Parliamentary questions

Housing Assistance Payments Administration

John Browne

619. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there is a statutory or indicative timescale for notification to a landlord of any problem in a tenancy supported by the housing assistance payment, whether through differential rent being unpaid or any other problem; the rationale in the legislation for the housing assistance payment to be paid in arrears, rather than in advance, as is normal in the private rental sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48415/14]

Pensions Legislation

John Browne

180. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the current Revenue Commissioners rules regarding pension schemes allow a married couple where both are employed outside the home to accrue total pension benefits of €4 million, whereas a married couple where only one spouse is working outside the home can only accumulate funds of €2 million; his views on an EU survey showing that the pensions gender gap is 35% and the way this discrimination meets the commitment in the statement of Government priorities 2014-2016 to address the gender gap in pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47155/14]

Water Quality

John Browne

229. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the efforts his Department is making to prevent the pollution of our fishing lakes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44004/14]

Food Safety Authority of Ireland Investigations

John Browne

385. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Health the efforts his Department is making to investigate the health implications of aspartame in our drinks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44003/14]

Water Services Provision

John Browne

488. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the total estimated costs of abolishing Irish Water. [42835/14]

Water Services Provision

John Browne

489. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on a future referendum on an amendment to the Constitution to prevent the privatisation of Irish Water. [42836/14]

Irish Water Administration

John Browne

490. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of outstanding contracts with outside companies currently entered into by Irish Water; the companies involved; the expiry date of these contracts; and their overall monetary value. [42837/14]

Irish Water Expenditure

John Browne

491. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a detailed breakdown of the start-up costs of Irish Water broken down by section of expenditure. [42838/14]

Pension Provisions

John Browne

69. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Finance his views on the funding ability of a non-pension scheme member spouse who, pursuant to a pension adjustment order in divorce or separation cases, has pension benefits transferred to a spouse which are still deemed to be part of the pension assets of the original owner, given that a threshold of €2 million applies before punitive rates of tax apply and therefore is a de facto limit on pensions; his further views on a pension adjustment order which transfers benefit worth €2 million to the non-member, which effectively means that the member spouse has no allowance left to provide for a new family as the non-member spouse would have both the €2 million pension benefit and a €2 million allowance available to provide for their family; if he views this as contrary to the principle of equal treatment for both old and new families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42666/14]

Aquaculture Licences

John Browne

107. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of aquaculture licences fully granted or determined by him in 2014 versus the targets he set for determinations at the beginning of the year; the reasons for any shortfall; where the bottlenecks still exist in dealing with the backlog of processing aquaculture licences; the agency responsible for any delays in processing determinations and the solutions being put in place to deal with the problem; if the agency causing the problem is one under his control or the responsibility of another Department; if it is outside of his remit, the steps he has taken with the Department involved to resolve the issue; the list of bays and number of aquaculture licence determinations which he committed to achieve during a speech at the recent national shellfish conference organised by the IFA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42687/14]

Pension Provisions

John Browne

366. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if a member of the non-established State employees scheme who will be 64 years of age in December, and who has total reckonable service of 18 years and 310 days spread over several periods in various Government Departments, is eligible to claim preserved pension benefit in advance of age 65 under the actuarially reduced benefit scheme; the method of application whether now or at age 65; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41301/14]

Nursing Homes Support Scheme Administration

John Browne

646. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Health his plans to improve the waiting list times for approval of funding for the fair deal scheme for persons awaiting funding and suffering from ill-health as County Wexford applicants are forced to wait at least 15 weeks for approval for funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41294/14]

Generic Drugs Substitution

John Browne

446. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Health the proportion of medicines sold here that are generics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40270/14]

Health Services Expenditure

John Browne

182. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Health the amount that has been saved since this Government came to power in each of the following areas; savings on the State's drug budget; Health Service Executive payroll; hospital consultants pay; HSE procurement that is procurement other than non-pay procurement and non-core pay expenditure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39735/14]

Mortgage Arrears Report Implementation

John Browne

171. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide the breakdown of appeal categories in the independent Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman in respect of the number and percentage relating to code of conduct on mortgage arrears or mortgage arrears resolution process complaints, insurance companies, and so on in the period 2011 to 2014; if he will also provide the number of appeals and the equivalent percentage of each appeal category where the finding was upheld, partly upheld or not upheld; his views on the mediation option applying to the Financial Services Ombudsman not being accepted by financial institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37986/14]

Civil Registration Legislation

John Browne

60. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Finance if dowries are legal here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37448/14]

Rent Supplement Scheme Administration

John Browne

150. Deputy John Browne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reason the views of landlords are not represented in her departmental review examining maximum rent limits for rent supplement on the same basis as tenants' views are taken account of through certain representative bodies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36763/14]

Property Tax Application

John Browne

198. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Finance if section 97(2) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, where it refers to services rendered to a tenant, should apply in the case of local property tax and any other local charges which may be introduced in the future, as such services are for the benefit of tenants and not landlords; the difference between local property tax and payment of local authority rates in the same section of the Act, particularly as local authorities now have the power to vary the local property tax rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36893/14]

Proposed Legislation

John Browne

277. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if the proposed mediation Bill will have any relevance either to insolvency legislation or in the context of mediation being refused in appeals to the Financial Services Ombudsman; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36548/14]

EU Directives

John Browne

287. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Finance the way the EU directive on agreements for consumers relating to residential immovable property is to be transposed into Irish law; the timescale for this to happen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34274/14]