Parliamentary questions

International Protection

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

445. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide a breakdown of the 13,000 State-owned IPAS units targeted by 2028 under the ‘Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy for International Protection Applicants’ that will be dedicated to reception and integration centres and accommodation centres respectively; and the estimated number of centres needed to accommodate the targeted unit capacity for reception and integration centres and accommodation centres respectively, in tabular form. [20401/24]

International Protection

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

446. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide a breakdown, in tabular form, of how many of the 11,000 commercially owned contingency accommodation units targeted by 2028 under the ‘Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy for International Protection Applicants’ are estimated to be delivered through the acquisition of new IPAS centres; and how many through upgrades of existing IPAS centres. [20402/24]

International Protection

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

447. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline the rationale of his Department’s targeted IPAS capacity of 35,000 by 2028 for arrivals of 13,000-16,000 per annum under the ‘Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy for International Protection Applicants’ – specifying, in tabular form, the estimated duration of accommodation between phase 1, phase 2 and post-status approval respectively, with a breakdown of the duration estimated for standard and accelerated procedures; and to outline the level of flexibility and flow-through within these estimates. [20403/24]

School Staff

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

310. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education what protections are in place for teachers who suffer an injury at work and their ‘assault leave’ has expired, but they still remain certified as unfit to work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19045/24]

Social Welfare Payments

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

460. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on the proposed jobseeker’s benefit pay related scheme; when in particular it is expected to be introduced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19247/24]

Residency Permits

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

532. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Justice the action she intends to take to resolve the lengthy delays of 90 days for appointments for IRP renewal in Cork city; if she will consider following the model in place in Dublin and providing online service; if not, if she will ensure that applicants for the Cork city office can attend other offices in County Cork where the backlog may be less. [19446/24]

Education Schemes

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

594. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth whether children based in designated accommodation centres will receive education while based there; and if so, where they will receive this education. [19422/24]

Social Welfare Payments

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

1. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in light of her not proceeding further with the consultation on the Green Paper on disability payments, she intends to examine a cost-of-disability payment; and whether she intends to introduce different reforms to the disability payments. [18467/24]

Citizens Information Services

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

3. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps she and her Department are taking to ensure workers in citizens information companies are provided with a pay increase, given the length of time since their last pay increase; and if she will provide the funding to ensure this happens [18468/24]

EU Directives

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

5. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection to clarify whether she intends to taper benefits received by beneficiaries of temporary protection in advance of the ending of the temporary protection directive in 2025. [18469/24]

Social Welfare Eligibility

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

23. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on her examination of the issues facing kinship carers who receive nominal contributions from birth parents and who may then be prevented from receiving guardianship allowance. [18470/24]

Social Welfare Appeals

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

33. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection whether she is aware of the substantial discrepancies that exist between initial applications for domiciliary care and the level of success of appeals with regard to same; and what she intends to do to address this. [18473/24]

Employment Support Services

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

35. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on the tender for EmployAbility which was due to be published in April 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18471/24]

Social Welfare Benefits

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

50. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection what steps she intends to take regarding the extent of the backlog in processing disability allowance claims. [18474/24]

Sentencing Policy

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

16. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Justice if she has received from the Judicial Council the sentencing guidelines committee's three-year work plan for sentencing guidelines, as committed to in the Judicial Council's 2022 annual report. [15783/24]

Sentencing Policy

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

27. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Justice if she has received from the Judicial Council, the sentencing guidelines committee's procedure for developing sentencing guidelines, as committed to in the Judicial Council's 2022 annual report. [15782/24]

Public Sector Pensions

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

62. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to discuss the differing pension entitlements that exist for members of An Garda Síochána based on joining the force pre- or-post 1995. [7917/24]

Widow's Pension

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

75. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the terms of the widows' or widower's pension, particularly in respect of non-married or co-habiting couples and the judgment of the Supreme Court on 22 January 2024; the expected timeline in terms of the legislative changes that are required in respect of this decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16782/24]

School Facilities

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

326. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education to address the need to provide additional funding for sports halls in schools. [16451/24]

Special Educational Needs

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

327. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education to address the recent changes to the allocation model for special education. [16452/24]