Parliamentary questions

Prison Service

Patrick Costello

442. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the current status of the progression unit in Mountjoy Prison, which was previously used only for model generic prisoners but which has now had sex offenders placed there; if this allocation of sex offenders to the unit will continue to take place; if so, why is the facility not being used for it's designed purposes; and what other building will act as a new progression unit to take its place. [17686/24]

Prison Service

Patrick Costello

443. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the number of prisoners being put forward for early or temporary release in the past 12 months, but who were not released due to the fact early probation supervision is not available for them in the community. [17688/24]

Probation and Welfare Service

Patrick Costello

444. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice to provide in tabular form a Statewide list of community probation teams, by area, the number of staff employed in each and the number of vacancies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17689/24]

Prison Service

Patrick Costello

445. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice if she will ensure other addiction counsellors are sourced as a matter of urgency for the prison service; her views on the situation whereby in Mountjoy Prison there is currently only two addiction/MQI counsellors for the entire prison, given by her own admission (details supplied) 70% of the population have addiction issues in a prison of approximately 800 prisons; and her views on whether two addiction councillors for 550+ prisoners with addiction issues is an adequate number for provision of services. [17690/24]

Prison Service

Patrick Costello

446. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 377 of 10 October 2023, if seven out of every ten prisoners have addiction issues, the reason millions are being spent on hundreds of new places in prison, when the money could be better spent addressing the root cause of incarceration for many of the existing populations, i.e. addiction, which would entail hiring more addiction counsellors. [17697/24]

Legislative Reviews

Patrick Costello

456. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the timeline for the establishment of an independent examiner of security legislation following the enactment of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2023. [17877/24]

Children in Care

Patrick Costello

508. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to respond to reports (details supplied) whereby a child with complex needs was placed in a special emergency arrangement, despite concerns that this setting may exacerbate their self-harming behaviours; the steps being taken by his Department to ensure children with complex needs have a stable, appropriate and regulated placement, particularly in relation to increasing the number of special care placements available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17397/24]

Children in Care

Patrick Costello

509. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to respond to statements attributed to Tusla’s acting head of practice assurance reported in the media (details supplied) of “immediate safeguarding concerns” within special emergency arrangements; to respond to Tusla audit reports outlining a “lack of recording of child protection matters” by one provider of these arrangements; the interventions his Department has made to ensure the welfare and protection of these children is upheld; if his Department believes children in these placements should have their own bedroom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17398/24]

Children in Care

Patrick Costello

510. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to respond to statements attributed to Tusla’s acting head of practice assurance reported in the media (details supplied) that some providers of special emergency arrangements do not have plans in place for when a child goes missing from their accommodation; if his Department will investigate if safeguarding procedures outlined in the Joint Protocol between An Garda Síochána and Tusla and the Children’s First Act 2015 are being adhered to by private providers of special emergency arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17399/24]

Children in Care

Patrick Costello

511. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to respond to public health concerns raised by Tusla’s acting head of practice assurance and reported in the media (details supplied) of “high occupancy rates” in special emergency arrangements, reports of bed bugs and scabies infestations in some settings and findings of “obvious health and safety hazards” at one special emergency setting; the plans his Department has taken or intend to take to ensure these health risks are not repeated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17400/24]

Primary Care Centres

Patrick Costello

576. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 586 of 21 November 2023, if an update will be provided. [17310/24]

Hospital Facilities

Patrick Costello

587. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health if there are longer-term plans to bring the vacant units in Cherry Orchard Hospital back into use in the coming years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17427/24]

Primary Care Centres

Patrick Costello

603. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health if he or his officials will meet with local residents’ groups in Drimnagh to discuss the timeline for construction of the Drimnagh primary care centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17487/24]

Health Services

Patrick Costello

628. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health if he will introduce a new comprehensive newborn screening programme that is adequately resourced and ensures that babies born in Ireland are screened for the European average of 18 conditions at a minimum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17692/24]

Third Level Education

Patrick Costello

695. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his views on Trinity College’s policy (details supplied) which prevents any external tour guides from using the campus and/or Book of Kells for guiding purposes. [17314/24]

Third Level Education

Patrick Costello

696. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his views on Trinity College’s policy (details supplied) which prevents any external tour guides from using the campus and/or Book of Kells for guiding purposes. [17315/24]

Grant Payments

Patrick Costello

703. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the grants or scholarships available to Irish students studying for masters degrees in UK institutions. [17591/24]

Sports Funding

Patrick Costello

25. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to detail what core funding has been allocated to support sporting organisations, national governing bodies of sport and local sports partnerships through Sport Ireland for 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16937/24]

Sports Funding

Patrick Costello

52. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to outline the recommendations of the recently published review of the large-scale sport infrastructure fund; the reason for the new similar access requirement policy in respect of men and women having access to publicly funded sporting facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16938/24]

Period Poverty

Patrick Costello

175. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will ensure that higher education institutions are sufficiently resourced to be able to provide free on-campus sanitary products to their students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16948/24]

National Security

Patrick Costello

185. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence whether his Department or the Naval Service plans to conduct a security assessment on the potential of an attack on any proposed floating storage and regasification unit, during both its construction phase and after project completion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16271/24]

State Properties

Patrick Costello

244. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he will provide an update on the OPW Jamestown Road workshop; the current and future utilisation of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16183/24]

State Properties

Patrick Costello

245. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he will provide an update on potential actions he will take to deal with the large amount of birds on OPW Jamestown Road workshop site, which is negatively impacting on nearby residents; if he will consider erecting some tethered hawk kites to deter birds from the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16184/24]

