1296. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to the decision by a charity (details supplied) to cease operating; the alternative provision that has been made to ensure the work of this group continues and that supports remain in place; if any alternative to closure or redeployment of staff at the charity was discussed or examined by her Department or the probation services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20543/22]
1295. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice the status of the nine cases being examined in 2019 in relation to sexual harassment assault claims in the Irish Prison Service; if the IPS examined the possibility of an embedded problem beyond treating complaints as individual cases apart from training in protected disclosures if there have been any progressive developments in rooting out sexual harassment, assault, both by viewing complaints on a wider organisational level and reacting expeditiously to any guilty parties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20542/22]
1265. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice her plans to establish refuge centres for male victims of domestic violence; the options available to men who experience domestic violence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19887/22]
1205. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his attention has been drawn to the €112,000 debt write-off facilitated by SOLAS to a charity (details supplied); if such was discussed by SOLAS with his Department; if any concerns were raised on the matter; if he believes there should be a Garda investigation both into the collection of the funds by a charity in Waterford from two educational training boards and the spending of moneys by the charity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20544/22]
920. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education the total amount spent by the Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board and Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board on legal fees and so on, on cases taken or involving both current and former staff in tabular form since 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20545/22]
912. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if school websites are defined as public sector websites; if so, if they should therefore have a web accessibility statement published on their websites; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20447/22]
753. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will clarify the situation in relation to a person (details supplied); the steps that he has taken to assist in this case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20147/22]
666. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if local authority tenants can offer accommodation to refugees such as Ukrainian citizens fleeing war; if they require the permission of their local authority to do so; if his Department has discussed such a policy with the local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20532/22]
306. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of households that use pre-pay meters for their energy requirements; the number of these that are older meters which have to avail of the €200 grant by topping up on three separate occasions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20617/22]
305. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the complete range of energy efficiency grants available from the SEAI for home improvements and retrofits under the one stop shop scheme; if certain grants available under this system are not available to individual home owners applying directly to the SEAI; the reason that this is the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20616/22]
161. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport if he or his officials will examine the impact of a pilot scheme for fare free transport in Boston and its benefits for all commuters, especially poorer minorities and general climate goals; if he will reconsider his policy in relation to the possible future provision of fare free public transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20974/22]
131. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport his views on whether the estimated €98 million spent to date on the Dublin BusConnects project that relates to planning, surveys and various consultation fees represents good value for money given the limited introduction of new routes; the oversight that his Department has of National Transport Authority operations in relation to the spending involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20973/22]
123. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport if he will detail the outcome of any discussion that he or his officials have had with a company (details supplied) in relation to allegations of price gouging and profiteering on its routes from eastern Europe as a result of the increase in Ukrainian refugees coming to Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20972/22]
106. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport the actions that his Department has taken in view of dismissal of staff by a company (details supplied); if his Department has undertaken or plans to inspect these ferries to ensure new working arrangements are compliant with Ireland's safety regulations; the meetings that his Department has had with the International Maritime Organisation to ensure the protection of seafarers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20971/22]
98. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport if he will raise with the Minister for Social Protection and the National Transport Authority the difficulties faced by those with free travel passes in using privately operated bus services, especially in rural areas in regions in which Bus Éireann has withdrawn or curtailed its services; if he will support the extension of free travel to all bus services licensed by the National Transport Authority regardless of whether they receive public service obligation, PSO, funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20975/22]
88. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport the reasons for the ongoing delay in signing the statutory instrument to give effect to changes in the regular wages scheme for CIÉ workers; when the signing of this statutory instrument will be finalised; if he can give reassurances to CIÉ workers that have retired since June 2020 or will retire shortly that any improvements agreed will be backdated and paid to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20970/22]
161. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the rights or options open to a worker who commenced working in the State under a stamp 4EUFAM in 2017, in circumstances (details supplied); if there other avenues are open to persons to retain their job without the need for a general employment permit in cases in which the employment does not qualify as a critical needs employment; if such a worker can avail of any form of alternative permit arrangement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18988/22]
148. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his views on reports that planning delays have hindered the building of offshore renewable energy in the State; if he will examine the possibility of establishing a new public body that can drive State investment in offshore wind projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18826/22]
134. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if the recently reported €17 million that was paid to various consultancy firms in relation to the National Broadband Plan are included in his Department’s estimates of the overall cost of the project to the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18825/22]
132. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the Government's policy in relation to liquefied natural gas in Ireland; the action he will take in the event of planning permission being granted for such a facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18824/22]
129. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the total number of licences issued by his Department for mineral exploration in the past two years and his views on concerns by various campaigns and groups on the sustainability of increased mining operations in the State. [18886/22]
121. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will re-examine Government policy on high-energy usage data centres in view of the current energy crisis and the need to reach climate related targets for reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18885/22]
92. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the Government’s position in respect of the siting of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Ireland; the way that such a project would be permitted in the State while at the same time meeting Ireland’s Paris Agreement obligations and climate action targets announced in the climate action plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19087/22]
86. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on the operation of sectoral employment orders; if legal challenges to their operation mean they are unenforceable by the State; if his Department has plans to ensure compliance by all employers to their terms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18765/22]
46. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on whether legislation in Ireland is robust enough to prevent mass redundancies as in the case of a company (details supplied); his views on whether the Protection of Employment (Exceptional Collective Redundancies and Related Matters) Act, 2007 can prevent employers here using similar tactics; his further views on whether there is a need to re-establish a redundancy panel for such instances of collective redundancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18766/22]
185. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice her views on the right of family members of European Union citizens under European Union Directive 2004/38/EC to accompany an European Union citizen exercising their free movement rights in Europe; if this includes the right to accompany an European Union citizen to Ireland, for example, the spouse of the European Union citizen; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18677/22]
28. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport if he has concerns in relation to the awarding of new bus routes to a company (details supplied) by the National Transport Authority, given that the company has operated reduced services on many of its existing networks as a result of staff shortages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18884/22]
27. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport his views on the costs to date of the BusConnects programme; his views on whether the €90 million spent to date under non-bus vehicle-related headings is good value for money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18883/22]
8. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if pre-pay energy customers are required to place €30 credit on their pre-pay cards before they can receive the State support of €200; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18560/22]
564. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if a home (details supplied) is included in the mother and baby homes redress scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18319/22]
541. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 489 of 29 March 2022, the names and number of meetings held with the companies referred to in the reply as other organisations that were considering entering the Irish market. [18344/22]
447. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if there are grounds for an appeal by a person (details supplied) to be included in the redress scheme for persons who were sexually and physically abused in Catholic schools in view of the fact that the original appeal was refused on the grounds that legal proceedings had not been brought against the State before 1 July 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18320/22]
223. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 152 and 153 of 1 March 2022, when the information referred to in the replies will be received from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in view of the provisions of Standing Order 51(1) of Dáil Éireann in relation to referred replies to outside bodies.
[18346/22]
221. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport the estimated amount it would cost to provide free public transport to all student Leap card holders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18325/22]
194. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the welfare crisis in the dairy suckler calf industry; his further views on the fact that calves are being offered free to good homes (details supplied); in view of this welfare crisis, his plans to deal with same; and if polices are in place in his Department in relation to allowing 1.6 million dairy cows be put back in calf again to further add to the crisis over the coming year. [17058/22]
177. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will examine or commission a study into the damaging environmental and social impacts of the business-led industrial model of Irish agriculture, specifically in circumstances in which only a small cohort of farmers seem to benefit from dairy expansion plans; and his views on the fact that only 20% of farmers receive 80% of CAP payments and that Ireland exports 90% of the amount that is produced in the State, while also importing five and a half million tonnes of grain to feed livestock. [17059/22]
100. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the legal advice he has received in relation to the proposed national maternity hospital that any proposed agreement with a private entity can be described as representing unbreakable legal stipulations; when the proposals will go to the HSE; when the memo to Cabinet will be finalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17060/22]
68. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the way in which he plans to reconcile the requirements for full healthcare for women, including termination of pregnancy, in the new national maternity hospital if it is built on land owned by a Vatican-approved successor organisation to a Catholic religious congregation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17061/22]
164. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the proposals he intends to bring forward to deal with the ongoing intimidation of women and medical professionals outside health facilities by those opposing a woman's right to choose to terminate her pregnancy or avail of certain forms of reproductive healthcare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17067/22]
5. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when the proposed carbon budgets will be discussed in Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16747/22]
729. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 656 of 15 February 2022, if the HSE can provide the figures for the categories of absence listed in the question, specifically the numbers suspended or on administrative leave. [16420/22]
728. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 655 of 15 February 2022, if the figures provided include the consultation liaison CAMHS and intellectual disability CAMHS staff as recommended by A Vision for Change. [16419/22]
603. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are no on-site therapists for children with special needs at a school (details supplied); if he will acknowledge that these supports are vital for children with special needs; if there are plans to ensure that on-site therapists will be available at the school in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16624/22]
517. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the position of trainees on further education and training courses provided in Education and Training Boards that have come off social welfare payments to attend such courses; if her attention has been drawn of trainees attending these courses having their payments reduced for various reasons to do with course attendance; the details of any deductions made to the core payments of such trainees while on ETB courses; the numbers of trainees affected in recent years and the amounts deducted; the role of her Department in implementing or confirming such deductions; the rights of trainees to appeal such deductions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16492/22]
489. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 25, 28 and 86 of 22 March 2022, if she will clarify any meetings that she or her Department officials had with interested parties or companies in relation to the provision of these services and specifically any lobbying on the policy decision to tender out these services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16581/22]
253. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Question No. 204 of 22 March 2022, the number of submissions received on this SI; the details of the persons or bodies these came from; the timeline involved in the finalising of the SI. Signing; the timeframe for consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16574/22]
108. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice the status and details of the progress of the GSOC investigation into the death of a person (details supplied); when the investigation will be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16244/22]
107. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice the status and details of the progress of the scoping inquiry into the death of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16243/22]