Parliamentary questions

Vaccination Programme

Michael Moynihan

21. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Health his response to concerns regarding the Gardasil vaccine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36258/15]

Crime Data

Michael Moynihan

206. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the recorded annualised crime statistics (details supplied) for the Kerry Garda Síochána districts for the second quarter of 2015 and for the second quarter of 2014, in tabular form. [37017/15]

Crime Data

Michael Moynihan

210. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the recorded annualised crime statistics (details supplied) for the Cork West Garda Síochána districts for the second quarter of 2015 and the second quarter of 2014, in tabular form. [37037/15]

Crime Data

Michael Moynihan

212. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the recorded annualised crime statistics (details supplied) for the north Cork Garda Síochána districts for the second quarter of 2015 and the second quarter of 2014, in tabular form. [37039/15]

Agriculture Scheme Payments

Michael Moynihan

70. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will investigate payments for a person (details supplied) in County Cork under the areas of natural constraint scheme; if there are any outstanding payments due; when these payments will be issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36729/15]

Vehicle Registration

Michael Moynihan

156. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if, under the new budget, the vehicle registration tax for commercial vehicles registered between now and 1 January 2016 will be pro-rated for the new lower rate for the 2016 portion of the tax. [36670/15]

Immigration Status

Michael Moynihan

375. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the recent changes to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service standards for non-European Union retirees to be deemed financially suitable for residency; the implications for retirees who arrived prior to these new rules; if she will acknowledge the anger of many persons who have Irish ancestry and planned to retire here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36324/15]

Renewable Energy Incentives

Michael Moynihan

684. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources with regard to the planned renewable heat incentive, considering some biomass users have postponed installations until clarity is specified on the qualifying criteria for the Incentive, if he has considered authorising renewable heating installations, completed from the date that the incentive was announced to the date it commences, in order to benefit from it; the cost estimations for the Incentive being planned, taking on board the so-called grandfather clause; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36175/15]

Postal Services

Michael Moynihan

687. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide an assurance that there are no plans to privatise any parts of the postal service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36296/15]

Radio Broadcasting

Michael Moynihan

688. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources for an update on the survey Raidió Teilifís Éireann is carrying out on the longwave radio service; the steps that have been taken to ensure that the survey is easily accessible for longwave listeners who wish participate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36325/15]

Garda Deployment

Michael Moynihan

200. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to set down in tabular form the number of members of An Garda Síochána assigned to each Garda Síochána station in the Cork west division from the end of September 2010 to the end of September 2015 or the latest date available. [35708/15]

Vaccination Programme

Michael Moynihan

249. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of the possible adverse reactions to the human papilloma virus vaccine; if he has evaluated the evidence relating to these potential long-term side effects; the steps he will take to address these issues; if a review has taken place, given the recent decision by the Danish health authorities to cease using this particular vaccine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35351/15]

National Broadband Plan Expenditure

Michael Moynihan

454. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the initial outlay planned for infrastructure and capital Investment 2016 to 2021 for the national broadband plan; if any moneys in the allocation of €275 million contain funding sourced from the European Regional Development Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35800/15]

Garda Deployment

Michael Moynihan

124. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to set out the current levels of service being provided by An Garda Síochána in a Garda station in an area (details supplied) in County Cork; if the hours which this station is manned by Garda personnel have been reduced; if she is aware of the strong opposition of the community to the downgrading of the service in this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35005/15]

Wind Energy Guidelines

Michael Moynihan

180. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the discussions he has had on new planning guidelines for wind turbines; the scenarios examined for set-back distances between wind turbines and residential homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34812/15]

Wind Energy Guidelines

Michael Moynihan

188. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when the new planning guidelines for wind turbines will be published; the scenarios examined for set-back distances between wind turbines and residential homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34813/15]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Michael Moynihan

198. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if all second level schools under the national broadband plan attained the 100 Mbs Internet download speed target by the end of 2014; if he will provide a list of all such schools that have not yet reached this target on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34811/15]

