Parliamentary questions

International Agreements

Seán Crowe

497. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if, considering recent progress on an EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement, he will guarantee that he will not support any move to allow this agreement to be signed during Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, due to the reservations of the Sahrawi people who have been ignored in these discussions. [56841/12]

Defence Forces Equipment

Seán Crowe

31. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Defence if he will rule out the procurement of any Israeli technology through the European Defence Agency for use by the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54708/12]

Child Detention Centres

Seán Crowe

81. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prisoners under 18 years of age who remain in St. Patrick’s Institution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54472/12]

Election Management System

Seán Crowe

74. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the discussions he has had regarding the possibility of extending the right to vote in elections here to the Irish diaspora. [50094/12]

Overseas Development Aid Provision

Seán Crowe

125. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount of funding allocated by Irish Aid to Irish non-governmental organisations working in Uganda; the proportion of this funding which goes to NGOs and civil society organisations that work on improving democratic accountability and good governance; and the way this proportion compares to other like minded donors to Uganda. [54136/12]

Overseas Development Aid Provision

Seán Crowe

126. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide statistics on the historical trend of Irish Aid to Uganda, namely, the total amount of aid that has been given to Uganda by Irish Aid every year since it became a partner country; the percentage of the Irish Aid budget that the funding to the Ugandan programme represents for each of these years; and the share of funding that went to governance and anti-corruption based projects in each of these years. [54137/12]

Scéimeanna Teanga

Seán Crowe

11. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Seán Crowe den Aire Ealaíon, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta an dtabharfaidh sé sonraí faoi líon na scéimeanna nua teanga atá deimhnithe ag Eagrais Phoiblí le bliain anuas agus, de réir an ráta deimhniúcháin, cathain a bheidh scéim teanga deimhnithe ag gach Eagras Poiblí [52979/12]

Job Protection

Seán Crowe

24. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if his attention has been drawn to the fact that 20,755 persons are directly employed in the Arts sector; his plans to protect these jobs and ensure continued funding for the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53058/12]

Integrated Ticketing

Seán Crowe

98. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he plans to implement a tag off, tag on system to Dublin Bus for use of the Leap card as is in place for Luas users, in an attempt to reduce queues on buses. [52664/12]

Sports Capital Programme Applications

Seán Crowe

154. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on whether sporting bodies should be allowed to register as charities; his plans to introduce legislation to this effect; his views on whether persons who make such donations should be able to claim a tax break; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52686/12]

Departmental Staff Remuneration

Seán Crowe

185. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide in tabular form, the number of staff in their Department, or in bodies which fall under the remit of the Department, whose annual remuneration including salary, pension and benefits at 31 December 2011 fell into bands of €400,000 and above, between €300,000 to €399,999, between €200,000 to €299,999 and between €150,000 to €199,000; if he will provide a breakdown of the positions held by the staff in the relevant pay brackets. [52545/12]

Departmental Staff Remuneration

Seán Crowe

186. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has made any contacts requesting staff whose annual salary is in excess of €200,000 in their Department or in any body under the remit of their Department, to waive 15% of their salary or such amount in excess of €200,000 whichever is the lesser; if he has, the date on which he first made this contact; the number of staff whose annual salaries were in excess of €200,000 at that date; the number of staff who acquiesced to the request for the waiver; the number of staff who refused the request for the waiver and the number of staff who have not responded to the request for the waiver [52546/12]

Employment Rights Issues

Seán Crowe

10. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will develop the code of practise on access to part-time working to promote the entitlement to additional hours of work. [51894/12]

State Examinations Reviews

Seán Crowe

116. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on comments expressed by the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland regarding the loss of national State certification at junior cycle level will damage education and that the decision to axe State certification at junior cycle level will have a negative impact on students. [51350/12]

Skills Shortages

Seán Crowe

142. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to introduce measures that will address the estimated 5,000 job vacancies in IT companies which cannot be filled because of the skills gap and the 2,300 IT experts from outside the EU who had to be hired by multi- nationals based here in the past year. [51351/12]

