/21]

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

244. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the engagements he has had with his European counterparts to secure support for the amendment 269 worded operations located in the remote Irish Islands, Greek Islands and in the Croatian islands of Dugi Otok, Vis, Mljet and Lastovo in the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (COM(2018)0390 – C8-0270/2018 – 2018/0210(COD)); if this amendment will be supported which will give special recognition to Irish islands in the new EMFF; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6114/21]

Fishing Vessel Safety

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

245. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he and his Department will re-engage with a person (details supplied) to examine possibilities to compensate as a result of stability issues which were discovered on a vessel that they purchased from another European state rendering the vessel unfit for sea and unsafe and which left them in serious financial hardship; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6115/21]

Brexit Issues

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

246. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the arrangements that have been agreed with the UK Government to allow Irish fishers to fish inside the 12 nautical mile limit in Northern Ireland; if any Irish vessels have been registered to date; the number that have sought to be registered; when these arrangements will be finalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6116/21]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

247. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to seek increased quotas to fish stocks during upcoming European negotiations following the Brexit trade deal which will have a significant impact on Ireland’s TAC’s in future years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6117/21]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

248. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will seek increased share of fish quotas for species haddock, monk fish, hake, nephrops and mackerel based on the amount of fish caught by Irish vessels averaged over the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6118/21]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

249. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when fishers will be informed of their allocated quota for horse mackerel in 2021; the reason there has been a delay in releasing this quota to Irish fishers when fishers from other European member states have received their allocation and have been fishing since the beginning of January 2021; when the allocation will be finalised and released to fishers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6119/21]

Fishing Licences

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

251. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has considered the feasibility of issuing non-transferable transition Irish fishing licences to the fishers based in this State and who hold a UK fishing licence as suggested by some campaigners. [6130/21]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

252. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the quota allocation or financial benefit accruing to the Irish fishing industry from the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and Greenland and a new protocol that will strengthen fisheries co-operation for the next four years with the possibility of a two-year extension. [6134/21]

UN Security Council

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

311. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the way in which Ireland’s seat at the UN Security Council can advance the formation of a Palestinian state in line with the votes of Dáil and Seanad Éireann. [5006/21]

UN Security Council

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

312. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the way in which Ireland’s seat at the UN Security Council can assist with the humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region of Ethiopia and towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict there. [5007/21]

Brexit Negotiations

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

327. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the status of negotiations with the UK Government in respect of asserting the rights of Irish fishers to fish within the 12-mile limit around Rockall. [5464/21]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

916. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the efforts he has made to secure a share of the bluefin tuna for Irish fishers for 2021 through engagements with the EU Commission and International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, ICCAT; and the details of the outcome of engagements on the matter. [4999/21]

Foreshore Issues

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

917. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 662 of 27 May 2020, the outcome of the report drafted by the marine engineering division on the construction of road approximately 400 m in length along the foreshore of Lough Foyle at Clar, Redcastle, County Donegal. [5000/21]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

918. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if all sectors of the fishing industry including the producer organisations, fishing co-ops, inshore fishing organisations and islands fishing organisations will be represented on the task force that he has announced for the industry. [5001/21]

Maritime Safety

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

919. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the review of the decision to not proceed with the sea survival centre at the fisheries school at Greencastle, County Donegal. [5002/21]

Harbours and Piers

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

920. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the review of the request from Donegal County Council to centrally fund the completion of the breakwater at Greencastle Harbour, County Donegal and the development of the harbour to increase the potential for fisheries and tourism. [5003/21]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

922. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of recorded landings by UK-registered vessels at each harbour nationwide in each of the years 2016 to 2020, in tabular form. [5053/21]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

923. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider extending the landing times for UK-registered vessels at some designated ports nationwide from Monday to Friday to seven days a week with regard to the safety of fishers and the limitations of the weather that impacts on their livelihoods. [5054/21]

Departmental Functions

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

934. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will release a full contact directory of roles and responsibilities within his Department for the marine sector, including persons responsible for various roles to Opposition spokespersons as other Ministers and Departments have done. [5302/21]

Haulage Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

159. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Transport if HGV drivers whose licences are due for renewal and are currently facing difficulties accessing medical assessments due to Covid-19 restrictions will be granted an extension of time to allow for completion of these medical assessments. [4392/21]

Capital Assistance Scheme

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

326. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of funding allocated to the capital assistance scheme in the past three years; the breakdown in funding by local authority; the amount drawn down in each year; the number of applications made; the number of the applications specifically made to housing projects for persons with disabilities in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3867/21]

Fishing Licences

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

710. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the criteria put in place to register the 140 vessels allowed to fish in UK waters since 31 January 2020 with the European Commission; the number that were selected; when the remaining vessels can expect to be registered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2823/21]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

711. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of funding available in the European Commission contingency supports and market disturbance funding for the fisheries sector to mitigate against the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit; the amount of funding he plans to apply for to deliver for the Irish fishing sector; the way in which he plans to distribute this funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2824/21]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

712. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress his Department has made since he became Minister towards the establishment of a producer organisation for smaller Irish fishing vessels in the inshore fleet, given that it is a commitment in the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2825/21]

Harbours and Piers

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

713. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the strategic investments his Department plans to make in harbour infrastructure to attract increased landings into Ireland of sustainably caught fish in Irish waters, driving the development of the seafood processing sector and the blue economy in coastal communities as per the commitment in the programme for Government; if he will set out these planned investments in tabular form containing locations, timeline and monetary commitments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2826/21]

Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

221. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Finance the policy or legislative changes he plans to make to the Disabled Drivers Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations 1994 and the related primary medical certificates following the Supreme Court ruling of 18 June 2020. [44867/20]

Office of Public Works

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

312. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the OPW will complete repair works to the courthouse in Carndonagh, County Donegal to allow the Courts Service to reopen the building for court sittings in the area. [44207/20]

Office of Public Works

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

313. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the OPW plans to develop the facilities at the Grianán of Aileach, County Donegal in 2021 in conjunction with Donegal County Council and Fáilte Ireland. [44208/20]

Inland Fisheries

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

206. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his plans to introduce attendant by-laws to deal with salmonid conservation; if he will provide a draft of these bye-laws; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42620/20]

Inland Fisheries

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

207. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his plans to reintroduce monitored community fishing schemes to allow previous fishing practices such as salmon and eel fishing be used for artisanal and traditional purposes to generate tourism potential and preserve heritage in villages around Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42624/20]

Departmental Expenditure

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

211. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Transport the annual budget his Department allocated to organisations that save lives, for example, coastguard and naval and search and rescue services for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42619/20]

Fisheries Protection

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

459. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the entire allocation of fishing quota for Irish fishers in each of the past 20 years, in tabular form; the breakdown of the quota by fish species; the way in which it is allocated by producer organisations and other representative groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42613/20]

Fisheries Protection

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

460. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of inspections of Irish fishing vessels that have taken place in each of the past 20 years by his Department; the number of prosecutions taken by the State against Irish fishers during this period; the scale of infringements and penalties in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42614/20]

Fisheries Protection

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

461. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of inspections of foreign fishing vessels that have taken place in each of the past 20 years by his Department; the number of prosecutions taken by the State against non-Irish fishers during this period; the scale of infringements and penalties in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42615/20]

Fisheries Protection

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

462. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of logs of super trawlers fishing in waters off the coast of Ireland that have been recorded by his Department for each of the past 10 years by annual and monthly basis including the vessel name and country of registration in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42616/20]

Fisheries Protection

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

463. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the annual breakdown of all SFPA operations on an annual basis for the past five years in which it boarded fishing vessels by vessel name, country of origin, purpose of boarding, if an infringement was detected and if so, the infringement in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42617/20]

Fisheries Protection

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

464. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of the electronic logbooks input by super trawlers and monitored by the SFPA showing the total catch made by them in waters off Ireland in the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42618/20]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

465. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to seek access to quotas for Irish fishers for fish types such as bluefin tuna, anchovies and others in new EU quota negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42622/20]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

466. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to make capital investments in fishing ports during this term of Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42623/20]

Seaweed Harvesting

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

467. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to promote and support community-led and owned sustainable seaweed harvesting operations. [42625/20]

Fisheries Protection

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

472. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of times CASA aircraft were deployed to monitor the fishing activities of supertrawlers; the names of the vessels the aircraft were deployed to monitor in each of the past ten years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42650/20]

Island Communities

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

493. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development her plans to create a national islands plan and to give legislative protection to Ireland’s island communities to ensure their economic and heritage sustainability into the future during her term of office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42621/20]

Common Fisheries Policy

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

34. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will advocate with his European Union counterparts for the EU to follow the lead of Australia in banning super-trawlers from national waters under the jurisdiction of the Common Fisheries Policy in response to the outrage in Irish coastal communities at the ongoing access to the exclusive economic zone being granted to super-trawlers and factory trawlers to fish there; and his views on whether this practice profoundly undermines the stated objectives of the Government and the European Union to maintain a sustainable fishery for coastal communities and to meet the environmental responsibilities of Ireland. [41616/20]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

38. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason Ireland has not received a single tonne of the hundreds of tonnes in additional international quota total allowable catch for the lucrative bluefin tuna species that has been secured by the European Union since 2016; his views on the scientific information he has to hand on the abundance of this species in Irish waters or the Irish exclusive economic zone; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41612/20]