Agriculture Scheme Payments

Michael Moynihan

375. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will investigate payments for a person (details supplied) in County Cork under the areas of natural constraint scheme; if any payments are outstanding; when these will issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34295/15]

Departmental Programmes

Michael Moynihan

741. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No.1551 of 22 September 2015, if he will publish a list of all contractors who have been de-registered from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland register of contractors specifically due to substandard workmanship and failure to meet the terms of the scheme's quality assurance programme, while excluding the contractors who may have opted to leave the scheme for their own reasons; his views that it is in the public interest to distribute this information; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34065/15]

National Broadband Plan Expenditure

Michael Moynihan

744. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the estimated target spend under the national broadband plan; the breakdown in Exchequer funding and other sources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34422/15]

National Broadband Plan Expenditure

Michael Moynihan

745. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the initial outlay planned in the infrastructure and capital investment 2016 to 2021 for the national broadband plan; if the original spending target for this plan will be reached; the additional spend that will be allocated, and the timescale for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34423/15]

NAMA Portfolio

Michael Moynihan

247. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Finance the number of National Asset Management Agency properties available, which could be utilised for local authority housing in the north Cork area; the steps being taken to resolve the lack of social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33124/15]

Post Office Network

Michael Moynihan

87. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide an update on Government policy to maintain the existing post office network nationwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31800/15]

Mobile Telephony Services

Michael Moynihan

90. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the current state of mobile phone coverage nationwide; the steps being taken to improve signal coverage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31801/15]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Michael Moynihan

101. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the broadband technology that the planned State intervention under the national broadband plan will use; his views on the timeframe to connect all premises to high speed broadband Internet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31786/15]

Bord na Móna

Michael Moynihan

109. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his recent discussions with Bord na Móna on planned redundancies at Bord na Móna and its subsidiaries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31789/15]

Housing Grant Payments

Michael Moynihan

1464. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will amend the guidelines issued to local authorities regarding grant availability for the upgrading of heating systems under the housing aid for older people scheme, given that the template application form which is issued to all local authorities states that no grant is available under this scheme for upgrading an existing central heating system; his views that the grants available from Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland cover only a small proportion of the cost of such works and as such are not viable for many households; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31623/15]

Better Energy Homes Scheme

Michael Moynihan

1551. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will ensure that the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland makes available to the public the details of any contractors who have been removed from the registered list of contractors for the purposes of SEAI grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31621/15]

Better Energy Homes Scheme Expenditure

Michael Moynihan

1552. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the amount that was paid by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland to external contractors to investigate the works carried out by contractors under SEAI schemes; if the results of any such investigations will be made available to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31622/15]

Broadcasting Charge

Michael Moynihan

1555. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his policy toward community media and funding currently provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31829/15]

National Council for Special Education

Michael Moynihan

695. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the criteria by which special needs assistants are allocated; and specifically how her Department can guarantee the reasonable safety of a child who is allocated only a shared assistant, despite having been diagnosed with multiple problems, including profound global developmental delay, epilepsy with frequent severe seizures, and a high risk of sudden infant death syndrome; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30368/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Michael Moynihan

696. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the provisions made for providing essential educational resources for children with profound developmental issues to prepare them to enter national school, given that they do not qualify under the July provision programme until after their first year of national school, despite their developmental difficulties having been defined by the Department through the programme to require extra educational assistance outside the school year, and how to access such resources in a timely fashion, when children are still being assessed or, in many cases, waiting months or years for assessments to be provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30369/15]

Energy Policy

Michael Moynihan

797. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the approximate cost of introducing a renewable heat incentive, which his Department plans to bring online next year; if he has considered including any project installed from the date the initiative is announced to retrospectively qualify once the initiative opens; the approximate cost of this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29963/15]

National Carers Strategy Implementation

Michael Moynihan

19. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his response to the recent family carers' scorecard which claims his Department has yet to engage with the national carers strategy. [28655/15]

National Carers Strategy Implementation

Michael Moynihan

22. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the progress made by his Department in the role assigned to it under the national carers strategy in supporting working carers and former carers who wish to return to the workforce. [28656/15]

