558 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Government to extend the remit of the affordable homes partnership nationwide to cover areas where affordability is a problem to accelerate the provision of affordable housing.
[19377/08]
557 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Government to bring forward legislation on the foot of the recommendations of the All-Party Committee on the Constitution on property rights.
[19376/08]
556 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Government to bring a new focus on quality in the provision of housing.
[19375/08]
555 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Government to achieve a significant fall in homelessness.
[19374/08]
554 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Government to expand delivery of social and affordable housing options to meet the needs of 90,000 households.
[19373/08]
456 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Government to introduce legislation to govern the management of apartment complexes and other similar developments.
[19381/08]
142 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will implement measures to ensure growth in the cereals sector of the economy here to meet growing demand into the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[19632/08]
139 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the initiatives he is undertaking to promote self sufficiency in food production in view of the growing food shortages worldwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[19633/08]
261 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the cost of obtaining inland fisheries licences for trout and salmon; the concessions available to the elderly and the unwaged; the changes that are planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[19028/08]
94 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Health and Children her views with reference to Parliamentary Question No. 74 of 10 April 2008 and the response from the Health Service Executive on whether it is acceptable that a person (details supplied) in County Cork aged 74 who was referred by their general practitioner in February 2007 is still awaiting a specialist appointment; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[19250/08]
12 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs his views on the reported increase in drinking and anti-social behaviour along canals and waterways; the effect such drinking and anti-social behaviour is having on the use of these facilities as walkways and leisure facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[18817/08]
116 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the Central Statistics Office’s consumer price index detailed sub-indices report of March, 2008 which indicates that rents have increased by 10.4% in 12 months; and when she will increase rent supplement limits to reflect this trend.
[18619/08]
120 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if in view of the failure of her Department to withhold approximately €200,000 per year in tax from non-resident landlords to whom her Department pays rent supplements directly, she will conduct a cost-benefit analysis of introducing a paper-based system to collect this tax; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[18620/08]
410 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Science when he will make a capital allocation for the building programme of a school (details supplied) in County Cork; when the school authorities, including the board of management and principal will be informed; the length of time he expects the construction period to last; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[18127/08]
119 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Taoiseach the persons who travelled to the United States as part of the official delegation for the visit in connection with his predecessor’s address to the US Congress; and the estimated cost to the Exchequer.
[18102/08]
105 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on the sports capital programme; if he is satisfied with the fact that several studies have shown that while it is the primary method for delivering funding to sporting organisations it may not be as successful at increasing participation as initially thought; if he has considered shifting the direction of the sports capital programme from capital to current expenditure; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[17661/08]
585 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a landlord who enters into a licence agreement directly with the tenant is not required to register with the Private Residential Tenancies Board; if he will legislate to correct this anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[17609/08]
584 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that accommodation provided to a tenant by way of licence agreement is not subject to inspection by the local authority and if he will legislate to correct this anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[17608/08]
578 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the options, in view of the recent Green Paper, available to groups seeking to establish a town council (details supplied) in order to progress matters; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[17442/08]
440 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Science when he will make a capital allocation for the building programme of a school (details supplied) in County Cork; when the school authorities, including the board of management and principal, will be informed; the length of time the construction period will last; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[18008/08]
438 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Science when he will make a capital allocation for the building programme of a school (details supplied) in County Cork; when the school authorities, including the board of management and principal, will be informed; the length of time the construction period will last; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[18006/08]
439 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Science when he will make a capital allocation for the building programme of a school (details supplied) in County Cork; when the school authorities, including the board of management and principal will be informed; the length of time the construction period will last; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[18007/08]
405 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Science when his Department will complete the building of a new national school at Ballygarvan, County Cork; if the Chief State Solicitor’s Office has completed the purchase, commenced in March 2007, of the three plots of land required; if his attention has been drawn to the overcrowded and hazardous conditions in the existing premises; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[17303/08]
124 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the waiting time for a routine outpatient appointment in Cork University Hospital is 18 to 24 months, that due to the suffering and anxiety of this delay the National Treatment Purchase Fund allocated 100 outpatient orthopaedic referrals for 2008 which have already been filled and that a patient (details supplied) in County Cork who is awaiting a consultant appointment is in severe pain and needs treatment before an MRI scan can be undertaken; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[17144/08]
28 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Transport the number of incidents of marine workers being left unpaid for work done that have occurred on ships docked in Irish ports in the years 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[17346/08]
24 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Transport the way his Department monitors and invigilates the policies and performance of the NRA; if he has received submissions from the National Toll Roads and the NRA on full road pricing along the M50 or other roads; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[17335/08]
41 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the claims made by the former chief United Nations war crimes prosecutor, Ms Carla del Ponte, as to the murder and sale of organs of Serb and other civilians and the end of the 1998-1999 Kosovo War.
