522. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to confirm he is aware of the report by clinicians from the National Cancer Control Programme to an Implementation Working Group (details supplied) that 25% of cancer patients do not receive standard of care due to lack of access to new medicines which are available elsewhere in Europe; if he is concerned by this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43726/23]
502. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if a child (details supplied) will be seen by a public ophthalmologist sooner than 2026/2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43626/23]
421. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason a special school (details supplied) is still without essential therapists, including a psychologist, an occupational therapist, a speech and language therapist, play/behaviour therapists and a social worker; the date they will start; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43622/23]
420. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide an update on the return of essential therapists including a psychologist, an occupational therapist, a speech and language therapist, play/behaviour therapists and a social worker to a special school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43621/23]
411. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the current position in relation to transport for people with disabilities aged 18 years and over attending day services to facilitate attendance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43501/23]
397. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration would be given to amending the start date for the loss of income support for a farmer (details supplied), in view that the timeline for the identification of tuberculosis in the herd and the date of collection of the animals and removal from the herd is managed by his Department and not the farmer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43874/23]
396. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to confirm the average timeline from when an animal/animals have been tested and identified positive with tuberculosis in a herd and when they are collected and removed from the herd; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43873/23]
395. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action his Department is taking to improve the timeline from when livestock in a herd have been tested and identified positive with tuberculosis and when these animals are collected and removed from the herd; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43872/23]
349. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health when the review of cardiac services will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43378/23]
171. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Transport to provide an update on progress made to date on the Banduff road scheme project; the level of funding that will be provided by the Department for the project in the coming year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43200/23]
170. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Transport the action his Department is taking to improve the bus service in Cork in view that there are recurring issues with reliability and capacity; if additional funding will be provided to improve the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43199/23]
88. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Finance the amount the State has taken in for tax receipts for income tax, corporation tax and VAT to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43078/23]
83. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Finance to confirm that consideration would be given to increasing the small gift exemption for capital acquisitions tax from €3,000 to €5,000 from each person per year due to the increase in the cost of living; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43079/23]
67. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Transport the action his Department is taking to progress the Mallow relief road project; what level of funding will be allocated for the coming year, in view that €100,000 was allocated in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43080/23]
47. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Transport the action his Department is taking to progress the north ring road in Cork city; what level of funding will be allocated for the coming year, in view of the large volume of traffic which is now forced to travel through Mayfield, including traffic heading for the port facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43081/23]
353. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm when the revised wind energy development guidelines will be published; when they are expected to commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42214/23]
301. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education when a child (details supplied) will be provided with SEN school transport, in view that it is now over 4 weeks since the school term commenced, and the child still has no transportation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42306/23]
220. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice the current status of an application (details supplied) for citizenship; when a decision is likely to be reached, in view of the fact that the application was submitted over two years ago; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41958/23]
183. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No. 370 of 20 September 2023, the reason that her Department refers to the fact that a maximum amount of home tuition hours for primary school pupils has been allocated to a pupil, as the student in question (details supplied) is a secondary school student; if further hours could be allocated on this basis and due to the fact that there will be only two ASD places available in secondary schools in the Ballincollig area in September 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42040/23]
583. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health when the commitment to increase the fees payable to contractors for a standard eye examination under the community ophthalmic services scheme will occur; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41480/23]
495. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if consideration would be given to classifying long-Covid as a disability, in view that long-Covid is characterised by extreme exhaustion after minimal exertion, cardiovascular issues including MI, myocarditis/pericarditis, clots, arrhythmias, and neurological issues such as cognitive impairment, stroke, and ultimately that there is no treatment for the condition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41455/23]
386. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if there will be a provision for an increase in optical benefit (eye examinations) payments claims by dispensing opticians and optometrists under the treatment benefit scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41481/23]
281. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education what action her Department is taking to assist families who are regarded as concessionary under the current school transport scheme and who have not been awarded tickets for this coming year (details supplied), taking into account that these families rely solely on the school bus to take their children to/from school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41490/23]
280. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education to set out in tabular form the number of pupils in Cork who applied for school transport under the post-primary school transport scheme for 2023/2024, who are regarded as concessionary and who have been refused school transport for the coming year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41489/23]
279. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education to set out in tabular form the number of pupils in Cork who applied for school transport under the primary school transport scheme for 2023/2024, who are regarded as concessionary and who have been refused school transport for the coming year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41488/23]
278. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education to provide an update on the review of the school transport scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41487/23]
277. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education what action her Department is taking to ensure that all pupils who require school transport at both primary and post-primary level are facilitated in view that school transport is an essential service for families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41486/23]
230. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education the current status of an application for emergency works (details supplied); when a decision is likely to be made in this case, in view of the fact that these facilities are urgently required as the leaks are deteriorating; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40986/23]
251. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health what action his Department is taking to ensure that all CT planning scanners are operational nationally, in view that presently two CT planning scanners are not operational due to a staff shortage, and as a result patients have their start dates pushed out which is reflective in the National Cancer Control Programme national key performance indicators data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40752/23]
250. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health what action his Department is taking to ensure that cancer treatment units are adequately staffed, in view that nationally there are approximately four treatment units closed, with another three capped at 50% capacity, and a number of treatment units are understaffed wherein they are usually staffed at four but now are running with three staff to keep the service going; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40751/23]
239. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on the status of a transfer of entitlements application (details supplied) in view that it is now over eight months since the application was lodged and it has not been completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40779/23]
238. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration is being given under the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027 to a more compacted and applicant friendly planting licensing process, in view of the ever-lengthening licence application process for approval to attract more applicants and investors going forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40778/23]
237. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration is being given under the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027 to a comparison of the value of biodiversity and flora and fauna of native woodland verses the current habitat’s representation of number and volume of species; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40777/23]
236. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if environmental impact assessments thresholds have been reviewed before the implementation of the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027 in view that the current mandatory EIA thresholds can be extremely costly having resulted in the abandonment of potential native woodland planting applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40776/23]
235. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action his Department is taking to ensure that the native woodland establishment scheme is a viable options for investors, in view that the current allowable land for planting this schedule is priced above the financial return from the premiums; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40775/23]
234. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action his Department is taking to increase native woodland establishment targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40774/23]
233. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027, if preference will be given to support the preservation of certain habitats over others like open hill, depleted upland bog and heathland, even if native woodland was the original habitat in a given area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40773/23]
232. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action his Department is taking to increase afforestation in view that there has been almost an 80% drop in all new forestry plantings since 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40772/23]
231. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the new afforestation scheme will be announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40771/23]
115. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the action his Department is taking to recruit more women to construction, in view that the shortage of construction workers is one of the biggest challenges facing the building industry, with not enough skilled labour to meet the demand for housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40447/23]
97. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the action his Department is taking to improve the number of places in healthcare and therapy areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40446/23]
67. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if there are plans in place to further restrict the sale of single-use vapes in the country, especially those aimed at children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40618/23]
47. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the hospitals that currently have free Wi-Fi in public areas as of August 2023, in tabular form; and the estimated cost of ensuring that every public hospital in this country has Wi-Fi available for patients. [40619/23]
1070. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if consideration would be given to his Department engaging with the Department of Health and the HSE with regard to funding the master's programme in University College Cork for radiation therapy, in view that the master's programme in University College Cork is funded for diagnostic radiographers by the HSE, whereby it is more difficult to attract students onto the radiation therapy course; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40075/23]
1069. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide an update on the working group, established by his Department in 2022, to identify and address barriers to expansion in the health and social care professions, including radiation therapy; what progress has been made to date in particular with regard to radiation therapy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40074/23]
1068. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science what engagement has taken place to date between his Department and higher education institutions in the expansion of existing radiation therapy programmes from 2023; what progress, if any, has been made to date between his Department and the Department of Health in increasing corresponding student placements in the health sector for these additional radiation therapy students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40073/23]
1067. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if student numbers for radiation therapy courses at third level have increased in 2023 in comparison to numbers in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40072/23]
1060. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science what action his Department is taking to attract people into motor mechanic apprenticeships, given there is a growing shortage of qualified motor mechanics in the motor industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39697/23]
1028. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to confirm that a school bus escort (details supplied) who worked during the pandemic is entitled to a pandemic recognition payment; when the payment will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40623/23]
1011. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to confirm that mental health spending will be increased to 10% of the overall health budget, in line with international standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40442/23]