Brexit Issues

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

48. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will make it clear to his European Union counterparts that any change in quota allocations or access to fishing waters that emerge from the current Brexit negotiations will require an urgent renegotiation of the Common Fisheries Policy to protect the fisheries within Ireland’s exclusive economic zone and to defend Ireland’s seriously threatened fishing interest. [41611/20]

IDA Ireland

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

95. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of IDA site visits organised in County Donegal in each of the years 2010 to 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form. [41584/20]

IDA Ireland

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

96. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of new companies that have located in County Donegal with IDA assistance in each of the years 2010 to 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form. [41585/20]

Public Sector Pensions

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

210. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some public sector workers who retired in 2008 have not received any increase in their State pension since then; and the reason pension payments are not index linked to public sector pay increases. [41580/20]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

848. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of boats in the fishing fleet by location and size in each of the years 1990 to 2019 and to date in 2020. [41941/20]

Respite Care Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

175. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the provisions that will be provided to increase capacity in overnight respite care for children with disabilities in the Donegal region; his plans for meeting the needs of the service users and their families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40729/20]

Nursing Home Accommodation

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

661. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a person (details supplied) will be relocated to a private dementia facility in County Cavan, as there is no public facility in County Donegal that will provide services for him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39756/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

794. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans for urgent and substantial financial supports for the inshore fishing sector following recent correspondence from organisations (details supplied) to him to compensate them for their serious financial losses due to the global pandemic crisis. [39817/20]

Food Exports

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

803. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the fact that brown crab from Ireland is currently being exported to China through Holland rather than directly to China from Ireland at a financial loss to Irish inshore fishermen; and if he will engage with his European Union counterparts to negotiate with the Chinese Government and Chinese food health authorities to agree a uniform approach that addresses their concerns across the European Union when exporting to China. [40055/20]

Fishing Vessel Licences

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

180. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the challenges faced by long-standing skippers of Irish vessels by the proposed implementation of SI No. 673 of 2019 - Fishing Vessels (Certification of Deck Officers and Engineer Officers) (Amendment) Regulations 2019; and the acknowledgement and support that can be given to those fishers who purchased vessels and have licences on the basis of regulations that existed prior to the regulations being implemented. [39346/20]

Rail Network

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

181. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Transport his views on a campaign (details supplied); and if he will make the objectives of this campaign Government policy and have it resourced accordingly. [39347/20]

Foreign Conflicts

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

91. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he is taking as a long-time development partner of the regional government in Tigray, Ethiopia, to help broker a ceasefire and to ensure safe passage for humanitarian aid in the face of escalating military conflict and humanitarian disaster. [39072/20]

Foreign Conflicts

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

92. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position of Ireland as a forthcoming member of the UN Security Council on the current military assault by the Ethiopian Government against the regional state of Tigray and its continuing refusal to negotiate with the Tigray regional government in the face of mounting loss of life and an escalating humanitarian emergency. [39073/20]

Foreign Conflicts

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

93. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the actions Ireland is taking in response to the escalating humanitarian emergency and military conflict in Tigray regional state in Ethiopia. [39074/20]

Driver Licences

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

218. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Transport if there has been a change of policy in recent times that has led to the NDLS recording the place of birth of an Irish citizen as Northern Ireland rather than Ireland when they apply for a driver licence renewal. [37841/20]

Flood Relief Schemes

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

293. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when a flood relief plan for Letterkenny, County Donegal, will be published. [37842/20]

Special Educational Needs Staff

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

486. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education the number of current permanent English as an additional language, EAL, posts in primary schools nationally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37969/20]

Special Educational Needs Staff

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

487. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education the number of current permanent English as an additional language, EAL, posts in primary schools in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37970/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

678. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his attention has been drawn to the fact that courses announced (details supplied) under the July stimulus package have not been offered at a reduced rate to students newly enrolled on the course in September 2020. [38746/20]

Home Schooling

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

257. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if clarification will be provided on home schooling restrictions during level 5 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37635/20]

Departmental Properties

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

343. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number and location of each building or property owned by the marine section of his Department nationwide; the income in rent received for each of the buildings or properties in each of the years, 2000 to 2019 and to date in 2020; and the amount invested in each building and property in the same period in tabular form. [37422/20]

Common Fisheries Policy

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

344. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the outrage in coastal communities at the ongoing access to the Exclusive Economic Zone being granted to super trawlers and factory trawlers to fish there; the way in which the practice meets the stated objectives of the Government and the European Union to maintain a sustainable fishery for coastal communities and to meet the environmental responsibilities of Ireland; and the reason Ireland and the European Union are not following the lead of Australia in banning super trawlers from national waters. [37423/20]