Greyhound Industry

Patrick Costello

562. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he agrees that there is a significant difference in the assertion contained in a report commissioned by Greyhound Racing Ireland and published in 2021 (details supplied) and the assertion contained in a reply to a Parliamentary Question provided to the Minister by Greyhound Racing Ireland in relation to the importance of the greyhound industry as a provider of employment in this country; if he agrees that the claim contained in the industry-commissioned report in this respect is one of several examples of inaccurate and misleading information contained in that report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16678/24]

Healthcare Policy

Patrick Costello

679. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health if will he publish the updated HSE palliative care strategy as a matter of urgency in line with recommendation 12 of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Assisted Dying report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16195/24]

Oideachas Gaeltachta

Patrick Costello

121. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Patrick Costello den Aire Oideachais cathain a bheidh an plean maidir le soláthar gaelcholáiste nó gaelcholáistí nua i gceantar Átha Cliath Theas réidh ag an Roinn Oideachais agus a thagair tú dó nuair a d'fhreagair tú ceist 476 le freagra 428 ar 20 Márta 2024. [15801/24]

Defence Forces

Patrick Costello

49. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will outline, in light of the news that former members of the Defence Forces, operating as a company (details supplied) are training private militias, what actions are being taken by his Department to prevent such a situation reoccurring in future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15715/24]

Middle East

Patrick Costello

33. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the efforts his Department are making to ensure the ICJ meet to assess the accountability of Israel in relation to the preliminary ruling issued in the South African case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14800/24]

Cycling Policy

Patrick Costello

195. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport if his Department will liaise with Dublin City Council on funding options for the expansion of the highly successful now Dublin bikes scheme. [14049/24]

Work Permits

Patrick Costello

378. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the total number of active employment permits in the State (details supplied), broken down by type of permit, i.e. Critical, General, Other and SOC Code (4 digit). [14223/24]

Departmental Data

Patrick Costello

424. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education to provide a list of all second-level education institutions aided by her Department that are located on public land, and a separate list of all second-level institutions aided by her Department that are located on land not in public ownership. [13982/24]

Departmental Data

Patrick Costello

425. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No. 276 of 23 January 2024, to list in tabular form the 103 new post-primary schools and 90 newly-established multi-denominational schools referenced, providing school roll numbers for all schools identified. [13983/24]

Mayoral Election

Patrick Costello

653. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a referendum on a directly elected mayor for Dublin will take place on the same day as the 2024 local elections. [14575/24]

Wildlife Regulations

Patrick Costello

666. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how many bird of prey licences were issued for taking birds from the wild from 2014 to date; and the breakdown of taking birds from the wild licences for each of those years, by species, gender and by location, in tabular form. [14717/24]

Prison Service

Patrick Costello

893. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice for an update on the work of the Prison Overcrowding Response Group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14628/24]

Prison Service

Patrick Costello

894. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice her views on the increasing number of prisoners on remand in prisons here; the steps she is taking to tackle this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14629/24]

Prison Service

Patrick Costello

919. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the actions being taken by her Department to alleviate overcrowding in the prison system; and the estimated timeline for returning the population to uniform single capacity cells and the use of community based sentencing to address this problem. [15030/24]

Health Services

Patrick Costello

1232. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health if the National Gender Service believes that trans people need to be in their mid- to late twenties before they are mature enough to decide to pursue medical transition, as per a recent radio interview (details supplied). [13698/24]

Health Services

Patrick Costello

1233. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health the reason that in a recent radio interview (details supplied), National Gender Service staff considered the process to access hormones via Tavistock to be too easy. [13699/24]

Health Services

Patrick Costello

1234. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health if, following a recent radio interview (details supplied), the National Gender Service staff believe asexuals are entitled to the same medical care and at the same age as all other sexualities. [13700/24]

Health Services

Patrick Costello

1235. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health if, when writing the Chief Clinical Officer's business case "Model of Care and Implementation Plan for Transgender care", it was intended that service users could be excluded from the Advisory Group due to their interest in their own healthcare being considered purely ideological. [13701/24]

Health Services

Patrick Costello

1236. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health what consultation was done with the trans community before abandoning the Programme for Government's commitment to WPATH as per a recent article (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13702/24]

Defence Forces

Patrick Costello

53. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if Ireland plans to recommit personnel to the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) mission. [13141/24]

Traffic Management

Patrick Costello

85. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport the level of engagement that the Department have had with local authorities regarding new rules which provide for zebra crossings without Belisha beacons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13171/24]

Bus Services

Patrick Costello

121. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the implementation of the BusConnects project. [13140/24]

Northern Ireland

Patrick Costello

64. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if in line with the recent report of Operation Kenova in Northern Ireland, he will advocate for a national day of commemoration on 21 June, for all of those who lost their lives during the Troubles on the islands of Ireland and Britain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12458/24]

Middle East

Patrick Costello

80. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Ireland's position on the Egyptian authorities charging Gazans thousands of dollars to gain entry to their state; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13129/24]

Litter Pollution

Patrick Costello

125. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications for a breakdown of the amount of funding drawn down by each local authority from the anti-litter and anti-graffiti awareness grant scheme in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13133/24]

Public Transport

Patrick Costello

173. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport the plans to deal with the provision of increased public transport in Dublin 8, particularly around Kilmainham-Inchicore which suffers from severe traffic congestion and proposed large housing developments which will bring additional demand to the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12464/24]

Aviation Industry

Patrick Costello

215. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline any approaches or negotiations engaged in by Ireland with other EU Member States to waive the exemption on aviation fuel tax for intra-community flights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11532/24]