Parliamentary questions

Maternity Services

Mick Barry

2123. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he will institute a review in relation to the practice of not permitting a birthing partner to be present with persons giving birth due to Covid-19 restrictions; his views on whether this is proportionate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19916/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

2190. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he will consider revising the regulations on the mandatory Covid-19 detention for persons who can demonstrate that they are fully vaccinated for Covid-19 and have a negative PCR test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20084/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

2313. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he will consider changes to the mandatory Covid-19 detention system to facilitate returning students from Erasmus programmes, other student exchanges and graduate internship programmes in EU states and non-EU states to quarantine at home upon arrival; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20560/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

2314. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if a person returning from essential surgery from a category 2 State who is fully vaccinated and can supply negative PCR tests on arrival will be obliged to undergo mandatory Covid-19 detention upon return to Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20561/21]

Eating Disorders

Mick Barry

2389. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to ensure the opening of the 16 proposed specialist treatment hubs for eating disorders; if funding for the national eating disorder programme will be increased; the steps he will take to ensure that all allocated funds for eating disorders are spent fully; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20676/21]

Cabinet Committees

Mick Barry

1. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the Cabinet committee dealing with education. [1594/21]

Cabinet Committees

Mick Barry

6. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the Cabinet committee dealing with education. [17192/21]

Cabinet Committees

Mick Barry

7. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the meeting of the Cabinet committee on Covid-19. [1593/21]

Cabinet Committees

Mick Barry

12. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the Cabinet committee on Covid-19. [13300/21]

Cabinet Committees

Mick Barry

19. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health last met; and when it next plans to meet. [17191/21]

Cabinet Committees

Mick Barry

25. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the Cabinet committee dealing with economic affairs. [13299/21]

Banking Sector

Mick Barry

58. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Finance the steps he will take to defend jobs and services in the branch networks of banks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17194/21]

Banking Sector Remuneration

Mick Barry

64. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Finance his views on the continuation of the bankers' pay cap; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17193/21]

Asylum Seekers

Mick Barry

698. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will support the relocation of at least 400 asylum seekers who are currently on Lesvos Island, Greece, and undergoing particular hardship due to the six-month lockdown in the Moria camp; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16694/21]

Immigration Data

Mick Barry

802. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons who were naturalised in 2020; the number awaiting a ceremony; the steps being taken to ensure there is no further undue delay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16695/21]

Abortion Services

Mick Barry

970. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health the measures he will take to urgently ensure that all those facing diagnoses of fatal foetal abnormality will not have to travel to access a termination of the pregnancy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16696/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

971. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health the names of the companies that have been awarded contracts to manage detention centres related to mandatory Covid-19 quarantine; the cost of these contracts to the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16698/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

972. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health the measures he has taken to ensure that those who are subjected to mandatory quarantine under the Covid-19 quarantine regulations will have access to consular assistance, legal services and medical services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16699/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

973. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health the training that those working in the detention facilities related to Covid-19 quarantine will be obliged to undertake; if there will be an obligation for human rights training, cultural awareness training and mental health awareness training; if a certain cohort of the staff will have medical training and language skills; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16700/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

974. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he will oblige the managers of Covid-19 quarantine detention centres to report on occasions when they refuse access to medical treatment for a detainee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16701/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

1205. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he will report on measures his Department and the HSE have taken to investigate the factors behind the number of deaths due to Covid-19 in HSE run nursing homes and residential care services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17549/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

1206. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health the number of deaths in nursing homes and other residential care settings run by the HSE in the past year; the main causes of deaths; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17550/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

1207. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health the specific measures or set of measures that the HSE brought in in advance of the third wave of Covid-19 that demonstrably reduced in the third wave mortality rate compared to the mortality rates seen in each of the first two waves in nursing homes and other residential care units runs by the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17551/21]

Fishing Industry

Mick Barry

278. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Transport the number of referrals that have to date been made to the Marine Survey Office by the Workplace Relations Commission under the agreement made between those agencies on 3 April 2019; the number of these referrals that led to inspections of fishing vessels by the Marine Survey Office; the number of these inspections that were unannounced; the number involved in a review by Marine Survey Office surveyors of records of work and rest maintained under regulations (details supplied); the number of these reviews that identified violations of the said regulations; the action the Marine Survey Office took in respect of these violations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14266/21]

Fishing Industry

Mick Barry

279. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Transport the number of unannounced inspections of Irish fishing vessels the Marine Survey Office surveyors have made annually since 1 January 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14267/21]

Fishing Industry

Mick Barry

280. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Transport the number of Irish flagged fishing vessels over 15 m in length that have been inspected by the Marine Survey Office annually since 1 January 2018 and, in respect of the number of the said vessels, if the official log book had been returned to the Marine Survey Office as required by sections 239 to 242 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (as amended); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14268/21]

Foreign Policy

Mick Barry

743. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the military coup in Myanmar; the representations he and the relevant ambassadors have made to the authorities in Myanmar; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13995/21]

Special Educational Needs

Mick Barry

855. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Education if additional secondary school places and resources for special needs children leaving junior school will be made available in Cork city before September 2021 (details supplied). [14460/21]

Courts Service

Mick Barry

1192. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Justice the measures that will be put in place to ensure that all cases related to family law and divorce proceedings in County Cork are progressed with, notwithstanding the Covid-19 restrictions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13994/21]

