Ceisteanna Parlaiminte

Enterprise Support Services

Gino Kenny

448. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if her Department has ever consulted with the hemp stakeholder body; her plans to consult with it following the recent European Court of Justice ruling (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8800/20]

Cannabis for Medicinal Use

Gino Kenny

528. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the reason epidiolex that is a cannabis-based medicine for the treatment of epilepsy and been approved by the EMA and FDA, has not be approved for reimbursement by the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8389/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Gino Kenny

640. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health when nursing homes can allow visitors once they have outdoor space while visitors would observe physical distancing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8279/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Gino Kenny

909. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the school meals programme into the summer holiday months will be extended in order that families that have lost jobs or are temporarily laid off as a result of the public health emergency can continue to access food during these exceptional times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7146/20]

Special Educational Needs

Gino Kenny

322. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there will be an increase in the number of special education teachers and SNAs provided to all schools in the 2020-21 school year in order to ameliorate the loss of in-school teaching time for these students in view of the fact that young persons in special educational needs, SEN, and DEIS settings are most likely to have experienced difficulties engaging in remote learning; if class sizes will be reduced in DEIS schools, special schools and mainstream schools in line with the demands of unions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6583/20]

Public Sector Staff Sick Leave

Gino Kenny

323. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reinstate the sick leave entitlements of teachers that existed prior to 2010 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6584/20]

School Accommodation

Gino Kenny

324. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an audit of all school buildings will be carried out with a view to ascertaining the works needed to be completed to allow the safe return of students and staff; if special additional funding will be made available to schools to facilitate, among other actions, the hiring of cleaning staff to work throughout the school day, the installation of handwashing and sanitising stations, the erection of appropriate signage and the rearrangement of school layout and the acquisition of temporary additional accommodation and or the building of additional classrooms as appropriate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6585/20]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Gino Kenny

325. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether the school system is fit for purpose to facilitate social distancing norms in view of the fact Ireland has the largest class sizes in Europe and one of the lowest levels of funding per student in the OECD; the number of additional class teachers that would be required in the forthcoming school year to reduce class sizes to average EU levels; the estimated cost and the way in which it could be achieved; the additional funding required to bring funding for education at primary, secondary and third level in line with that of average OECD levels for 2020-21; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6586/20]

Special Educational Needs

Gino Kenny

326. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to facilitate July provision (details supplied); if it will go ahead; if so, when; the way in which it will run while keeping educators and children safe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6587/20]

Special Educational Needs

Gino Kenny

327. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which he plans to address the issues arising from the isolating of children required to reduce the spread of Covid-19; if the NCSE will facilitate additional supports to children and school communities; if the number of SNAs and special educational needs organisers, SENOs, will be increased to meet demand; if his Department is liaising with the HSE to increase staffing and resources to the early intervention and school-age assessment teams to clear the backlog of waiting lists, in addition to the supports and therapies children will need to engage with once the services return to operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6588/20]

Maternity Leave

Gino Kenny

417. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will consider extending maternity leave and or maternity benefit by three months in response to the closure of childcare facilities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in view of the fact that many parents are facing job losses if they have to return to work with no available childcare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6222/20]

Medicinal Products

Gino Kenny

742. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the number of children with spinal muscular atrophy eligible for treatment with the approved drug Spinraza; the number of those receiving the treatment; the reason for the delay in treatment for some of these children such as a child (details supplied); the way in which and when these issues will be addressed in order that all children can receive this vital treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6209/20]

Health and Social Care Professionals

Gino Kenny

749. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health his views on the situation that as part of the applied social care education process students are required to do placement hours in social care settings and that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the ability of students to complete placements; the steps he will take in relation to the perceived stalemate between third-level social care course providers, CORU and students that have been informed that they will not pass the 2020 term and year due to the premature ending of student placements in social care settings and may not be awarded degrees as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6262/20]

Hospital Staff

Gino Kenny

752. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the imminent annual junior doctor rotation at hospitals is causing significant concerns for staff during the Covid-19 pandemic (details supplied); if the rotations will be postponed for a number of months to minimise the impact on frontline staff that are working very hard to manage the public health crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6367/20]

Departmental Expenditure

Gino Kenny

1046. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the capital expenditure of his Department from 1 January to 31 December 2019 under the heading of B8.5 Cycling and Walking; the individual projects and associated expenditure on each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6699/20]

