Ceisteanna Parlaiminte

School Textbooks

Bríd Smith

499. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if the free primary schoolbook scheme grant given to schools covers the costs of all schoolbooks; if parents can be asked to donate or pay any additional fee towards the costs of their child's schoolbooks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36977/23]

Departmental Funding

Bríd Smith

910. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to detail any funding or grant aid provided to the Dairy Council of Ireland since 2015 to date from his Department or the Government; the amounts spent by his Department or the Government in support of the processing and marketing of agricultural products, such as capital investment schemes since 2015; the amount of funding provided to Bord Bia since 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35864/23]

Departmental Funding

Bríd Smith

926. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will detail the funding to the Dairy Council since 2015, in tabular form; to outline under the specific headings that this funding was dispersed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36345/23]

Departmental Policies

Bríd Smith

937. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how he intends to interpret the text of Amendment 74 as adopted by the European Parliament on 12 July 2023 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on nature restoration; if Amendment 74’s references to making the best use of market-based instruments and green budgeting tools will result in the approval of further sitka spruce plantations and the granting of further dairy subsidies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36531/23]

Childcare Services

Bríd Smith

992. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the list of successful applicants for the most recent strand B of the building blocks grant will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35888/23]

Disability Services

Bríd Smith

1045. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will take steps to ensure that funding is released to provide full-time residential placement for a person with disabilities (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36538/23]

Milk Supply

Bríd Smith

2. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has funded campaigns by the National Dairy Council and Bord Bia about the supposed "sustainability" of Irish milk (details supplied); and whether he has concerns around these campaigns regarding climate disinformation or greenwashing, given the state of the climate and biodiversity crises. [35135/23]

Bord Bia

Bríd Smith

14. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether Bord Bia should be funding climate disinformation about the supposed 'sustainability' of Irish milk, given the state of the climate and biodiversity crises (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34761/23]

Hare Coursing

Bríd Smith

16. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether he will support a ban on coursing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34760/23]

Climate Change Policy

Bríd Smith

23. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what action is being taken by Government to reduce emissions and prevent even further biodiversity loss in the context of extreme sea temperatures that have been seen this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34758/23]

Water Quality

Bríd Smith

26. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what action is being taken by Government to tackle the continued extreme deterioration of our water quality driven by increased nitrates and our industrial agriculture model; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34757/23]

Asylum Seekers

Bríd Smith

532. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice if there are plans to scrap the detaining of asylum seekers in Cloverhill Prison, or any prison, prior to deportation as soon as possible given that they have not committed a crime; her views on the criticism of this practice by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and on two occasions by the UN Committee against Torture which found that a prison is by definition not a suitable place in which to detain someone who is neither suspected nor convicted of a criminal offence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34839/23]

Greyhound Industry

Bríd Smith

574. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of non-coursing greyhounds who were microchipped and registered in the Irish Stud Book whose year of birth was 2021, reminding him that Rásaiocht Con Éireann has the power to request this information from the lrish Coursing Club under Section 26 (1) of the Greyhound lndustry Act 1958; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35284/23]

European Council

Bríd Smith

15. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the European Council on 29 and 30 June 2023. [34014/23]

Public Inquiries

Bríd Smith

23. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach to report on the progress of the public inquiry into nursing home deaths during Covid 19, which he promised in January 2023. [32555/23]

Legislative Measures

Bríd Smith

170. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice if she will clarify if there are plans to amend section 19A of the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 as amended by section 39 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 so that a sexually abused child or adult will not have their private counselling or therapy records made available to the accused abuser; if she will clarify the rationale for this section of the Act and outline the implications for victims; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34453/23]

Nursing Homes

Bríd Smith

280. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if he intends to undertake a review of the fair deal scheme; if he will detail the precise terms of reference that would underwrite such a review; if he intends either within the context of such a review or independently of such a review to establish the level of charges that nursing home residents are incurring from their disposable income for daily service charges, medical services, transport to medical appointments, prescription fees and other daily incidentals; if he agrees that the depletion of the 20% of the assessable income retained by nursing homes residents after paying 80% of their assessable income for their nursing home care in this manner is placing an insupportable financial burden on nursing home residents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34729/23]

