Ceisteanna Parlaiminte

Medical Aids and Appliances

Holly Cairns

593. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health if he will clarify that the contract for the national standardised list of community-funded aids and appliances and prescribing criteria is in place; and if he will outline the requirements for the equitable distribution of aids and appliances in each CHO for people who are blind or vision-impaired. [3126/23]

Medicinal Products

Holly Cairns

594. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health if he will meet with an organisation (details supplied) to address the ongoing risk of medicine shortages. [3127/23]

Patient Deaths

Holly Cairns

595. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health if a group has been established by his office or any other institution of his Department or HSE for the purpose of carrying out investigations into maternal deaths; if so, if he can clarify the rationale for such a group; the reason that such investigations are not conducted, as a matter of course, by HIQA; the budget for this group; the source from which it is allocated; the way that the group is constituted, including membership and governance structures; the person or body that the group reports to; if the establishment of the group has been subject to Houses of the Oireachtas or Cabinet-approval; and when reports and finding of the group will be made public. [3128/23]

Mental Health Services

Holly Cairns

596. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health if he will immediately provide the necessary capital funding to retain 18 beds in the acute mental health unit in Bantry Hospital. [3129/23]

Brexit Supports

Holly Cairns

659. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of European Union Brexit funding that has been made available to the fishing sector, including a breakdown of all the relevant schemes; and his plans to provide further funding from EU Brexit funding to the sector. [3120/23]

Forestry Sector

Holly Cairns

660. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of funding provided for afforestation annually for each of the years 2018 to 2022 inclusive, in tabular form, including a breakdown of the amounts provided to farmers, private forestry companies, community/non-profit groups, public/semi-state bodies, and any other relevant category. [3122/23]

Fishing Industry

Holly Cairns

661. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the call by a fishing representative organisation (details supplied) to provide for specific small-scale fisher infrastructure investment to improve facilities in landing areas, strengthen short supply chains and food security, and prioritise decarbonisation of the small-scale fleet. [3123/23]

Transport Policy

Holly Cairns

59. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport his views on ensuring that Castletownbere is classified as a larger town within the Connecting Ireland plan to ensure that the Beara peninsula is assigned the necessary scale of routes. [2091/23]

Flood Risk Management

Holly Cairns

142. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the flood relief scheme in Bantry, County Cork. [2093/23]

National Car Test

Holly Cairns

201. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport the steps he is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of staff in NCT centres. [2687/23]

Tax Credits

Holly Cairns

211. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Finance if he will adjust the tax credit for renters to include students renting in a ‘rent-a-room’ or ‘digs’ type arrangement. [2683/23]

Quarrying Sector

Holly Cairns

238. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on introducing regulations concerning the use of rock-breaking equipment. [2685/23]

Social Welfare Payments

Holly Cairns

270. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will facilitate persons living on offshore islands to remotely sign on for jobseeker's payments. [2686/23]

Health Services Staff

Holly Cairns

384. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to retain and recruit recent nursing graduates to address the staffing shortage in the HSE. [2684/23]

Fishing Industry

Holly Cairns

398. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the call by a fishing representative organisation (details supplied) regarding the differentiation of small-scale fishery products in the market through traceability, community-supported fisheries and direct, short-chain marketing schemes, empowering fishing organisations to become price makers. [2682/23]

Work Permits

Holly Cairns

54. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will add fishers to the critical skills occupations list to enable them to be eligible for employment under the critical skills permit system, reflecting skills and worker shortages in this vital area. [2268/23]

Energy Conservation

Holly Cairns

132. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when the low-interest loans to enable homes to retrofit will be available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2287/23]

Post Office Network

Holly Cairns

133. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his views on designating the post office network as the "offline gateway" of choice for persons availing of State services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2288/23]

Electricity Generation

Holly Cairns

135. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of the microgeneration scheme. [2422/23]

National Broadband Plan

Holly Cairns

136. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will ensure the provision of broadband to Brookdale, Riverstick, County Cork. [2423/23]

Waste Management

Holly Cairns

137. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the steps he is taking to encourage all local authorities to provide compost facilities at amenity sites to avoid this waste going to landfill. [2424/23]

Bus Services

Holly Cairns

290. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport the steps he is taking to ensure the provision of a bus service to enable young persons in Beara, County Cork, to access day services in Bantry, County Cork. [2298/23]

Driver Test

Holly Cairns

300. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport the number of staff, including full-time or part-time equivalents, employed in each driving test centre; the extent of staff shortages for each centre; and the steps he is taking to recruit and retain staff. [2447/23]