Banking Sector

Michael Moynihan

262. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Finance if he has received representations from agents who worked for the Educational Building Society, prior to the society's acquisition by Allied Irish Banks; his views that these agents suffered a loss of income, financial hardship and a loss of livelihood; that in these circumstances these agents are due a recompense; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28441/15]

Wind Energy Guidelines

Michael Moynihan

852. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the opinion of the head of an organisation (details supplied) regarding set-back distances of up to 1,500 m for wind turbines from residential areas, and the effects, if any, on health from wind turbine noise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28505/15]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Michael Moynihan

901. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if the target outlined in his Department’s 2012 document, Delivering a Connected Society - A National Broadband Plan for Ireland, of providing high-speed broadband across the country during the lifetime of this Government has been achieved; if not, when will it be achieved; the current level of availability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28835/15]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Michael Moynihan

902. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if the target outlined in his Department’s 2012 document, Delivering a Connected Society - A National Broadband Plan for Ireland, to provide 70 Mbps to 100 Mbps broadband speed to more than half of the population by 2015 has been reached; if not, when will this target be reached; the current estimated percentage of the population that can access such speeds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28836/15]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Michael Moynihan

903. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if the targets outlined in his Department’s 2012 document, Delivering a Connected Society - A National Broadband Plan for Ireland, to provide at least 40 Mbps broadband speed to at least a further 20% of the population, and potentially to as much as 35% around smaller towns and villages, have been achieved; if not, when will these targets be achieved; the current estimated percentage of the population that can access such speeds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28837/15]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Michael Moynihan

904. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if the target outlined in his Department’s 2012 document, Delivering a Connected Society - A National Broadband Plan for Ireland, to provide a minimum of 30 Mbps broadband speed to every remaining home and business has been achieved; if not, when will this target be achieved; the current estimated percentage of the population that can access such speeds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28838/15]

Road Network

Michael Moynihan

933. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will approve funding for urgent works to the Poulavoune Roundabout on the N22 in Ballincollig, County Cork (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28783/15]

Nursing Staff Provision

Michael Moynihan

23. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Health the action his Department will take to address the shortage of nurses in the nursing home sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27576/15]

Hospital Accommodation Provision

Michael Moynihan

47. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Health when the new cystic fibrosis unit in Cork University Hospital will be fully operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27575/15]

Agriculture Scheme Payments

Michael Moynihan

186. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is aware of the concerns in the farming community regarding situations where farmers who have entered into partnerships with sons or daughters, and where the possibility of delays in issuing payments under the new Common Agricultural Policy is causing a cashflow problem towards the end of the year; if he will confirm that there will not be delays to payments in these situations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27187/15]

Commercial Rates

Michael Moynihan

88. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will confirm whether 65% of ratepayers in County Limerick are to see a reduction in their rates at the expense of the other 35% who will see an increase; if the total rates budget will remain unchanged; if this increase will have any effect on nursing homes, crèches and wind farms; if it means there has been a change in Government policy as regards supporting these sectors; if a regulatory impact assessment has been carried out as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26833/15]

Health Services Staff Remuneration

Michael Moynihan

166. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Health if salary increments are paid in section 39 agencies. [26774/15]

Health Services Funding

Michael Moynihan

167. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of additional costs being incurred by disability organisations which receive funding from the Health Service Executive; if there is any estimate of additional costs arising from Health Information and Quality Authority compliance, the changing need of service users, water charges, employers’ PRSI rate changes, VAT rate changes and changes to sick leave entitlements. [26775/15]

Nursing Staff Recruitment

Michael Moynihan

181. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the serious issues arising in the recruitment and retention of nurses in the nursing home sector; if he has made any efforts to eliminate the delays in nurse registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26790/15]

HSE Funding

Michael Moynihan

481. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Health if the Health Service Executive has provided funding for section 38 or section 39 agencies to address funding deficits in 2014; and the main causes of such agencies incurring deficits. [26340/15]