Parliamentary questions

Dormant Accounts Fund

Maureen O'Sullivan

489 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to recently published research on participation, expenditure and regressivity in the Irish lottery; if he will take these findings on board on developing systems for the disbursement from the Dormant Accounts Fund, now that the Dormant Accounts Board has been abolished; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[35209/12]

Dormant Accounts Fund

Maureen O'Sullivan

490 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to recently published research on participation, expenditure and regressivity in the Irish lottery; if he will take this example of best practice on board in developing systems for the disbursement from the Dormant Accounts Fund, now that the Dormant Accounts Board has been abolished; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[35210/12]

Fur Farming

Maureen O'Sullivan

667 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the date on which the submissions made and sent to his Department at the end of 2011 regarding fur farming will be assessed; when he will comment on the findings of the submissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[34817/12]

Community Employment Schemes

Maureen O'Sullivan

137 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the way a training programme (details supplied) where participants are trainees, in recovery from addiction, unlike other community employment schemes whose participants have roles as clerical staff, child care workers, maintenance and so on, will survive a 50% cut to its training grant which is vital for the scheme and its participants; if provisions will be made in order that more flexible arrangements to current funding will be arranged for this vital training service; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[34147/12]

Consular Services

Maureen O'Sullivan

76 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will ontact the Greek authorities in relation to the request for an urgent appeal in respect of persons (details supplied) where documents proving the absence of one of the men from Crete at the time of the offences are continually being ignored; and if he will do his utmost to ensure the appeal is conducted in a manner that is within EU law.
[33169/12]

Local Authority Housing

Maureen O'Sullivan

330 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the steps he has taken in relation to the pyrite issue in local authority housing in Dublin; if he has made, or is making, funding available to the local authority to address and redress this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[33431/12]

Citizenship Applications

Maureen O'Sullivan

355 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons, since 2005, that have been naturalised every year and to date in 2012; and if he will give an indication of the top ten nationalities that have been naturalised since 2005.
[33187/12]

Human Rights Issues

Maureen O'Sullivan

49 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the Human Rights Watch detailed investigation of the forced movement of rural populations from pastoral communities by the Ethiopian Government to make way for state-run sugar plantations and other infrastructure developments without a process of consultation or compensation for indigenous and local populations; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this process includes arbitrary arrests, detentions and beatings as part of forced removal of persons from traditional lands including the Omo valley which was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1980; if he will highlight the need for more accountability and transparency in large scale infrastructure projects undergoing in Africa to prevent such an occurrence arising; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[32859/12]

Domiciliary Care Allowance

Maureen O'Sullivan

88 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will include a member of a group (details supplied) as one of the three NGO representatives reserved for the review of the domiciliary care allowance system as they are representatives of multiple disabilities and whose members are also members of a range of other groups; her views on whether a member of this group as part of the review of the DCA system will ensure that input from parents on the front line of children with disabilities will be represented and that this will contribute to the establishment of a fair and workable system to overcome the review process.
[32860/12]

National Asset Management Agency

Maureen O'Sullivan

195 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance if he will explain the justification for the National Asset Management Agency stating that businesses which possess other viable businesses in a group are considered eligible to pay requested increases in rent; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[32008/12]

National Asset Management Agency

Maureen O'Sullivan

196 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a business with a licence that may stipulate that the proprietors can be asked to leave within one month’s notice will find itself in financial difficulty in view of the fact that it must pay three months rent up front to the National Assets Management Agency in advance even though it does not have security of tenure; his views on whether, alongside three months rent up front, a request of a 100% increase in rent on that business can place it in jeopardy; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[32009/12]

Waste Disposal

Maureen O'Sullivan

448 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his position on the proposed increase in bin charges by a waste collection company (details supplied) in the Dublin City area; his views on whether his Department’s increase in the landfill levy from €50 to €65 per tonne is passing on the burden of price increases to the customers; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[31894/12]

Water Fluoridation

Maureen O'Sullivan

579 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health in accordance with maintaining impartiality in the advice provided by members of the expert body on fluoride and health, the reason the largest representation on the body is from the dental profession with five representatives as members of the Dental Health Foundation Ireland; the reason the body includes only one environmental health officer, one food scientist and one biochemist; the way a disproportionate number of members from only one profession can ensure impartiality in its advice with only three other independent specialists on the expert body; the reason other specialists including medical doctors, immunologists, biologists, ecologists or other specialists are not included in this expert body; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[32057/12]

Services for People with Disabilities

Maureen O'Sullivan

627 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health in view of the Health Service Executive cut backs in 2012 amounting to 5.5% and the withdrawal of demographic funding for school leavers and emergency cases for those with intellectual disabilities, when the commitment made (details supplied) that appropriate services provisions will be provided for school-leavers from existing capacity will be put in place; the appropriate services that this specifically entails; if this will include mental health and physical needs provisions; the mental health and physical needs provisions that will be provided; if now adult children will receive these provisions once school ends at the end of the month; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[32064/12]

Medicinal Products

Maureen O'Sullivan

604 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if he will publish all of the Irish Medicines Board's advice to him regarding the replacement non-animal cell-based test for botulinum neurotoxins; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[31895/12]

Medicinal Products

Maureen O'Sullivan

605 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if and when Allergan’s authorities will carry out animal-based LD50 assays for testing botulinum neurotoxins were amended and withdrawn following confirmation that this represented an alternative to the LD50 assays; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[31896/12]

Medicinal Products

Maureen O'Sullivan

606 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the proportion of animal-based LD50 assays for testing of botulinum neurotoxin in Ireland that have ceased as a result of Allergan’s switch to a non-animal replacement; and if there were any withdrawal of authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[31897/12]

Medicinal Products

Maureen O'Sullivan

607 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if he has explored the possibility of Allergan making their non-animal botulinum neurotoxin test available to companies who continue to perform the animal-based test in Ireland, through licensing of the technology, for example; and the response he has received from other companies still carrying out animal botulinum neurotoxin LD50 tests to his Department’s encouragement to develop similar models; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[31898/12]