Bus Services

Holly Cairns

301. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport the steps that he is taking to improve the 226X service in County Cork. [2448/23]

National Car Test

Holly Cairns

302. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport the steps that he is taking to address delays in NCT centres. [2449/23]

Credit Unions

Holly Cairns

380. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline his engagement with the credit union movement to fulfil the commitment in the programme for Government for credit unions to become a key provider of community banking. [2289/23]

Tax Code

Holly Cairns

381. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Finance his views on retaining the 9% tourism VAT rate for all of 2023 to support the hospitality sector. [2290/23]

Insurance Coverage

Holly Cairns

389. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Finance the steps that he is taking to ensure insurance providers offer reasonable flood insurance to households and businesses within flood relief scheme areas. [2426/23]

Tourism Funding

Holly Cairns

460. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will provide an update on the development of new infrastructure at Garrylucas Beach, Ballinspittle, County Cork, which was announced in April 2021. [2309/23]

Housing Schemes

Holly Cairns

588. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the limits on the first home scheme will next be reviewed. [2305/23]

Housing Schemes

Holly Cairns

589. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps that he is taking to ensure that the limits for the first home scheme are being consistently applied in all local authorities. [2306/23]

Site Acquisitions

Holly Cairns

590. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on working with Cork County Council to secure a site currently for sale (details supplied) to build social and affordable housing. [2307/23]

Foreign Policy

Holly Cairns

630. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the details of his engagement with the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning recent protests for women’s rights and the treatment of protestors by state security services. [2425/23]

School Transport

Holly Cairns

675. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education when an individual transport service will commence for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63352/22]

National Educational Psychological Service

Holly Cairns

820. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education on the number of National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, transition consultations for children who are transitioning out of primary school into secondary school that were conducted in 2022. [2283/23]

National Educational Psychological Service

Holly Cairns

821. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the way that children can access NEPS transition consultations to assist them transitioning out of primary school into secondary school. [2284/23]

Teaching Qualifications

Holly Cairns

822. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the steps that she is taking to ensure that a higher education course (details supplied) for special needs assistants is accredited as a level 7 programme. [2285/23]

Special Educational Needs

Holly Cairns

823. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the number of children who are waiting on a placement in autism spectrum disorder, ASD, units in County Cork; her plans to open further units given that all units are currently full; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2286/23]

School Meals Programme

Holly Cairns

937. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps that she is taking to provide the school meals scheme in all DEIS and qualifying schools. [2421/23]

Child Poverty

Holly Cairns

1013. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will immediately establish a new National Child Poverty Plan with a dedicated unit that encompasses an integrated and cross-governmental approach to address high levels of poverty in households headed by one parent. [2265/23]

Birth Certificates

Holly Cairns

1014. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps that he is taking in response to individuals being informed that they will not be provided with their personal information within the statutory 90 days, under the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022, by a State body (details supplied). [2266/23]

Birth Certificates

Holly Cairns

1015. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of additional staff who have been recruited to assist in processing applications for personal information made to a by a State body (details supplied) under the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022. [2267/23]

Disability Services

Holly Cairns

1016. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeline for the working group to publish proposals in relation to Government-funded transport and mobility schemes, including the disabled drivers and disabled passenger schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2310/23]

Rights of People with Disabilities

Holly Cairns

1018. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on removing the State’s reservations to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2417/23]

Rights of People with Disabilities

Holly Cairns

1019. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on the ratification of the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2418/23]

Early Childhood Care and Education

Holly Cairns

1020. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will ensure that the core funding for childcare-preschool services recognises the experience of persons working in the sector for many years in the provision of funding staff. [2419/23]

Early Childhood Care and Education

Holly Cairns

1021. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will ensure that the core funding for childcare-preschool services provides funding for staff engaging in CPD to reach the required NFQ levels, including funding to provide in lieu staff coverage. [2420/23]

Third Level Education

Holly Cairns

1061. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his engagement with the Minister for Health to increase the number of graduates from clinical therapies, including but not limited to occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and psychology to address shortages in the health services. [2427/23]

Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence

Holly Cairns

1150. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Justice the number of refugee spaces for victims and survivors of domestic violence and gender-based violence currently being funded by his Department in each county, in tabular form. [2308/23]

Medical Aids and Appliances

Holly Cairns

1699. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the total budget per month and the amount spent per year on paediatric aids and appliances by an organisation (details supplied) in CHO4 in each of the years 2020 to 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2292/23]