Ceisteanna Parlaiminte

State Examinations

Richard Bruton

497. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education if contingency planning has been done to set out a way in which an estimate grading system for the leaving certificate 2021 could be conducted; and the changes in approach compared to 2020 which might be incorporated. [1361/21]

Third Level Admissions

Richard Bruton

640. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will make arrangements with the CAO to relax its deadlines due to the fact that access of leaving certificate students to guidance and to their teachers will now necessarily be restricted. [1652/21]

Property Services Regulatory Authority

Richard Bruton

724. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice if she will consider extending the issues on which the Property Services Regulatory Authority can adjudicate from issues of professional negligence or misconduct to embrace also an ombudsman’s adjudication, as applies for the financial services sector, since the consumer is similarly exposed. [1360/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Richard Bruton

42. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if new policy tools are being considered to address the double impact on the rural economy of difficulties in the food and the tourism sectors, which hang over 2021. [43185/20]

Examinership Arrangements

Richard Bruton

98. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress that has been made in developing a cheaper and easier form of examinership which could assist viable enterprises to achieve some restructuring with creditors in order to protect jobs in the trading difficulties. [43183/20]

Brexit Issues

Richard Bruton

129. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on the trading prospects following Brexit; and if new policy tools are being considered to protect jobs in the post-Brexit environment. [43184/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Richard Bruton

203. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department is considering new supports for enterprise start up as Ireland commences to exit the Covid-19 setbacks to employment. [39717/20]

Cycling Policy

Richard Bruton

282. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Transport when the strategy statements from the cycling officer in each local authority will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44426/20]

School Enrolments

Richard Bruton

393. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education if the number of school places will be increased in a school (details supplied) to ensure there is adequate school places for children who wish to attend. [44428/20]

Schools Building Projects

Richard Bruton

394. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education the status of the new building project to be delivered for a school (details supplied). [44429/20]

Schools Building Projects

Richard Bruton

395. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education the status of the new building project for a school (details supplied). [44430/20]

Primary Care Centres

Richard Bruton

587. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health when the Edenmore primary care centre will open; and the services the centre will provide. [44427/20]

Central Statistics Office

Richard Bruton

24. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Taoiseach the statistical evidence available on the mode of travel for pupils to school in the different constituencies in Dublin; and if there is a different pattern among primary and secondary schools. [43773/20]

State Examinations

Richard Bruton

108. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his attention has been drawn to the recent OECD report on the reform of the leaving certificate which highlighted the lack of engagement of higher and further education institutions and of the enterprise sector in the development of reforms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43170/20]

Apprenticeship Programmes

Richard Bruton

114. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the progress which has been made to date in getting Departments to commit to recruiting a cohort of apprentices each year. [43171/20]

Housing Issues

Richard Bruton

285. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has considered the report of the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government on building defects in houses; and if he has identified the recommendations that his Department plans to implement during this term of Dáil Éireann. [43254/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Richard Bruton

509. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if special services are being developed for long Covid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42966/20]

Health Services Provision

Richard Bruton

589. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he is satisfied that children who are fostered do not face obstacles in accessing services provided by his Department, for example, by requiring additional documentation or compliance requirements; and if he will consider the policies and practices now in place to ensure no unnecessary obstacles stand in the way of children who are likely to have priority needs. [43411/20]

Crime Prevention

Richard Bruton

52. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice the status of the way in which her Department will work with a person (details supplied) and Dublin City Council in relation to the report recently completed regarding Belcamp, Moatview and Darndale; if she will engage with a range of Departments, such as the Departments of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Education and Social Protection in the efforts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41606/20]

Departmental Expenditure

Richard Bruton

70. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice the expenditure on in-service training and leadership development in each of the key service areas under her Department, that is, Garda, prison, courts and so on; the percentage of payroll it represents in each case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41605/20]

Disabilities Assessments

Richard Bruton

84. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he has undertaken a review of the system for early assessment and prioritisation of therapies for children with special needs, which despite extra resources seems to continue to struggle to provide time supports; his views on whether the success on the pilot integrating therapies into the school provided model offers an opportunity of a different approach; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41603/20]

Health Services Staff

Richard Bruton

227. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he will consider waiving the annual registration fee for doctors, nurses and other frontline staff who have been so important during the effort to protect communities from Covid-19. [42408/20]

Forestry Sector

Richard Bruton

72. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the assessment he has undertaken which cast doubt on the role of forestry in carbon abatement. [41607/20]

Climate Change Policy

Richard Bruton

75. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the strategy for climate adaptation in agriculture has integrated the new higher ambition for greenhouse gas abatement. [41608/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Richard Bruton

234. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if her attention has been drawn to the anomaly whereby dance classes still cannot take place even though roller discos are now to be permitted; and if her Department is seeking to develop safe protocols for same. [41321/20]

Electric Vehicles

Richard Bruton

162. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the local authorities which have requested applications for the public charge point scheme; the local authorities that have completed applications; the local authorities that have been approved; the local authorities that have installed chargers under the scheme; and the number of charge points involved in each case in tabular form. [40853/20]

