1097. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will provide the definition of a close contact for the purposes of Covid-19 tracing in primary and secondary schools; if this definition used by the HSE is in line with WHO and ECDC guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32325/20]
922. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person over 66 years of age who runs a business as a self-employed person and currently does not qualify for a PUP payment can avail of the employment support scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33345/20]
921. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the supports available to a person over 66 years of age who is impacted by the Covid-19 crisis and self-employed but cannot currently avail of the PUP payment due to current age limits. [33344/20]
802. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if ETBs can impose different conditions of work on teachers who teach students in mainstream post-primary classes as against colleagues on the same contact of employment who teach students pursuing further education courses in relation, for instance, to availability of online teaching and staggered lessons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33402/20]
801. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if the chief executive of an ETB can arrange an appointment for an employee with the occupational health service when such is in breach of the protocols issued by her Department. [33401/20]
800. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if the chief executive of an ETB can refuse an employee who has been certified fit for work by a doctor access to their workplace following a judgment of medical unfitness made by the chief executive in breach of the occupational health service protocols issued by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33400/20]
799. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if a chief executive of an ETB can demand that a doctor who has certified an employee as fit for work should certify that employee as unfit for work while awaiting an appointment arranged for the employee with the occupational health service; and if this is an breach of the protocols issued by her Department. [33399/20]
798. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if a chief executive of an ETB can make a discretionary referral to the occupational health service of an employee who has been certified fit by a doctor citing the condition from which the employee has recovered. [33398/20]
490. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she plans to change the rules of the RTÉ pension scheme or similar schemes in view of fears that there may be an effective €30 million or €500,000 per annum raid of assets of the pension savings of retired RTÉ employees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32473/20]
459. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has plans in relation to the pension provisions for retirees of some categories of semi-State pension funds such as RTÉ that have not had a pension increase for 12 years and do not qualify for the State pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32474/20]
338. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport if public transport providers can cope with demand in the next six weeks while operating at only 25% of capacity; if there are plans to provide additional services on train, DART, Dublin Bus or Bus Éireann routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33220/20]
268. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications the number, categories and expected expiration date of all existing licences in relation to current licences issued by his Department for oil and gas exploration; the number of applications currently with his Department for renewal of any of these licences; the number of applications with his Department for a progression from one type of licence to another; and if, under the terms and conditions of these licences, the Government has the right to refuse extensions or progression of existing licences in the public good or on other environmental grounds. [33299/20]
197. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of onsite inspections by HSA personnel of construction sites since the announcement of level 5 restrictions; the findings of these onsite inspections in relation to Covid-19 protocols and guidelines; the number of complaints to the HSA regarding workplaces and breaches of Covid-19 guidelines since level 5 restrictions were put in place [33317/20]
105. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health his plans to deal with a number of industrial relations disputes in the health service including those involving public health doctors and medical laboratory scientists; the steps he is taken to address these concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33548/20]
100. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the details of his discussions with the 221+ patient support group in relation to the CervicalCheck Tribunal; the steps he is taking to ensure the concerns of the group are dealt with; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33547/20]
122. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if those in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment can participate in a full-time training course and retain the payment; if not, if there are plans to allow claimants to take up full-time training to improve their employment opportunities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32128/20]
106. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if there have been changes to the tracing of close contacts, including the definition of a close contact in the case of a positive case of Covid-19 in both primary and secondary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32230/20]
105. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education the procedures followed by schools in relation to tracing close contacts of a confirmed case of Covid-19 in the school when a member of staff or student tests positive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32229/20]
64. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Finance when he will publish the list of companies that availed of the temporary wage subsidy scheme; if this list will detail the amount of funds claimed in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32231/20]
10. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice her views on the demand for a public inquiry into the death of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32020/20]
5. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice if she will commission a review of the effects of changes in the law regarding the offence of prostitution and specifically the effects of this change on vulnerable women; the number of women who have been charged with the offence of brothel keeping since the change to the legislation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32021/20]
286. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 323 of 8 October 2020, the reason he has not provided a copy of the submission as requested; and if he is not in a position to do same, the reason. [30492/20]
230. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the steps to be taken by the parent of a child in order to secure an additional year of preschool learning under the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme (details supplied); and the body to which such an application should be made. [30394/20]
222. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to pay a Christmas bonus to recipients of social protection payments in 2020; and the date on which this will happen. [30444/20]
94. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education the circumstances under which a school should close as a result of staff testing positive for Covid 19; if her Department has been notified by principals of the numbers of confirmed positive cases among teachers in their school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30250/20]
53. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education the supports available from her Department to a primary school student whose lone parent is recently blind and unable to ensure her child safely reaches school each morning; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30249/20]
436. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the HSE policy for remote working during the Covid-19 pandemic, in particular for hospital employees whose work can be done from home; if a forum is available for workers to contact should they feel they are being put under pressure to return to the workplace; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29638/20]
311. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person’s time on maternity leave is credited as a contributory period, either paid, credited, reckonable contribution and so on for the purposes of the social insurance fund and access to certain benefits; if such a period on maternity leave is not treated as a credited period for their contributions record, her plans to change the regulation governing this for persons on maternity leave; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29953/20]
207. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Defence the steps he is taking to deal with issues in the Defence Forces concerning allegations of sexual abuse, bullying and harassment of personnel; his plans to implement safeguards; his plans to establish investigations or inquiries into the allegations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30192/20]
132. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her views on whether investment should be made in Irish language centres in towns and cities nationally as has been done in Northern Ireland to give the language a focus in the community; if she will establish a fund to assist these centres to operate as recommended in the investment plan agreed by 80 Irish language and Gaeltacht groups; if the appropriate funding to fund such centres is included in budget 2021 for Foras na Gaeilge to distribute; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29914/20]
131. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will establish a scholarship scheme as recommended in the investment plan agreed by 80 Irish language and Gaeltacht groups to assist disadvantaged school pupils to attend summer college courses in the Gaeltacht; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29913/20]
130. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if an additional €910,000 will be provided for the Irish language community scheme, SPG, organised by Foras na Gaeilge to guarantee that groups have sufficient funding to coordinate the Irish language in their areas under the scheme and that other groups in various constituencies have the opportunity to join the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29912/20]
129. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if an additional €6 million will be provided to Údarás na Gaeltachta in its line budget to create jobs and contribute to language planning; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29911/20]
128. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if after ten years of reduced funding for Foras na Gaeilge she will provide an additional €4.5 million in budget 2021 to Foras na Gaeilge to fund the projects agreed by 80 Irish language and Gaeltacht groups; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29910/20]
323. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a copy of his Department’s submissions to the immigrant investor programme evaluation committee on the application for proposed development of a meat processing facility in Banagher, County Offaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29335/20]
52. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Defence the number of persons recruited to the Defence Forces under the re-enlistment scheme announced in March 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29105/20]
51. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Defence his views on the proposal that an organisation (details supplied) join a union as an affiliate body; if the affiliation will be supported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29107/20]
38. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Defence the value of all contracts for goods or services, including drone technology, purchased by the Defence Forces from Israel and Israeli-based firms to date in 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29108/20]
23. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Defence his plans for the commission for the future of the Defence Forces; the persons who will be on the board; if representatives of the Defence Forces personnel such as an organisation (details supplied) will be on the commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29106/20]
21. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Defence his views on the issue of formal recognition of an organisation (details supplied) in order to represent the interests of Defence Forces personnel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29109/20]
789. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of inspectors in his Department employed as inspectors at meat processing and food processing facilities; and the full-year cost of their employment. [28196/20]
651. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of disease control workplace inspectors in the employ of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HPSC; the estimated full-year cost of their employment; and the number of businesses inspected by them in 2019 and to date in 2020. [28193/20]
540. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applicants accepted for payment of the pandemic unemployment payment in August 2020 and separately in September 2020; and the number of these who have been placed on each category of payment, that is, €203, €250 and €300, in tabular form. [28676/20]
539. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the details of the road passenger transport operators based in counties Cavan, Monaghan, Westmeath, Leitrim and Longford that received payment from her Department in respect of the carriage of free travel pass holders in each of the years 2015 to 2019; and the individual routes in respect of which payment was made. [28669/20]
156. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of workplace inspectors employed by the Workplace Relations Commission; the estimated full-year cost of their employment; and the number of businesses inspected by them in 2019 and to date in 2020. [28195/20]
155. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of workplace inspectors in the employ of the HSA; the estimated full year cost of their employment; and the number of businesses inspected by them in 2019 and to date in 2020. [28192/20]
151. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education the number of schools that have had to shut down or close specific classes since reopening as a result of either a Covid-19 outbreak or illness among staff or pupils or insufficient staff-pupil ratios; the number of teachers her Department's attention has been drawn to as having contracted Covid-19 since the reopening of schools; and the number of pupils, parents and guardians her Department's attention has been drawn to as having contracted Covid-19. [27689/20]
150. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education the circumstances under which a primary school may be closed as a result of Covid-19 safety guidelines and multiple cases of illness and-or suspected cases of illness; the authority that makes such a decision; if her Department has oversight of or a final say in such decisions and the role public health officials play in making such decisions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27688/20]
125. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if the procedures will be clarified in cases in which a school incurs multiple losses of teaching and other staff as a result of Covid-19 infections or needing to isolate as a result of close contact with infected persons; the procedure in cases in which as a result of such losses the staff-pupil ratio falls below the legal requirement as outlined on page 9 of the HPSC's Covid pathway for schools, which quotes the legal requirement for the staff-pupil ratio; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27445/20]