Legal Costs

Gino Kenny

254. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the State is directly or indirectly funding legal costs, including senior counsel, in the recent past, or on an ongoing basis, associated with enforcing a religious ethos in a non-designated ETB school in Clonmel, County Tipperary, to the detriment of atheist, humanist, or secular members of the community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4855/20]

Nursing Home Accommodation

Gino Kenny

743. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if funding for additional staff will be committed for the opening of the new residential unit at a nursing home (details supplied); if his attention has been drawn to the distress and anxiety families are experiencing as a result of uncertainty regarding whether their loved ones will be accommodated in the new unit; if funding will be provided for the additional staff as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5057/20]

Medicinal Products Reimbursement

Gino Kenny

504. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the policy in relation to medicinal cannabis reimbursement as part of the medicinal cannabis access programme; if a guarantee will be provided that no family or person that is granted access under the programme will be expected to incur the substantial cost of using medicinal cannabis as a treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2594/20]

Social and Affordable Housing Eligibility

Gino Kenny

1189. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his views on whether the income eligibility for social housing is restrictively low (details supplied); his plans to raise the eligibility threshold as a matter of priority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2673/20]

Family Reunification

Gino Kenny

275. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the fact that for non-EEA families, immigration permissions here are tied to one partner or spouse allowing only them to work while the other family members are economically dependent; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that this approach acts as a block to the mobility of non-EEA workers and integration of non-EEA families here; and if he has considered introducing the family reunification directive here which operates in 25 European Union member states. [53139/19]

Smarter Transport

Gino Kenny

594. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the capital expenditure of his Department from 1 January to 31 August 2019 under headings (details supplied). [52876/19]

Artists' Remuneration

Gino Kenny

37. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the precarious nature of work in the arts means that many artists, writers, musicians and actors are particularly affected by the housing crisis and are often part of the hidden homeless phenomenon (details supplied); her views on the important role that these workers play; if she will work with artists to address the housing and other issues of poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51891/19]

Emergency Works Scheme

Gino Kenny

189. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the unacceptable and potentially dangerous conditions that students and staff are working under at a school (details supplied); his views on whether the leaking roof and the unsafe situation this presents needs urgent remedial work; if funding will be committed to same as a matter of priority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49755/19]

Treatment Benefit Scheme Administration

Gino Kenny

352. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49849/19]

Medicinal Products Availability

Gino Kenny

422. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the drug Spinraza; the way in which it is being rolled out; and the process and reason for the way in which it is being dispensed in view of the fact that there are still children awaiting its administration. [50227/19]

Bord na Móna

Gino Kenny

11. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will meet trade unions representing Bord na Móna workers; his views on their demand that Bord na Móna management attend the Workplace Relations Commission to discuss issues relating to a just transition for their members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49437/19]

Energy Efficiency

Gino Kenny

47. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the funding that will be made available from the SEAI for energy efficiency measures in social housing units in mid-western areas of Dublin in the coming years; if the warmth and well-being scheme will be extended to other areas; the number of homes retrofitted under the scheme in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49438/19]

Traveller Community

Gino Kenny

158. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Labre Park Traveller halting site is one of the few Traveller communities that is not covered by a primary health care team (details supplied); if he will take steps to ensure that the funding of a primary health care team for Travellers living in Labre Park and the wider Ballyfermot and Dublin 10 area is included in the HSE 2020 budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49285/19]

Disease Management

Gino Kenny

68. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health his views on the length of time on average it is taking to diagnose endometriosis and the impact this has on women suffering from the disease including their mental, emotional and physical health and ultimately fertility; his further views on introducing a comprehensive endometriosis education programme for general practitioners and other medical professionals including referring patients to gynaecologists at the earliest opportunity to improve diagnosis; his plans to put in place supports for women with the disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48737/19]

Cannabis for Medicinal Use

Gino Kenny

95. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the status of, and definitive start date for, the medicinal cannabis access programme in view of his most recent response with regard to two cannabis based products having been approved for the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48736/19]

Schools Building Projects

Gino Kenny

119. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the difficult conditions under which staff and students are working and learning at a school (details supplied) in County Dublin; the steps he will take to move the school extension and refurbishment project beyond stage 2b as a matter of urgency especially in view of the recent withdrawal of the quantity surveyor and architect ; if assurances will be given that the necessary work will continue without delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47934/19]

School Placement

Gino Kenny

55. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the escalating need for more primary school places in Rathcoole, County Dublin; his plans to address the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47459/19]