Education Policy

Richard Bruton

101. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education if she has considered the resources that may become available within primary education in the coming years due to the projection of declining pupil enrolment and the way in which they might best be deployed to improve education outcomes for pupils. [39714/20]

Early Years Sector

Richard Bruton

109. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education if her Department has undertaken research into a centre (details supplied) as a response to tackling poor educational outcomes in areas of acute disadvantage; and if she has considered such an approach as appropriate in a small number of settings in Ireland. [39715/20]

Housing Data

Richard Bruton

296. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the housing developments in Fingal and Dublin city that made up the estimated cost of council direct construction of social housing in 2019 published by the social housing capital investment programme; and the land cost, professional fees, utility costs, abnormal costs and construction contract costs per unit built, respectively in each case. [39934/20]

Housing Data

Richard Bruton

297. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of approved units in Fingal and Dublin city since 1 January 2019 to date; and the estimated cost per unit by the land cost, professional fees, utility costs, abnormal costs and construction contract costs per unit, respectively. [39935/20]

School Funding

Richard Bruton

431. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education if there are funds that schools can avail of to allow participation in digital initiatives in partnership with private enterprise over and above standard funding lines so that opportunities for innovation can be seized. [40314/20]

Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme

Richard Bruton

519. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department is considering new supports for enterprise start-ups such as through the back to work enterprise scheme as Ireland commences exiting the Covid-19 setbacks to employment. [40500/20]

Departmental Strategy Statements

Richard Bruton

532. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the innovations he plans for the upcoming statement of strategy of his Department. [40110/20]

Early Childhood Care and Education

Richard Bruton

533. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department has recorded a significant drop-off in children in early childhood settings or in the number of providers offering service during Covid-19. [40111/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Richard Bruton

658. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that international advice from an institution (details supplied) recommends stronger protections for women over 28 weeks pregnant than is being applied by the HSE in its advice for the public service; and if he will assess whether that advice should be amended. [39741/20]

Overseas Development Aid

Richard Bruton

43. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if overseas development programmes have been hampered by the Covid-19 virus; and if unspent money can be carried forward. [37952/20]

Overseas Development Aid

Richard Bruton

48. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will consider the possibility of allowing local communities decide the use of a small part of the ODA budget through a democratic consultation process in locations in which a well-structured aid programme is in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37953/20]

Departmental Strategy Statements

Richard Bruton

78. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the innovations he plans for the upcoming statement of strategy of his Department. [36171/20]

Tax Code

Richard Bruton

153. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Finance his plans to refresh the roadmap for tax policy in relation to the taxation of companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36170/20]

DEIS Scheme

Richard Bruton

272. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education the reason improvements in staffing were provided to DEIS band 1 senior schools but not to junior schools or integrated schools in the same category; and if it has been decided the way in which the planned €5 million for such schools will be allocated. [39428/20]

Local Authority Housing

Richard Bruton

79. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the assertion that red tape and restrictions on borrowing capacity are preventing councils from engaging in more direct building; the typical timelines for design, master planning, cost appraisal, establishment of funding lines, planning approval, tendering and construction on direct build projects; and if his Department has undertaken any evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of these processes compared to best international practice. [39142/20]

Land Development Agency

Richard Bruton

80. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the improvements he has identified in the manner in which the Land Development Agency will operate in order to reduce the time and cost involved in site assembly and acquisition, in design, master planning, cost appraisal, establishment of funding lines, planning approval, tendering and construction; and if he is satisfied that the draft legislation provides the necessary legislative powers to allow this State developer fulfil its game-changing potential identified in the recent NESC report. [39143/20]

Wind Energy Guidelines

Richard Bruton

71. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps which remain to be completed in order to sign the new guidelines for renewable generation at windfarms; and if he will set a deadline for when they will enter force. [37956/20]

Office of the Parliamentary Counsel

Richard Bruton

112. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the arrangements which have and are being made to ensure that priority access to legal drafters is assigned to the marine planning legislation without which the development of offshore renewable energy will be held back; and if he will outline a timed roadmap for its presentation for consideration by the Houses of the Oireachtas. [37955/20]

Electric Vehicles

Richard Bruton

133. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Taoiseach the number of new and of imported electric cars, plug-in hybrids and recharging hybrids licensed during the year to date; and the percentage of total new and total imported cars, respectively, accounted for by these categories. [37750/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Richard Bruton

314. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if the recent grants to support cultural activities during Covid-19 have catered to the needs of the events sector that does not own premises; and if she has had discussions with the sector regarding its plight. [38342/20]

Architectural Heritage

Richard Bruton

349. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if funds are available for the upkeep of protected structures on the grounds of schools or other institutions that do not have their own resources for such work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38381/20]

School Enrolments

Richard Bruton

482. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education the extent to which there is spare capacity for enrolments in secondary schools in a catchment area (details supplied); the extent to which there is a pattern flow of pupils within the catchment area leaving for secondary school and of those from outside entering; and her plans to assess the need for more places based on the lack of available capacity. [37946/20]

Departmental Strategy Statements

Richard Bruton

20. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the innovation she plans for the upcoming statement of strategy of her Department. [36167/20]

Radio Broadcasting

Richard Bruton

43. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the supports her Department has made available for local radio since July 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36166/20]