Ceisteanna Parlaiminte

Rent Supplement Scheme Administration

John Halligan

5. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection the way rent allowance limits can differ so drastically by county and in local areas throughout the country, particularly in Waterford where the rent allowance limits are so much lower than in the neighbouring county of Kilkenny (details supplied); her views on whether the current rent limits brought in to run from June 2013 to December 2014 accurately reflect the recent rise in rents charged by landlords and whether this is resulting in a serious lack of availability of rental accommodation which would comply with the rental limits making it almost impossible for applicants to comply with the regulations; her views on whether the current rental limits need to be radically reviewed in line with local rents payable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17797/14]

Rent Supplement Scheme Applications

John Halligan

25. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps she and her Department are taking to address the delays in processing rent allowance applications; if there are staffing issues here that could be resolved; her views that delays of this magnitude are placing undue hardship on families waiting for approval; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17575/14]

Social Welfare Schemes

John Halligan

27. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection the way the medical assessment criteria differ for certain applications within her Department, particularly in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Waterford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17574/14]

Family Income Supplement Applications

John Halligan

35. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to review the family income supplement renewal process (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17576/14]

Jobseeker's Allowance Eligibility

John Halligan

81. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to revise the criteria associated with applications for jobseeker's assistance where the applicant has been self-employed; the current application process sees such applications fully means tested with no automatic entitlement to a set period of payment unlike applications from their PAYE counterparts; if she will confirm if she has entered into discussions with ISME in relation to its recent calls for this current method of assessment to be addressed; if she has considered the possibility for self-employed persons or proprietary company directors paying a higher rate of PAYE contributions to ensure they have entitlements to social welfare assistance should their business fail; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17798/14]

National Internship Scheme Eligibility

John Halligan

100. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to revise the criteria for eligibility to make an application for internships; her views on whether adults currently dependent on their partners' claims and who are not permitted to take up internships would like to be permitted to do so; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14507/14]

Community Development Initiatives

John Halligan

689. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans regarding the aligning of community projects like Waterford Traveller Community Development Project; the number of social inclusion officers that will be available to Waterford City Council to cover city and council areas (details supplied). [13488/14]

Higher Education Schemes

John Halligan

63. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he or his Department considered linking the requirements of those persons engaged in Springboard courses to the possible provision of State-supported child care facilities; if he will acknowledge that vast numbers of people are forced to relinquish places on such courses as they are unable to make provision for their child care needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12243/14]

Schools Building Projects Expenditure

John Halligan

65. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 245 of 18 February 2014, if he will clarify the following discrepancies, €26 million difference between the figure noted in his reply to my question and the budget allocation noted on page 2 of the Capital Investment Programme 2012-2016; 50 school projects going into construction announced in press release December 2012 announcing the 2013 capital investment, 56 school projects scheduled for 2012 announced in December, 2011 and this year 70 school building projects announced in December 2013; the exact number of school building projects planned under the CIP 2012-2016; the number of these projects that have been shelved for various reasons; what new projects have been added to the list to replace them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12282/14]

Garda Recruitment

John Halligan

143. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the criteria laid down for entrance to An Garda Síochána; the system used to shortlist the approximately 30,000 applications received for the recently advertised positions to 14,000; if any applicants who were already engaged in the reserve force were given any priority during this process; the number of applications if any received from outside Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12244/14]

Naturalisation Applications

John Halligan

151. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality in the case of a person (details supplied), if he will confirm where an applicant for naturalisation holds a valid stamp 4, if the applicant may apply to have their stamp 4 permission amended to another basis prior to the expiry date of their current permission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12347/14]

Garda Investigations

John Halligan

429. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the timeframe in which An Garda Síochána is currently forensically examining computer equipment following removal; the length of time it is taking for the risk assessments relating to child pornography cases to be processed; if he or his Department have looked into the possibility of allocating additional staff to speed up the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12060/14]

Medicinal Products Prices

John Halligan

561. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health his understanding of the pricing structure of generic drugs as in certain chemists in County Waterford these so-called generic medications seem to be as costly as their named brand counterparts; his views on whether the pricing structure of medication should be on a par throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12061/14]

Educational Disadvantage

John Halligan

270. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the circular or policy document that prompted his Department to subsume concessionary legacy posts where the schools in question showed that their enrolment had risen to a level to warrant an additional teacher; his views that this move only penalises these schools; his views that not to directly notify the DEIS 2 schools which still held their CLP that they were in danger of losing same were their enrolment to exceed a certain level shows a serious lack of transparency; his further views that this move will undoubtedly result in the unnecessary displacement of many children within these schools; that the decision to remove these posts is in direct contradiction of the DEIS report which recently praised the scheme and outlined how well DEIS as a model is working; if he will review the situation with a view to reversing the decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9102/14]

Financial Services Ombudsman

John Halligan

220. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to a case in which a bank (details supplied) in County Waterford is refusing to acknowledge receipt of or to apply a TRS payment to a mortgage holder's account even though the Revenue Commissioners' TRS section has confirmed to the mortgage holder that the payment was made to the bank on the person's behalf; if his attention has been drawn to any similar instances; the action he and his Department will take in this case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8227/14]

Schools Building Projects Expenditure

John Halligan

245. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of 2013 building projects that have been completed; if any of these projects were completed under budget; if he will consider making any of the unspent funds available to schools with delayed projects such as a school (details supplied) which is waiting to be added to a buildings programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7557/14]

Summer Works Scheme Eligibility

John Halligan

289. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason colleges of further education are not now eligible to apply to his Department for funding under Circular 59/2013; when and the reason their eligibility ceased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8225/14]

Building Regulations Amendments

John Halligan

523. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2013, SI No. 80 of 2013, which are due to come into force on 1 March 2014, will expressly prohibit Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, CIAT, members from providing architectural services here; if he will acknowledge that members of this group have the necessary experience, knowledge and skills and should be, therefore, eligible to register with the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland as an interim measure until CIAT members are granted a register in their own right; if he will acknowledge that failure to grant them eligibility will ultimately result in many unnecessary business closures and redundancies across the industry; in view of the fact that he has the authority to extend the regulations to include a register for chartered architectural technologists if he will commit to reviewing the parameters of the register with a view to admitting members of CIAT to it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8226/14]

Hospital Staff

John Halligan

690. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm the number of persons currently employed at Waterford Regional Hospital under the JobBridge scheme; the type of positions they hold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7556/14]

Inter-Country Adoptions

John Halligan

5. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will review an application to the Adoption Authority of Ireland for the registration of a child adopted from Vietnam in October 2012 who is now registered and residing here (details supplied); if she will confirm that at the time of this adoption both Vietnam and Ireland had signed up to the Hague Convention and a bilateral agreement that had been put in place by her; if she will consider directing the Adoption Authority of Ireland to progress the registration of this child on the basis that its parents were in full compliance with the 1991 Act in view of the adoption process having begun prior to the 2010 Act being introduced (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6695/14]