98. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the reason the WRC has decided not to take action to enforce its own findings in a case in which an employer claims they did not receive documentation regarding a hearing; if such defences by employers are routinely accepted by the WRC as a defence when an employer has lost a hearing adjudication decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16994/19]
97. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of actions taken by the WRC enforcement section on foot of the refusal by an employer to fulfil an award made to an employee after a WRC hearing or an adjudication in each of the years 2016 to 2018. [16993/19]
50. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Finance his plans to introduce legislation to protect consumers in dealing with insurance companies specifically in cases in which the companies are refusing businesses insurance cover without adequate explanation or refusing to explain the reason for refusals especially in situations in which the business has been a customer for many years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16990/19]
197. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the level of Traveller participation in activation programmes; and the specific targeted measures used to increase Traveller involvement. [16796/19]
196. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to establish a Traveller specific employment strategy to support the training and employment objectives in the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 in view of the 80% unemployment in the community. [16795/19]
130. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) will be allowed to give evidence to the vaginal mesh review team in the interest of transparency and fairness in view of the fact that another person gave evidence. [16866/19]
68. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans in respect of access to a new school (details supplied); and if he will meet a representative group of parents from the Dublin 8 and 12 areas. [16794/19]
66. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the measures and age extension in the Public Service Superannuation (Age of Retirement) Act 2018 will apply to semi-State workers going forward, specifically to employees at RTÉ; if there are proposals to extend the measure to other workers in other sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16966/19]
320. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a response will issue in the case of a back to education allowance for a person (details supplied). [15691/19]
82. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for the future funding of a society (details supplied); the way in which the funding will help develop and support Irish sign language and specifically the programmes run by the society such as deaf adult literacy services and an academy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15766/19]
75. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for future funding of a society (details supplied); the amount of funding that will help develop and support Irish sign language and specifically the programmes run by the society such as deaf adult literacy services and the Irish sign language academy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15855/19]
72. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if legislation governing the pension entitlements of workers (details supplied) can be amended to allow women who raised families and took leave from their workplaces for those periods to avail of home care credits similar to those recently amended under the contributory pension scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15854/19]
69. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will examine the possibility of widening the applicability of the home care credit in the calculation of pension entitlements for retired workers, specifically workers in semi-State organisations and bodies such as the Central Bank, who may have no entitlement to State contributory pensions and whose workplace pensions are disadvantaged by the refusal of the semi-State employers to give credit to workers for years out of the workforce raising families; if the legislation can be amended to cover such workers and ensure all women who raise families are given home care credits in calculating their final pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15848/19]
40. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will commission a review to ascertain the number of workers per year affected by the six-day waiting period while sick from work; and the estimated cost of restoring the waiting period to three days. [15658/19]
32. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of full restoration of the telephone allowance including to those who may qualify but do not live alone; and her plans to address the issue in the next period. [15657/19]
19. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when the contracts with JobPath providers will expire; when a decision on the future of the scheme will be made; if the recent Dáil Éireann motion on the issue will be taken into account; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15655/19]
6. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to deal with bogus self-employment practices; and when legislation will come before Dáil Éireann on the matter. [15656/19]
4. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason for the backlog and delays in issuing social welfare payments; and the further reason for the delay of six months in relation to appeals. [15690/19]
225. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to tenancy contracts by approved housing bodies such as a body (details supplied) which informs tenants that their tenancy can be ended if the body plans to sell the premises within three months, refurbish the premises, change the use of the premises or if it is deemed no longer suitable for the tenant; if this tenancy agreement is approved by his Department for persons housed by such bodies from the social housing waiting list; his views on AHBs potentially using such grounds for eviction in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15849/19]
210. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the practice of direct provision centres encouraging residents to volunteer to undertake duties which could be paid employment jobs; if such practices are widespread; if his Department is consulted by providers before such volunteering is organised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14940/19]
55. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties caused to persons with disabilities by the failure of lifts at DART and rail stations across the city and that these failures are ongoing and constant and make accessing public transport impossible for many persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15152/19]
17. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to lower fares to encourage uptake of public transport in relation to BusConnects plans; if he has reviewed the increase in fares across public transport since 2011; his views on whether the present fare structures may be discouraging uptake; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15153/19]
226. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if concerns regarding data protection will be reviewed in terms of proposals to transfer data from waste collection companies. [12010/19]
73. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans for the roll-out of rural broadband nationally in the event the procurement team does not give the tender for rural broadband to the one remaining bidder; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14196/19]
71. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he or his officials have held discussions with representatives of a company (details supplied) prior to its plans to drill off the south coast in June 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14195/19]
68. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when details of the decision by the broadband procurement team on the remaining bidder tender will be announced; the costs to date of the broadband procurement process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14169/19]
58. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the issuing of further licences for exploration will be halted in view of the worsening climate crisis evidenced by the catastrophic monsoon in south-western Africa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14194/19]
57. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if plans by a company (details supplied) to commence exploratory drilling off the south coast in June 2019 for oil or gas will aid plans to make Ireland a world leader on climate change and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14168/19]
1369. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government whether the lands at a location (details supplied) belong to the parks or housing departments of Dublin City Council. [12875/19]
1368. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if the land allocated for a linear park at a location (details supplied) will be returned. [12874/19]
1367. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if the reason Dublin City Council has not complied with the conditions of the Land Registry deeds will be investigated. [12873/19]
1366. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if a site (details supplied) is legally owned by an organisation. [12872/19]
1365. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government in the event that an organisation (details supplied) received an extension of one year to complete works on a site, whether it informed Dublin City Council that the work would not be completed. [12871/19]
1364. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if an organisation (details supplied) informed Dublin City Council 28 days prior to 7 March 2018 that the site on which the organisation is building 72 homes would not be completed on time. [12870/19]
1269. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on the processing of reassessment of pensions; the reason some persons receive increases a few days after they apply online and others wait weeks; the way in which they are assessed; and the length of time it should take. [13421/19]
1211. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if children in the care of Tusla are accommodated in emergency situations at locations provided for adult homeless services; if so, the safeguards taken at these locations; if the policy is approved by her; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13877/19]
1202. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if it is possible for parents to sign a legal disclaimer to protect their child's place in a crèche that is being instructed by Tusla to reduce its numbers due to small floor size. [13416/19]
892. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the details of the planned primary health care centre in Drimnagh, Dublin 12; the proposed opening date of the facility; the reason for the delay on this project; if the current cost overrun at the national children’s hospital has an impact on the provision and opening of the centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13879/19]
527. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for delays within the Office of Wards of Court which are impacting on the purchases of properties. [13422/19]
345. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will conduct a review of possible bogus self-employment practices by a company (details supplied) that works within the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12629/19]
183. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of a pay award to nurses and midwifes of 12% in the 2019 financial year; the amount of such a figure that would be returned to the State in PRSI, tax and USC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5939/19]
182. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the cost incurred in using agency nurses for the public health system in each of the years 2016 to 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5938/19]
27. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health his plans to ensure the retention and recruitment of nurses is successful in the coming period. [12410/19]
11. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if there will be an independent inquiry into the death of a person (details supplied). [12009/19]
220. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 272 and 273 of 7 February 2019, if the reference to the capital advanced loan facility and or payment and availability agreement is the same scheme as the capital advance leasing facility scheme; if funding made available under the social housing current expenditure programme is for developments that result in 100% of housing units made available to social housing for those on local authority waiting lists; and the number of units built by approved housing bodies which are in developments built with some assistance from State funding streams which are not available for social housing, that is, the number of units built under CAS and CLSS which are rented out by the body on criteria other than the tenants coming from the local authority waiting lists. [11421/19]
50. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to legislate to give workers the right to join a trade union and have the trade union of their choice recognised by their employer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8006/19]
294. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of jobseekers who had sanctions applied as a result of failure to attend meetings and to avail of suitable education, training or development opportunities or specified employment programmes and schemes under the JobPath programme. [11033/19]
293. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of cases in which JobPath providers provide relevant statements from the client within the total number of referrals for sanctions; the number of cases in which deciding officers requested more information from JobPath providers; and the number of those that resulted in the eventual implementation of sanctions. [11032/19]
292. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of cases in which penalty rates applied within the referrals for sanctions implemented; the number of cases in which disqualifications or disallowances were implemented by JobPath providers and in other activation programmes, respectively; and the processes undertaken to ensure that the escalation from penalty rates to disqualifications is appropriate and justified. [11031/19]