Ukraine War

Bríd Smith

80. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice the number of applicants for international protection who have applied from Ukraine since the Russian invasion; if applicants who were not in Ukraine at the time of the invasion are accepted into the temporary protection to persons fleeing the war in Ukraine programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25934/23]

Housing Schemes

Bríd Smith

363. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to clarify if an older couple with medical issues (details supplied) who have rented a three-bedroom property for the past ten years which the landlord has offered to Dublin City Council to purchase under the tenant in situ scheme can be approved for this scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33661/23]

Housing Schemes

Bríd Smith

373. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will clarify whether the tenant in situ scheme includes properties in which tenants are considered overaccommodated (details supplied); if not, if he will provide details of the number of properties local authorities have refused to purchase on this basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33674/23]

Social Welfare Benefits

Bríd Smith

433. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person has been receiving jobseekers' allowance for 18 months then applies for disability allowance, whether their jobseekers' allowance payment cease immediately; if not, if it continues until a decision regarding the disability allowance is issued; if there is a requirement for the person to apply for supplementary welfare allowance in the interim; if the disability allowance application is unsuccessful, the payment that the person reverts back to; if a person is awarded disability allowance and transitions from jobseekers' allowance, if this changes their eligibility for the Christmas bonus associated with long-term social welfare payments; if a person receiving disability allowance is permitted to participate in a part-time Springboard course or other ETB training options; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33575/23]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Bríd Smith

660. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) has been approved for the €1,000 pandemic payment; when they will receive same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33481/23]

Emergency Accommodation

Bríd Smith

78. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he can detail the number of people currently in emergency accommodation; the numbers who have been there for over 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33038/23]

Housing Schemes

Bríd Smith

90. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he can detail the number of purchases of properties by local authorities and approved housing bodies under the tenant-in-situ scheme to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33068/23]

School Meals Programme

Bríd Smith

130. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of children who will receive a hot school meal in the new school term from September; and the number planned for the following year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31600/23]

Traveller Accommodation

Bríd Smith

249. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason there is such a delay in providing Dublin City Council with the funds to complete the upgrade work that is so urgently needed in the Labre Park halting site; the reason there is a delay in providing the funds required to commence the regeneration of the Labre Park halting site; the cause of the delays in providing Dublin City Council with outstanding funds for work already carried out in respect of Traveller accommodation by Dublin City Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33356/23]

Women's Resource Centres

Bríd Smith

287. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice if she will clarify if any of the 98 further women's refuge centres announced in priority locations by 2025 will be located in Carlow (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33253/23]

Cabinet Committees

Bríd Smith

10. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32548/23]

Taoiseach's Communications

Bríd Smith

4. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach to list the total number of State apologies issued by his Department since 2011. [32546/23]

Cabinet Committees

Bríd Smith

11. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with health will next meet. [32547/23]

Employment Rights

Bríd Smith

256. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is aware of the case of four workers (details supplied) who have been dismissed by a company for trade union activity; if he will meet with these workers and their representatives; if he has plans to introduce legislation to protect workers in these situations and strengthen the right to collective bargaining and trade union representation within the lifetime of the current Dáil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32185/23]

Industrial Relations

Bríd Smith

28. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will detail any proposals or plans to deal with the issues regarding the representative rights of retired workers; if he will support the passage to Committee stage of the Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Bill 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31601/23]

Employment Rights

Bríd Smith

54. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will bring forward or support new legislation in view of events at a company (details supplied) recently that will protect workers; his views on whether current legislation is sufficient to prevent abuses of workers in cases of examinership and so on; if his Department is investigating the actions of management at the company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31602/23]

School Equipment

Bríd Smith

118. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if she will provide additional supports for parents who must purchase devices such as a tablets and so on, for the new school year; if her Department has plans to purchase centrally such devises on behalf of schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31599/23]

Departmental Funding

Bríd Smith

161. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he can detail the funding streams under the remit of his Department that can be used or are available to local authorities for the retrofitting of social housing stock; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31734/23]

Departmental Funding

Bríd Smith

162. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to detail the funding from his Department for the retrofitting of local authority housing units in each of the years since 2016; and the number of units affected, in tabular form. [31735/23]

