22. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Transport what immediate action his Department is taking to help alleviate the waiting time for driving tests, which now stands at five months, in view that many provisional drivers now find themselves in a position where they will not have the funds to insure their vehicle wherein the cost is significantly higher for provisional drivers than fully licensed drivers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18392/23]
21. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Transport what action his Department is taking to reduce the five-month waiting time for driving tests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18391/23]
1749. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to provide a timeline of when works are due to commence on the development of a helipad at the Cork University Hospital site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18141/23]
1691. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to provide details of each of the medical negligence claims made against the 19 maternity hospitals; which of these said claims have been settled over the past five years, in tabular form for each of the 19 individual maternity units; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17750/23]
1690. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the current number of medical negligence claims that are pending against each of the 19 maternity hospitals, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17749/23]
1159. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to clarify what percentage of all timber cut in Ireland is being exported for the production of biomass; if he will advise what countries it is exported to for this purpose; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16492/23]
842. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to set out in detail the funding granted to each voluntary housing organisation for the erection or acquisition of residential units for each of the past five years; the number of units erected or acquired, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17857/23]
835. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration will be given to providing additional funding to the RTB in order to fund an active investigations unit, in order that the organisation may strengthen investigations into non-compliant landlords in the private market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17761/23]
582. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education if the board of management of a school (details supplied) will be entitled to rent additional space in order to accommodate the students in the school in a safe manner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17756/23]
412. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Finance if there are any plans to increase the small gift exemption for capital acquisition tax from €3,000 to €5,000; the potential cost of such a measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17930/23]
281. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Transport if he will confirm the number of applications in total that have been received for the local hackney pilot programme since the closing date of 28 February 2023; if applications received include applications for each of the 21 areas in the pilot scheme; if consideration will be given to extending the programme to other rural areas going forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17014/23]
294. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to the provision of additional support staff for CORU in view of the high number of different healthcare profession applications received by the multi-profession health regulator; if there is a need to review the funding and provide additional support in order that necessary registration systems can be set up for a whole range of groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15873/23]
293. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration would be given to the inclusion of certified athletic therapists in the CORU regulation process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15872/23]
292. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health what progress has been made to date between his Department and an organisation (details supplied) regarding its request for the inclusion of certified athletic therapists in the CORU regulation process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15871/23]
200. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education if she will confirm that the proposal to build a new primary school in Blarney (details supplied) can now proceed to the next stage, and that an application for planning permission can now be submitted, in view of the fact that the current school has its number of pupils capped at 306, which is inadequate due to the huge increase in population in the area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16007/23]
167. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider ring-fencing dedicated funding to enable local authorities to purchase and renovate vacant buildings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15865/23]
166. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department will engage with local authorities in adopting a more proactive policy in relation to implementing compulsory purchase order powers in relation to properties that have been left vacant for a significant period of time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15864/23]
165. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will engage with local authorities with a view to introducing amended rates relief for commercial property, whereby the rate of relief available on commercial property would be reduced each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15863/23]
164. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider developing a national registry to identify vacant and derelict sites, with clear definitions in relation to same, for the purposes of identifying how best to utilise such properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15862/23]
163. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider extending the repair and lease scheme to include private sector tenants as well as social tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15861/23]
162. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider extending the first home scheme to include renovation projects, subject, if required, to the retention of a modest equity stake; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15860/23]
161. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if will consider funding a campaign to promote living over the shop; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15859/23]
160. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will engage with the relevant agencies to provide specific and technical guidance documents for renovating older buildings to assist construction professionals, builders and owners to better understand buildings regulations and to achieve compliance in older buildings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15858/23]
159. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider conducting a review of the relevant building regulations, that is, part B, relating to fire, and part A, relating to structure, to address challenges with renovating existing units to residential use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15857/23]
158. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if, under the Croí Cónaithe towns fund scheme, he will consider granting tranche payments to improve cashflow rather than at the end of the renovation as is currently the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15856/23]
157. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if, under the Croí Cónaithe towns fund scheme, he will consider including feasibility grants for the purposes of assessing the overall viability of the project, whereby such monies would ascertain the level of funding needed to inform the level of grant funding necessary to renovate a property for homeowner use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15855/23]
135. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Finance if his Department will engage with lending institutions for the purposes of considering green lending to assist in renovating units for residential use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15870/23]
134. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Finance if his Department will engage with lending institutions for the purposes of designing a one-lender type product for the purposes of renovation of properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15869/23]
133. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Finance if he will give consideration to the granting of a tax rebate over a period of ten years to support the conversion or renovation of multi-occupancy buildings to residential use, similar to the living city initiative scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15868/23]
132. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Finance if his Department intends to actively engage with lending institutions to communicate a clear set of lending policies in taking on a vacant or derelict property for the purposes of home ownership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15867/23]
742. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm whether he has met with transgender representative groups in respect of consultation with regards to transgender health care in Ireland; if so, if he will confirm what engagement has taken place; what engagement he intends on undertaking with these groups in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15460/23]
648. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health f he will ensure that a wheelchair will be urgently provided to a patient (details supplied) who is receiving palliative care treatment in their home from their elderly partner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14793/23]
621. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the estimated annual cost of smoking to the State in terms of health spending; if his Department will be conducting an updated 2023 report assessing the economic cost of smoking, following on from the 2016 ICF international report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14696/23]
620. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if his Department have in place or intend to put in place regulations to prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes from mobile phone shops including shops selling mobile phones second hand along with phone cases; if inspections are carried out on these premises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14694/23]
619. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the estimated revenue that would be raised annually if an annual €50 electronic cigarette retailer licence fee per retail outlet was introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14692/23]
618. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a campaign by an alliance of organisations seeking an increase in the legal age of sale of all forms of tobacco, including e-cigarettes, from 18 to 21 years of age, commonly known as tobacco 21; if he is in favour of Ireland introducing tobacco 21 as a policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14690/23]
617. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the level of funding provided for tobacco cessation services from 2011 to 2022, and to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14689/23]
616. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the estimated revenue that would be raised annually if an annual €500 tobacco retailer licence fee per retail outlet was introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14688/23]
615. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the number of retail outlets registered to sell tobacco on the National Register of Tobacco retailers in 2022 and to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14687/23]
563. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice if he and his Department will engage with and consult with a group (details supplied), with a view to reaching an agreement on the best way forward in the management of licensing of firearms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14803/23]
258. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he will confirm whether a contractor has been appointed for the Glashaboy flood relief scheme; if so, the details of same; if not, when it is expected one will be appointed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14795/23]
234. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Finance the estimated revenue that would be raised annually if an excise tax of €0.06 per ml of electronic cigarette liquid was applied; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14691/23]
233. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Finance the funding provided to the Revenue Commissioners in each year from 2020 to 2023 that is used to combat tobacco smuggling; if the Revenue Commissioners are developing a dedicated anti-smuggling strategy; if the Covid-19 pandemic has had any impact on the Revenue Commissioners combatting smuggling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14686/23]
214. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Transport the financial support schemes or incentives currently in place to assist drivers who wish to switch to hybrid/electric vehicles in order to reduce their carbon footprint; if it is planned to introduce additional supports in order to assist in meeting Ireland’s climate targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15060/23]
173. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the current status of the public consultation to ban disposable e-cigarettes; if a timeline has been developed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14693/23]
317. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total number of beds that are available in purpose-built student accommodation in Cork, Dublin, Limerick and Galway; the number of new beds which have been made available in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022; the current number of units that are currently under construction, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14391/23]
1570. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payments of the basic income support for sustainability will be made to applicants in 2023; if these payments will be made in the same timeframe as its predecessor the basic payment scheme in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13393/23]
1569. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payments of the areas of natural constraints scheme will be made to applicants in 2023; if these payments will be made in the same timeframe as in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13392/23]
1568. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the timeline of payments to farmers across all agri-schemes under the remit of his Department for 2023; if these payments will be made in the same timeframe as in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13391/23]