[16827/08]
20 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the initiatives being taken by the EU in order to be of assistance in the restoration of civil society in Somalia.
[16826/08]
170 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount of funding allocated in budget 2008 to the housing aid for the elderly scheme in total and to each local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[16781/08]
83 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Health and Children the funding allocated for short-term respite care in budgets 2007 and 2008; the amount of the funds allotted to 2008 that have been used to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[16782/08]
15 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is satisfied that there are adequate legislative measures in place to deal with the issue of insider trading, especially as a result of the €40 million settlement following a case involving two major public companies (details supplied); if he has plans to introduce new legislative measures or provide additional powers for the Director of Corporate Enforcement in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[16554/08]
11 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of staff employed by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement; if he has an outstanding request for additional staff or resources for the office; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[16555/08]
386 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Defence if it is his understanding that form AF340, which provides consent to release Garda information under the Data Protection Act 1988, also covers the release of medical information to Army authorities; if it is appropriate that a member of the Defence Forces should seek the release of the medical history of an applicant on the basis of this form; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[15995/08]
149 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will examine the case of a person (details supplied) in County Cork who was first referred to St. Finbarr’s Hospital for orthodontic treatment in 2003, but whose file appears to have been misplaced between then and 2008; if she will arrange to have this matter dealt with in a satisfactory manner; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[16117/08]
26 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Health and Children if she has developed or is developing, a strategy to address the growing problem of childhood obesity in view of recent statistics which state that 300,000 children here are overweight; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[16326/08]
20 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will make statutory the guidelines on child protection; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[16233/08]
44 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the position in relation to the results to date of the Revenue Commissioners’ initiative of examining ATM transactions and credit card statements, or other similar initiatives, of Irish tax exiles for the purposes of establishing if they were in fact in the State for no more than 183 days for any year in which they were classified as tax exiles; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that over half of spouses of tax exiles remain domiciled here while their partners are abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[15599/08]
19 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his views on the International Monetary Fund’s report that property here could be as much as 32% over valued, particularly with respect to the high levels of lending by Irish banks to the residential property sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[15598/08]
Bill entitled an Act to transfer to the Standards In Public Office Commission the functions of a constituency commission, the functions of a referendum commission, certain functions of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government relating to Dáil, European and local elections and the functions of registration authorities in the preparation and publication of electoral registers; to provide for access to information for the purpose of preparing and publishing electoral registers; to make provision for the use of Personal Public Service Numbers in connection with the registration of electors and with establishing the identity of persons applying for ballot papers at elections; and to provide for connected matters
104 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the discussions he has had with the Department of Social and Family Affairs to ensure that older people will be entitled to avail of free broadband as per the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[14660/08]
73 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if there are plans to invest in seaweed being used for bio-fuels; the situation in relation to using seaweed for bio-fuels; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[14659/08]
437 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a landlord who enters into a lease agreement directly with the tenant is not required to register with the Private Residential Tenancies Board; and if he will legislate to correct this anomaly.
[14489/08]
436 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he is satisfied with the accuracy of the information given by him in response to Parliamentary Question No. 16 of 27 February 2008 in relation to inspections carried out regarding standards in the private rental housing sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[14488/08]
219 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Transport if, in view of the precedent created by an EU decision (details supplied), his Department will give similar consideration to the application of this precedent with the intention of providing financial assistance to enable the re-instatement of the Cork-Swansea ferry service which is vital to the development of employment, commerce and tourism in the southern region and in particular with regard to the designation of Cork city as a gateway city; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[15052/08]
128 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Taoiseach the areas and functions where responsibility has been devolved from him to a State or statutory agency; the agencies involved; the arrangements in each agency to respond on a priority basis to inquiries from Members of Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[14537/08]
113 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason the Green Paper on local government has not been published, having regard to the commitment given in the programme for the Government that it would be published within six months of the Government coming into office; when it is expected that the Green Paper will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[14441/08]
111 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if it is his expectation that local authorities should inspect registered dwellings annually, once in four years, or on change of tenancy.
[14445/08]
625 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if the Social Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, will be published this term; if the complex legal issues referred to in Parliamentary Question No. 1404 of 30 January 2008 have been resolved in relation to the tenant purchasing of local authority flats; when local authorities will be provided with the legislative framework that will enable them to proceed with the sale of flats under the tenant purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[14861/08]
609 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the areas and functions where responsibility has been devolved from him to a State or statutory agency; the agencies involved; the arrangements in each agency to respond on a priority basis to enquiries from Members of Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[14538/08]
314 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Transport if he will undertake an evaluation of the implementation of the Taxi Regulation Act 2003; if he will consider the present level of service, the entry requirements for taxi operators, the qualifying requirements for the public service vehicle licence and limiting the numbers of full-time or part-time drivers entering the business; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[14263/08]