Equality Proofing of Budgets

Seán Crowe

22. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Finance if he supports the concept of equality budgeting; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Scottish Government provides an equality budget statement alongside each annual budget; his plans to provide an accompanying equality statement along with budget 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50247/12]

Promissory Note Negotiations

Seán Crowe

30. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, the annual interest repayments owed for the next 40 years if the maturity of all remaining promissory notes currently owed to the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation was extended out to 2052 and if annual interest on the notes was charged at 3%, 4% and 5%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50246/12]

Overseas Development Aid Oversight

Seán Crowe

2. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when the report from the Irish Aid delegation that visited Uganda to investigate the misappropriation of Irish Aid funds will be completed; and if he will make it public. [50341/12]

Human Rights Issues

Seán Crowe

5. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the increased human rights abuses against the Kurdish minority in Turkey; and if the issue is being discussed at EU level. [50342/12]

Home-makers Scheme

Seán Crowe

116. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to SIPTU's call for the home-makers scheme to be backdated from 1994 to 1964; if she will make arrangements to backdate it as suggested; the estimated cost of doing so; and the likely number of women who would benefit. [49848/12]

Disability Allowance Payments

Seán Crowe

129. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will arrange for a review of all agency arrangements for all persons in receipt of disability allowance living in residential care in view of concerns raised by Inclusion Ireland. [49849/12]

Services for People with Disabilities

Seán Crowe

14. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that cuts to funding for disability services are beginning to threaten the progressive policy of accommodating persons with disabilities in community settings rather than in institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48970/12]

Medicinal Products Supply

Seán Crowe

35. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the recent positive developments in the area of vaccines for lung cancer, prostate cancer and meningitis in Cuba; his views on whether the widespread availability of these vaccines for cancer and meningitis sufferers would be welcome; and if there is anything that he can do to promote their availability in here and in Europe. [44822/12]

Overseas Missions

Seán Crowe

32. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Defence the number of countries across the world in which members of the Defence Forces are serving; and the requests he may be considering in other countries and new missions. [48466/12]

Housing for People with Disabilities

Seán Crowe

699. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the action he will take to assist the emerging generation of children with disabilities, and their parents living in apartments, who through negative equity or being tied into affordable housing conditions, cannot adapt their accommodation through housing adaption grants or council assistance and are as a result living in inaccessible, unadaptable accommodation that poses a severe health and safety risk to the whole family. [47897/12]

Child Care Services Provision

Seán Crowe

19. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent of parental and sibling access to those young persons placed in out of State secure facilities; if all reasonable costs incurred are covered by the Health Service Executive; if she will provide a representative past case including diagnosis, previous in-State placement, duration of overseas placement and where now; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46790/12]

Student Visas Reform

Seán Crowe

25. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to difficulties or delays in job applicants and students receiving visas to come to work or study here; and if he has any new proposals to address these difficulties. [44826/12]

Visa Applications

Seán Crowe

33. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the motion of the Stormont Assembly on 17 September to introduce a single visa scheme for all visitors to the island of Ireland; and his views on whether it would enhance tourism on the island of Ireland. [44819/12]

Drug Treatment Programmes Funding

Seán Crowe

242. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health the amount of funding each community drug response project in the Tallaght area, Dublin 24, received each year from the Health Service Executive over the past five years; and the cuts in funding that have been imposed each year on each project [46694/12]

Hospital Services

Seán Crowe

258. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health his plans to go ahead with the urgent care centre in Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, as part of the reconfiguration of the health care system [46823/12]

Hospital Waiting Lists

Seán Crowe

259. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health the current waiting time for a patient wishing to avail of the pain Doctor/Clinic in Tallaght Hospital, Dublin [46822/12]

Hospital Staff Issues

Seán Crowe

260. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health his view on the concerns expressed in the Hayes Report regarding the number of radiologists in Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, and the number that are now currently employed [46821/12]

Hospital Services

Seán Crowe

261. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health if there are currently delays or difficulties in accident and emergency consultants and obstetricians accessing abdominal ultra sounds over weekends and if this is causing a bed or other delays particularly over weekends [46819/12]