Bus Services

Bríd Smith

179. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport the number of journeys lost / failed to operate on the 150 Dublin Bus service as a result of driver shortages, failure to show or other reasons over the past year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31830/23]

Departmental Funding

Bríd Smith

300. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail the funding granted to local authorities from his Department for the retrofitting of local authority housing in each of the years since 2016; and the number of units affected, in tabular form. [31736/23]

Regeneration Projects

Bríd Smith

301. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of funding given by his Department to Dublin City Council for stage 1 capital appraisal approval for the regeneration of Oliver Bond House; the total amount of funding made available to DCC for this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31737/23]

Regeneration Projects

Bríd Smith

302. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if funding from his Department for the regeneration of Oliver Bond House can be used to take intermediate measures to deal with damp and mould issues, including the replacement of single glazing in units there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31738/23]

Gender Recognition

Bríd Smith

319. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if she is aware that the 2018 review of the Gender Recognition Act 2015 made several recommendations around the development of non-binary legal recognition; if she is further aware that in her report on the review, dated 26 November 2019, then-Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (details supplied) stated that her Department had carried out an initial scoping exercise on the implications of non-binary recognition, that an interdepartmental group had been established to progress this issue, and that the group was due to complete its work by the end of 2020; if she will provide an update on the work of her Department towards non-binary legal recognition, or on the work of this interdepartmental group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31753/23]

Workplace Discrimination

Bríd Smith

57. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of cases taken under disability grounds for discrimination under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 to the Workplace Relations Commission in each of the years since 2015, in tabular form; the number of these cases that were adjudicated in favour of the complainant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31462/23]

Workplace Discrimination

Bríd Smith

58. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if complainants taking cases under the grounds of discrimination in the workplace have access to any additional resources or supports in these cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31464/23]

Workplace Discrimination

Bríd Smith

125. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he intends to hold any review of the workings of the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 or the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015, specifically in relation to the rights of people with disabilities to take cases relating to workplace discrimination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31465/23]

Passport Services

Bríd Smith

95. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if there are plans to change the system in relation to the witnessing of signatures on passport applications by a member of An Garda Síochána at local Garda stations; if he is aware that the process includes the recording of witnessing gardaí’s details in a log, which is then called upon by the Passport Office for verification; if he is also aware that it is not uncommon for an omission or a mistake to happen at this point, resulting in an often significant delay for the passport applicant through no fault of their own; if he will acknowledge the archaic and inconsistent nature of this step in the process; if he will provide details of the number of passport applications that are held up as a result of omissions or mistakes in witnessing signatures by members of An Garda Síochána; if he will outline any plans to update and/or streamline the signature witness process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30817/23]

Schools Building Projects

Bríd Smith

305. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if she will provide an update on the status of the new school build for a school (details supplied) works for which you indicated in a previous Parliamentary Question reply to commence at the end of June 2023; the date for the commencement of this new build and the completion timeframe; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30946/23]

Data Protection

Bríd Smith

450. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person participating in the JobPath programme who declines to sign a consent form allowing Seetec to make contact with employers of perspective employers on their behalf, will be sanctioned or penalised in any way; how programme participants' personal data is stored, processed and shared; how this complies with Irish and EU data protection laws; if their data will be transferred out of Ireland to servers or software located in the UK or any other third-party entities; the safeguards that are in place to protect participants' data; what a participant is agreeing to when asked to sign the induction booklet; if this is mandatory under legislation; if it constitutes any form of a contract with Seetec that may affect their rights; if the participant will be sanctioned or penalised for refusing to sign; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31298/23]

Prison Service

Bríd Smith

484. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice when a prisoner is due for a release under the community return scheme as a result of a Ministerial order; if such an order can be delayed or stopped by the intervention of a third party as appears to have happened in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31154/23]

Greyhound Industry

Bríd Smith

520. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of non-coursing greyhounds named on the RCETS to date who were born in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31370/23]

Greyhound Industry

Bríd Smith

521. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of non-coursing greyhounds born in 2021 who were exported un-named to the UK or elsewhere; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31371/23]