Road Projects

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

230. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Transport if the funding requested by Donegal County Council will be provided to upgrade the Portsalon to Fanad Head Road via Doaghbeg (details supplied). [36743/20]

Pyrite Remediation Programme

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

383. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the percentage contribution homeowners availing of the pyrite remediation scheme have had to make towards the full cost of repairing their homes; and if the homeowners availing of the scheme are compensated for relocation costs during the repair works to their homes. [36771/20]

Defective Building Materials

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

384. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the financial supports he will provide to Donegal County Council to assist it to make the estimated 1,000 homes in its housing stock affected by mica defective concrete blocks safe for tenants; and if this financial support will be additional to financial supports Donegal County Council would expect under the public house building programme. [36772/20]

Maritime Jurisdiction

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

409. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will bring the 2013 agreement between Ireland and the UK establishing a single maritime boundary between the exclusive economic zones of the two countries and parts of their continental shelves, before the Houses of the Oireachtas at the earliest opportunity for debate and ratification or rejection by Dáil and Seanad Eireann following the Supreme Court judgment of 27 October 2016 (details supplied). [36740/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

756. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if members of staff at Letterkenny University Hospital were recently tested for Covid-19 and then requested to return to their posts immediately without any reference to self-isolating until the results were known. [36495/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

757. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if patients being treated at Letterkenny University Hospital for a period of two weeks initially tested negative for Covid-19 in mid-October 2020 and two weeks later tested positive; the course of action that was taken to contact and trace the way in which the patients contracted the virus; and if patients being treated for other illnesses found themselves in the same spaces as those being treated for Covid-19. [36496/20]

Covid-19 Tests

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

758. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the number of patients admitted to Letterkenny University Hospital since 19 March 2020 who have tested positive for Covid-19 during their stay in hospital. [36497/20]

Covid-19 Tests

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

759. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if patients routinely admitted to Letterkenny University Hospital through the emergency department are tested for Covid-19 and are not admitted to a ward until their result is confirmed [36498/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

760. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health his views regarding allegations that a number of staff at Letterkenny University Hospital had to battle for two days in the week beginning 9 November 2020 to have a Covid-19 sweep of testing for all staff undertaken after a patient was diagnosed with the illness; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the test had been denied and all requests on behalf of staff had been turned down until the intervention of a consultant in the hospital. [36499/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

761. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the number of staff and personnel at Letterkenny University Hospital who are currently off duty as a result of testing positive for Covid-19, self-isolating or recovering from the virus; and the number of staff and personnel at the hospital who have tested positive for Covid-19 since 13 March 2020. [36500/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

762. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the policy of Letterkenny University Hospital regarding staff members wearing masks throughout the hospital campus; and if complaints have been received from the public about staff and personnel not wearing masks in the hospital over recent weeks or months. [36501/20]

Respite Care Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

771. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the provisions that will be provided to increase capacity in overnight respite care for persons with disabilities from the current four beds for the entire Inishowen region, County Donegal; his future plans for meeting the needs of the service users and their families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36739/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

803. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the health and therapy services that can operate under level 5 restrictions; and if biomagnetic pair therapy is permissible to operate under level 5 restrictions. [36819/20]

HSE Funding

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

804. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that organisations (details supplied) have only received a fraction of the budget they require from the HSE over recent years to provide vital disability support services to families across County Donegal; and the actions that will follow after the meeting between the managers of the organisations and the Minister of State with responsibility for disability on 11 November 2020. [36827/20]

Seafood Sector

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

884. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the legislative basis for the bottom grown mussel consultative forum and joint management of the bottom grown mussel natural resource following the Supreme Court judgment of 27 October 2016 (details supplied). [36432/20]

Harbours and Piers

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

885. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the decade-long failure of his Department to complete the construction of a breakwater at Greencastle Harbour, County Donegal; and if his Department will engage proactively with Donegal County Council on its plans to complete the breakwater submitted to the Department of Rural and Community Development as an unsuccessful application for funding under the rural regeneration and development fund. [36433/20]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

886. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the decision not to proceed with the sea survival training centre at the National Fisheries College in Greencastle, County Donegal, will be reversed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36434/20]

Primary Medical Certificates

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

313. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 80 of 17 September 2020, the policy or legislative changes he plans to make to the Disabled Drivers Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations 1994 and the related primary medical certificates following the Supreme Court ruling of 18 June 2020. [34831/20]

Personal Public Service Numbers

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

507. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied) for a PPSN; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34862/20]

Personal Public Service Numbers

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

530. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a PPSN application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35274/20]

Personal Public Service Numbers

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

531. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a PPSN application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35277/20]