Hospital Services

Seán Crowe

262. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health if there are any lengthy delays being experienced in accessing X-Rays in Tallaght Hospital, Dublin [46824/12]

Accident and Emergency Departments Closures

Seán Crowe

263. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health if there are any proposed plans to close the children's accident and emergency in Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, at midnight in the next few months and where is it proposed to send children in emergency situations [46825/12]

Primary Care Centres Provision

Seán Crowe

264. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health is the location of a Primary Health Care in Fettercairn,Tallaght, Dublin is a priority or on his list, in view of the fact that no general practitioner or doctor is based or located in this specially designated disadvantaged / RAPID area that has approximately 7,500 people living there [46826/12]

NAMA Receivers

Seán Crowe

53. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the progress with delivering homes for leasing which were promised by the National Assets Management Agency at the beginning of 2011 and again this month. [46195/12]

Local Government Reform

Seán Crowe

56. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the terms of reference for the special forum of elected members of the four local authorities in Dublin to consider the options for the elected Mayor of Dublin. [46077/12]

Public Sector Staff Issues

Seán Crowe

21. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps he is taking to deal with the fact that cuts to staffing and financial resources in the public sector will have a negative impact on tourism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45118/12]

Human Rights Issues

Seán Crowe

38. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the recent decision of Bahrain's highest court which upheld the jail terms issued against nine medics convicted for their role in last year's pro-democracy uprising, especially the case of Dr. Ali al-Ekry, who was trained here; and if he has raised these cases with the Bahraini Government. [44820/12]

Millenium Development Goals

Seán Crowe

57. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide details on his meeting with the UN Deputy Secretary General; and in view of the fact that there is now widespread agreement that most of the millennium development goals will not be achieved by the deadline of 2015, his policies on shaping a new international development agenda and in particular the efforts he is making at EU level to secure a greater commitment to supporting the world's poorest countries. [44817/12]

Child Benefit Payments

Seán Crowe

92. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the Central Statistics Office figures published last month which indicated that the income of households with children fell five times more than childless households between 2009 and 2010; and her plans to protect children from further income drops in the recession. [44563/12]

Social Insurance Fund Deficit

Seán Crowe

100. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection following the revised estimates 2012 which provided for a deficit in the Social Insurance Fund of €1.82 billion in 2012 which her Department has acknowledged is now likely to be exceeded in 2012, the amount by which it is likely to be exceeded; and the amount of the total Departmental spend for 2012 is expected to be. [44564/12]

Third Level Staff Remuneration

Seán Crowe

69. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will carry out an investigation into the unauthorised payment of €7.5 million in allowances to academics working in Irish third level institutions from 2005 – 2011; and if he will provide a list of the persons who received unauthorised allowances during that period. [43097/12]

School Evaluations

Seán Crowe

76. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills in view of the fact that as the literacy and numeracy for learning and life strategy requires all schools to engage in robust self-evaluation and have in place a three year school improvement plan, if he will confirm when he will publish Guidelines for Self-Evaluation in order to facilitate schools to proceed with the requirements that he has established. [42641/12]

Tax Reliefs Availability

Seán Crowe

13. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, he has to publish the economic rationale for all existing tax reliefs and for all proposed tax reliefs being considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42274/12]

Budget 2013

Seán Crowe

30. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, he has to gender proof each of the various options being considered for Budget 2013; the plans, the Government has to publish a distributional analysis of each of the various options being considered with specific reference to gender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42273/12]

Straitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge

Seán Crowe

12. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Seán Crowe den Aire Ealaíon, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta an féidir leis an Rialtas tuairisc a thabhairt faoin dul chun cinn atá déanta maidir leis na Pleananna Teanga a luaitear in Acht na Gaeltachta; agus cad iad na hacmhainní breise atá á gcur ar fáil chun iad a fhorbairt. [41975/12]

Credit Availability

Seán Crowe

66. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation when he last met with the major banks to promote credit to the small and medium enterprise sector. [41612/12]

Ambulance Service Provision

Seán Crowe

10. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health if he will address the concerns raised regarding the cutbacks to ambulance stations and services in Tallaght and Swords, County Dublin and in Maynooth, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40995/12]