Human Trafficking

Mick Barry

1209. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Justice if her Department as per its 2021 action plan goal 1, objective 18, work with public sector and civil society stakeholders to review and strengthen processes and the legislative framework to combat human trafficking by the end of quarter 1 agree to the request of an organisation (details supplied) for such an engagement in which it can convey its relevant experiences with the existing processes and legislative framework from the perspective of undocumented migrant fishers it has encountered who have fulfilled the minimum criteria of the internationally recognised Delphi Indicators for human trafficking; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14262/21]

Human Trafficking

Mick Barry

1210. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Justice the additional practical supports for victims of human trafficking that will be in place by the end of quarter 1 of 2021 as promised in the 2021 action plan of her Department under section goal 1, action and objective 17.2; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14263/21]

Immigration Data

Mick Barry

1211. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Justice the number of permissions her Department has issued in the course 2020 and to date in 2021 to reside and work in the State to non-EEA, UK and Swiss nationals on stamp 1 conditions subject to the general requirement that the person in question be in employment, rather than the usual requirement that they be employed by a named employer; the number of permissions of the latter type that have been issued in the same period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14264/21]

Work Permits

Mick Barry

1212. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Justice the number of letters of notification that were sent in 2020 and to date in 2021 by her Department to participants in the atypical working scheme for non-EEA crew in the Irish fishing fleet notifying them that their contract of employment has ceased and that they should furnish details of their new contract of employment under the scheme within 28 days of the issue of the letter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14265/21]

Courts Service

Mick Barry

1231. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Justice the steps being put in place by Cork city courthouse to hold cases remotely in circumstances in which hearings have been cancelled due to level 5 Covid-19 restrictions. [14461/21]

Student Support Schemes

Mick Barry

1346. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he will support the development of standardised allowances, placement grants and payment for work carried out by radiography students; if he will meet with representatives of student radiographers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13999/21]

Childcare Services

Mick Barry

644. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if an additional year of preschool can be arranged for a child (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12878/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

674. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if measures will be put in place to give regard to the arrangements for those preparing for their final apprenticeship exams in view of the Covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13027/21]

Driver Test

Mick Barry

100. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Transport the policies in relation to the provision of the driver theory test and its availability to essential workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9635/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment

Mick Barry

566. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider adapting the rules of the pandemic unemployment payment to include those workers who are under 18 years of age in the scheme; the projected costs of such a measure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9636/21]

Ministerial Functions

Mick Barry

709. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 281 of 13 February 2018, if posthumous pardons for women convicted of offences related to their protest for the right to vote will be progressed (details supplied); the work carried out by her Department on this matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9640/21]

Hospital Services

Mick Barry

804. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health the measures he is taking to ensure that young transgender persons receive the healthcare that they need in view of the fact that the gender-identity service, that was situated in Children's Health Ireland, Crumlin, is no longer receiving further referrals; his plans to ensure a rapid implementation of a multidisciplinary team to support the provision of care for young trans persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9558/21]

Vaccination Programme

Mick Barry

805. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if the Covid-19 vaccination programme implemented by a company (details supplied) for its staff is in co-ordination with the HSE and the Government's plans; if private companies will be able to privately acquire vaccines to vaccinate staff outside of the parameters of the Covid-19 vaccine allocation strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9559/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Mick Barry

864. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health the number of residents who have died in a nursing home (details supplied) to date in 2021; the dates of those deaths; if there will be an investigation into the circumstances of those deaths; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9825/21]

Vaccination Programme

Mick Barry

284. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if patients that are undergoing dialysis treatment and those who are transplant recipients will be treated as categories of persons that would be prioritised in the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines; the position on the priority list for such persons categorised; when they might expect a vaccine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9181/21]

Cannabis for Medicinal Use

Mick Barry

768. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he plans to bring amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 to ensure that plants containing cannabidiol, CBD, with a tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, content of less than 0.2% can be grown without fear of prosecution and to align Irish law with EU legislation on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8325/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Mick Barry

582. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his plans for students in third-level institutions who are required to undertake a certain number of placement hours to obtain their qualifications, such as those studying social care in TU Dublin (details supplied), but who have been hindered because of the Covid-19 restrictions; the steps he will take to ensure that those with work, childcare and other commitments who will face difficulties rearranging placements for the summer will be facilitated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6572/21]

Vaccination Programme

Mick Barry

758. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if any Covid-19 vaccines have been provided to employees of pharmaceutical companies in their workplaces or elsewhere as part of the Covid-19 vaccination programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6573/21]

Garda Training

Mick Barry

586. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Justice the training undertaken by members of An Garda Síochána who are armed in dealing with persons facing mental health emergencies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5657/21]

Covid-19 Tests

Mick Barry

724. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he will consider regulations in relation to the recognition of PCR Covid-19 tests by airlines and at the Border by Irish officials; if it will be ensured when drafting these regulations that tests issued by competent bodies in public health systems are recognised, that passengers will not be obliged to take a test with a certain private operator tied to the airline or otherwise and that measures are taken to recognise or to verify tests with results in languages other than English or Irish; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5381/21]

School Admissions

Mick Barry

464. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Education if, under the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, schools have no scope to offer discretionary places to potential pupils who do not meet the criteria for admission; if she will consider a review of this for certain hardship cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4102/21]