Vaccination Programme

Gino Kenny

398. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that parents who want their daughter who is 15 years of age to receive the HPV vaccine will incur charges of €900 while their 12 years of age son will receive it for free; the rationale for same; the steps he will take to provide the vaccine free of charge to those that are proactive in having their children vaccinated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47472/19]

Local Authority Housing Eligibility

Gino Kenny

43. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when he will announce the review of income limit eligibility for council housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45224/19]

VAT Rate Application

Gino Kenny

147. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Finance if the VAT situation relating to vitamin and mineral food supplements from 1 November 2019 will be clarified; the rationale for proposed changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45279/19]

Public Procurement Contracts Data

Gino Kenny

155. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the details of projects that a person (details supplied) was involved in, including cost overruns and other relevant details; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44366/19]

Pharmacy Services

Gino Kenny

469. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some pharmacies, including a pharmacy (details supplied), have started to charge patients for the use of blister packs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44373/19]

Neuro-Rehabilitation Services Provision

Gino Kenny

561. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the lack of rehabilitation services for persons with a brain injury and the negative effect that this is having on the lives of persons with such injuries. [44683/19]

Light Rail Projects Status

Gino Kenny

907. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of the proposed Lucan Luas transport link; his views on the need for a Luas extension to Lucan in view of the gridlock that commuters living in the locality and in neighbouring areas face daily and the resulting unacceptable level of carbon emissions; if a date will be committed to for the development of the Lucan line especially in the context of climate change mitigation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44454/19]

Local Authority Housing Funding

Gino Kenny

1129. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if funding has been provided for the construction of 69 units on Griffeen Avenue, Lucan, between Foxborough Lawn and Tor An Rí Walk, following Part 8 planning approval in April 2019 by South Dublin County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44368/19]

Middle East Issues

Gino Kenny

129. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to renewed attempts by the Israeli Government to deport a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43159/19]

Services for People with Disabilities

Gino Kenny

374. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if the way in which funding for transport to and from hospitals is allocated and used will be examined and clarified; his views on the fact that wheelchair users have particular difficulties in accessing day services if funding for transport is limited such as in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43353/19]

Departmental Expenditure

Gino Kenny

530. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the capital expenditure of his Department from 1 January to 31 August 2019 under the heading of B8.5, cycling and walking. [43172/19]

Special Educational Needs Staff Contracts

Gino Kenny

67. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the contracts of employment of SNAs allow for the loss of employment of a SNA worker in a school following a SENO assessment in which it is deemed a position is not required, for example, the security of employment or guarantee of another position elsewhere for SNAs affected by such an assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42591/19]

School Curriculum

Gino Kenny

126. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills if steps will be taken to cease the practice of segregation and discrimination against children on the basis of religion in schools by moving the teaching of religion to outside school hours, thereby allowing parents to choose whether they want their child to receive religious instruction in the school setting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41419/19]

School Services Staff

Gino Kenny

127. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the important role that school secretaries play in the education system (details supplied); the steps he will take to bring these members of staff into the direct employ of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41418/19]

Partial Capacity Benefit Scheme

Gino Kenny

247. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the steps she will take to include persons in receipt of a partial capacity payment as eligible to participate in training and education and upskilling opportunities, for example, Springboard, in line with the eligibility of those in receipt of disability or jobseeker payments; her views on the unintended discriminatory nature of the ineligibility of those receiving a partial capacity payment and the impact it has on their efforts to secure employment in view of the ratification of the UNCRPD; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42356/19]

Cannabis for Medicinal Use

Gino Kenny

44. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the date for the commencement of the medical cannabis access programme; if there are outstanding issues in relation to its commencement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41158/19]

Newborn Screening Cards

Gino Kenny

53. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the necessary steps that will be taken to increase new born screening from eight conditions to 40 as per best international practice; his views on whether the extension in newborn screening will significantly lower the possibility of babies being born with serious and often life-limiting conditions and the subsequent impact on their families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41159/19]

Air Pollution

Gino Kenny

374. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the steps he will take to address the concerns of the EPA regarding the rising levels of pollution and the failure to meet health-related guidelines in this area as set out by the World Health Organisation; his views on the recent EPA report which states that air pollution is responsible for an estimated 1,180 premature deaths each year; his strategy to address the serious public health issue of rising levels of pollution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40603/19]