829. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice to confirm what action will be taken to reduce the waiting time for cases being listed for inquest in the coronial service, particularly in light of the fact that coronial service and families affected have been experiencing significant delays; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36161/23]
720. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider amending the criteria for fuel allowance so that those who are living with children of working age who are earning a low income and not in receipt of one of the qualifying payments for fuel allowance would not be disqualified from the fuel allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36612/23]
719. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider amending the criteria for fuel allowance so that those who are living with another family member, earning a low income and not in receipt of one of the qualifying payments for fuel allowance would not be disqualified from the fuel allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36611/23]
706. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection to confirm that a liability raised for a person (details supplied) by her Department arising out of additional hours worked in excess of the limit on their carer’s allowance will be nullified due to the fact that these hours relate to their work helping elderly and vulnerable people with home help during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and were required as there was no one else available to undertake this work, and that they did not intend to circumvent the rules; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36183/23]
705. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will give due consideration to ending the ‘four-over-seven-day rule’, which prevents home support workers from claiming part-time jobseeker’s allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36176/23]
491. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education the current status of an application by a school (details supplied) for emergency works; when a decision is likely to be made in this case in view of the fact that these facilities are urgently required to accommodate 42 children enrolled for 1 September in the school which has recently become co-educational and a delay in this project could result in the school being unable to accommodate these children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36648/23]
412. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education if he will ringfence dedicated additional funding for every special school across the country in relation to the school summer programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36174/23]
382. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment what action will be taken to recruit more staff into the Health Safety Authority, particularly in light of the fact that the coronial service, and families affected, have been experiencing significant delays in cases being listed for inquest; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36160/23]
784. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to confirm that consideration would be given to removing emergency department charges in public hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35246/23]
783. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health what action is being taking to ensure that pharmacies and hospitals have access to sufficient supplies of insulin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35242/23]
522. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice what action is being taken to reduce the waiting time for the processing and completion of e-vetting applications for applicants of the Irish citizenship by naturalisation application process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34801/23]
104. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if consideration will be given to the implementation of regular external reviews of RTÉ whereby an independent root-and-branch examination of the organisation would be carried out going forward, in view of what has transpired in recent weeks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34490/23]
75. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to clarify when the independent root-and-branch examination into RTÉ will commence; how long the process will take; when it is envisaged the findings of the report will be made available to her Department in order that she can address the recommendations proposed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34489/23]
37. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on the nitrates derogation and recent discussions regarding the proposed changes to the current levels which are in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34491/23]
20. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what action is being taken by his Department to improve farmers’ knowledge and awareness of the prevention of injury and ill-health on farms, in particular the use of targeted media campaigns, and how awareness is raised in rural communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34492/23]
178. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice to confirm the current timeframe for the processing of citizenship applications, given it is almost six years since an application (details supplied) was lodged; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34560/23]
891. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will sponsor a national awareness campaign for the purpose of increasing social inclusion for younger men and refugees, considering the essential role such groups play in promoting health and providing social support within our communities, such a campaign would further ensure sustainability and succession planning; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33660/23]
890. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will engage with the relevant authorities for the purposes of conducting an audit of all unused properties in their ownership which may be suitable for use as a Men's Shed, considering the essential role such sheds play in promoting health and providing social support within our communities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33659/23]
889. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will set aside dedicated funding for the provision of a 'once off grant' for each newly established Men's Shed, in light of the essential role such groups play in promoting health and providing social support within our communities (€10,000 per shed), such a grant would ensure that sheds would have the funds to 'get off the ground'; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33656/23]
888. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will give due consideration to the provision of a grant directly payable to the Men's Sheds Association to enable them to best target individual sheds which are in danger of closure (estimated cost €250,000 per annum); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33655/23]
887. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will ringfence dedicated funding for the establishment of an annual Men's Shed sustainability grant, in light of the essential role such sheds play in promoting health and providing social support within our communities (estimated cost €3,000 per shed); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33654/23]
866. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will permit automatic eligibility for young cancer survivors into the disability access route to education (DARE) scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33645/23]
864. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his Department would consider revising supports for post-2016 apprenticeships to assist small business employers to take on apprentices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33563/23]
848. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to confirm what action he, his Department and the HSE will take to improve the efficiency of the high-tech medication scheme as there are delays in the supply of medication as pharmacies cannot request stock until prescriptions have been received from consultants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34337/23]
767. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm that funding from the EU4Health Joint Action on diabetes and cardiovascular disease will be utilised to establish a pilot early detection programme for structural heart disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33864/23]
766. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to confirm that he will work towards the establishment of an early detection programme for people at risk of structural heart disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33863/23]
765. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to confirm that he will work towards publishing a new cardiovascular strategy, which Ireland has been without since 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33862/23]
764. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health when he will publish the review of cardiac services in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33861/23]
713. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will give due consideration to the inclusion of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and other smoking cessation supports in the drug payment scheme, in light of the costs of smoking on the health service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33652/23]
712. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the steps he will take to ensure the roll-out of the National Cancer Information System (NCIS) to remaining designated cancer centres nationwide; if he will ringfence funding to ensure that this be designated a priority and resourced in full; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33651/23]
711. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the up-to-date position with regard to the recruitment and funding of all outstanding psycho-oncology service posts in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33650/23]
710. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will ringfence dedicated funding for sustained, regular investment in clinical trials, research, and infrastructure to offer cancer patients the best chance of survival; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33648/23]
709. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will give due consideration to the provision of dedicated funding for a children's, adolescents and young adults (CAYA) specific psycho-oncology service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33647/23]
708. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will give due consideration to the granting of life long medical cards for survivors of child, adolescent, and young adult (CAYA) cancers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33646/23]
688. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if his Department would consider increasing the income level for medical card qualification; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33565/23]
687. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the specific drugs that have been considered to date by the rare diseases technology review committee of the HSE, in tabular form; the outcomes of these decisions; the timelines for each from EMA licence to availability to Irish patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33547/23]
686. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health his views on whether managed access protocols for certain medicines should be amended if they are found not to be accommodating to clinicians and patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33546/23]
685. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health given the long wait times that patients experience for medicines subject to managed access protocols, if he can provide further details, in tabular form, on the timelines, from EMA approval to reimbursement, for all medicines subject to managed access protocols for the period May 2021 to April 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33545/23]
684. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health given the low approval rates for certain medicines subject to managed access protocols, if he believes that the criteria is currently too restrictive; his views on whether the current criteria could deter eligible patients from applying to access such medicines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33544/23]
657. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to confirm that financial supports such as the ones given to first-year students in the educational psychology doctorate programme (details supplied) will be made available to those in counselling psychology courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33468/23]
656. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to confirm that education and additional financial support will be made available to those undertaking counselling psychology courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33467/23]
655. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to confirm how €750,000 provided in Budget 2023 to support counselling psychology training places has been allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33466/23]
597. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to confirm that CORE funding will be increased to support childcare services and parents, particularly in light of rising costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33469/23]
508. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice what action is being taken by her Department to improve upon the timeframe for the processing of appeals on decisions of visa applications whereby the application was refused; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34049/23]
437. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will give due consideration to extending the treatment benefit scheme (currently available to dependent spouses, civil partners or cohabitants of qualified persons subject to certain conditions), to dependent children up to the age of 18 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33639/23]
427. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will actively engage with local authorities to ensure that where commercial rates are already in place for a building, a waiver may be sought if such building is now used as a men's shed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34315/23]
356. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage what action his Department will take with local authorities where planning permission was issued for commercial units on the ground floor subject to the construction of residential units on floors one and two, and where the property developers are now refusing to make residential units available for occupation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33571/23]
355. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department would consider simplifying and shortening the planning process to hasten building of housing and energy infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33561/23]
354. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department would consider reforming the zoning and planning process to improve the timelines for delivery of housing and infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33560/23]
254. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will give due consideration to the funding of pilot schemes to enable young cancer survivors' reintegration to work following cancer treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33649/23]