Parliamentary questions

Environmental Policy

Mick Wallace

386. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the State provides Emission Allowances (Pollution Permits) free of charge, for coal-fired power stations; if so, the total value of these permits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13132/16]

Female Genital Mutilation

Mick Wallace

532. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on being trade partners with countries that do little to enforce the laws against the practice of female genital mutilation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13391/16]

Female Genital Mutilation

Mick Wallace

533. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount his Department allocated to schemes that tackle female genital mutilation in Egypt, Sudan, Mali, Somalia, Sierra Leone and Guinea; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13392/16]

Human Rights

Mick Wallace

534. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will make representations to the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on the removal of restrictions on press freedom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13394/16]

Arts Promotion

Mick Wallace

626. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she has had any engagement with organisations such as Fighting Words which are working on developing and nurturing creative writing and literacy skills outside of the mainstream education system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13635/16]

Rail Network Expansion

Mick Wallace

879. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans for railway lines in County Wexford; and his proposed plans for expansion of railway services and railway lines. [13390/16]

Human Rights

Mick Wallace

12. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has raised, or will consider raising, at European Union or United Nations level concerns regarding Turkey's status as a safe state for the return of refugees, given recent reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to the contrary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11896/16]

Human Rights

Mick Wallace

28. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is satisfied that the European Union-Turkey refugee deal is not in contravention of European Union or international law, and that it upholds the human rights of the refugees concerned, given reports by a number of human rights watchdogs, such as Human Rights Watch documenting human rights abuses in the deportation process, and raising concerns regarding the safety of refugees returned to Turkey; if Ireland will accept any more refugees, other than those agreed in September 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11895/16]

Social Welfare Benefits

Mick Wallace

34. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will restore the social protection payments which have been cut over the past seven years, given the impact of rising inflation during this period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11650/16]

Jobseeker's Allowance

Mick Wallace

36. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will restore the jobseeker's allowance for persons under 26 years of age to pre-2014 levels, given calls from a number of groups such as the Free Legal Advice Centres, which has stated that this cut in particular is pushing people into homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11649/16]

Land Issues

Mick Wallace

47. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to discuss enacting compulsory purchase orders to recover property from investment funds which may be land-banking sites which have the potential for development with the Department of Finance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11183/16]

NAMA Social Housing Provision

Mick Wallace

50. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to discuss immediately transferring land from the National Asset Management Agency to local authorities to increase the supply of social housing with the Department of Finance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11182/16]

Social Welfare Application Forms

Mick Wallace

285. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is considering measures to provide financial assistance to applicants for social welfare payments who are currently required to provide a valuation of any unused land they may have; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11467/16]

State Pensions

Mick Wallace

286. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider lowering the starting age for the State pension to 65 years of age to bring it in line with the general age of retirement; if his Department has carried out a financial impact assessment of such a measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11468/16]

Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility

Mick Wallace

287. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to raise limits under the rent supplement scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11469/16]

Social Welfare Schemes

Mick Wallace

288. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will abolish the JobBridge scheme and replace it with targeted programmes aimed at specific groups, as advocated for by groups such as Impact; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11470/16]

Fiscal Policy

Mick Wallace

22. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Finance his plans to seek a break from the European Union regarding the fiscal rules in order to secure finance to address the emergency in housing and homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10514/16]

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission

Mick Wallace

31. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she is satisfied with the performance of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission in its role as a confidential recipient; if she will improve this arrangement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10131/16]

Refugee Resettlement Programme

Mick Wallace

41. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to her announcement in September 2015, to comment on Ireland's progress of resettling refugees; her engagement with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in relation to this and, in particular, her progress in resettling unaccompanied minor refugees, which she highlighted as a special priority; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10130/16]

Teaching Qualifications

Mick Wallace

102. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for the planned phasing out of regulation 3, which gives full recognition to Montessori teachers trained by the Association Montessori Internationale, by the St. Nicholas Montessori Society of Ireland and those trained outside the Republic of Ireland, to teach in special schools, special classes, and resource classes; if she has been involved in talks on plans to reverse this decision; if she will consider such a reversal, given the added value provided by Montessori-trained teachers in these contexts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9280/16]