219 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the measures he and his Department are to take in regard to tackling the problem of bogus language schools which are being used as a cover for trafficking migrant workers into Ireland; and if his attention has been drawn to the concerns that this is leading to widespread illegality and exploitation of the workers involved.
[16729/04]
218 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the widespread abuse of the student visa programme as a device to facilitate people to come and work here.
[16728/04]
215 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the grounds under which an asylum seeker can, once asylum status is achieved, bring dependent siblings and parents to this country; and the number of persons who have been given the right to reside here under this particular category.
[16725/04]
217 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the level of spending by his Department on the asylum system; and if he can give estimates for other departmental spending related to this issue so that an overall figure for the cost of the asylum system to the taxpayer can be reached.
[16727/04]
216 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of asylum seekers who have applied here; and the average cost of processing an asylum claim.
[16726/04]
214 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of asylum seekers that had their cases accepted on the grounds that they were the subject of persecution for gender, sexual orientation or membership of a trade union; and if he can give an overall breakdown on other reasons asylum seekers are accepted.
[16724/04]
213 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he can give a statistical breakdown of the grounds under which asylum applicants are accepted and given status here.
[16723/04]
212 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of persons who have applied for asylum here for each of the past seven years; and if he can set out statistically the rate and percentage of those applying who are rejected.
[16722/04]
867 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs how she will improve the problems facing widows following her recent announcement; and if she will consider changing the rule that prevents widows from receiving a respite grant.
[11448/04]
553 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will report on the success to date of the implementation of the smoking ban and the advice his Department is giving in relation to the smoking of herbal cigarettes in public houses or other places in which the smoking ban operates.
[11468/04]
552 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children the timetable for his plans to be implemented in relation to the reduction of the number of health boards; the savings he hopes to achieve by such a move; and the improvements in the hospital services being envisaged by this move.
[11467/04]
551 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children if the mooted merger between Tallaght Hospital and St. James’s will only be approved by him when he is certain that such a merger will not involve a diminution in the services currently offered by Tallaght Hospital.
[11466/04]
550 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on the mooted merger between Tallaght Hospital and St. James’s; and his further views on such a move if it involves a significant improvement in services at both hospitals and reduces administrative overlap between the two hospitals.
[11465/04]
549 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children the growth in the number of non-medical staff employed in hospitals here between the years 1990 and 2004; and the figures or breakdown for each year involved.
[11464/04]
548 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of non-medical staff employed in the hospital services; and the way in which this compares to other European countries.
[11463/04]
547 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children the measures he proposes to take in reducing the level of administrative waste within the hospital sector; his timetable for such reductions; and the timeframe within which he hopes to achieve his targeted reductions.
[11462/04]
106 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children if there will be greater grant aid for the refurbishment of homes to allow elderly relatives to be cared for in their children’s homes when this is desired and desirable to relatives and parents.
[9417/04]
107 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children his Department’s policy to encourage children to look after their parents when they reach an advanced age; and the anticipated measures required to make this a real option for families.
[9418/04]
105 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children the assistance available to persons caring for an elderly relative in their home; and the plans his Department has to encourage this phenomenon to ensure that the escalating cost of nursing home accommodation does not become a burden on the Exchequer and families.
[9416/04]
430 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the composition of her departmental and interdepartmental group that has been established to plan the introduction of a smartcard for all social services provided by the State; and if she has set a target date by which this card can be circulated to users of State services.
[6961/04]
429 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the action her Department is taking with a view to implementing the proposed smartcard for social services; and the timetable she envisages for its introduction.
[6960/04]
330 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children if, in the event of a merger between Tallaght Hospital and St. James’s Hospital, such a merger will not be given his approval if it leads to the downgrading of Tallaght hospital in terms of the expansion of services at this relatively new facility.
[6967/04]
329 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children his views, in light of the Hanly report recommendations for the country’s hospitals, on whether there could be significant savings in the area of shared services and administration through hospital merging in the manner now proposed by executives in Tallaght Hospital and St. James’s Hospital.
[6966/04]
328 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will make a statement on the mooted merger between Tallaght Hospital and St. James’s Hospital and the extent to which his Department and officials have been involved or consulted with regard to the discussions.
[6965/04]
325 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children the way in which he intends to implement the smoking ban on the ground in terms of enforcement; and if additional staff or resources are being given to the task by the health boards.
[6962/04]
327 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children the way in which Tallaght Hospital performed in the accreditation report conducted on the hospital in 2003; and his views on this report on the hospital in view of the fact that it is in relative terms a new facility.
[6964/04]
326 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children the comparative results for the Dublin hospitals and the way in which they fared in the accreditation report conducted on their performance and services in 2003; and if he will rank the different hospitals in the order in which they performed under the different criteria applied to them.
[6963/04]
270 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason officials from his Department are discouraging parents from introducing sign language to their deaf children; and the plans he has to remedy this situation.
[6876/04]
269 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will consider lifting the cap of six people per class which has been set for the model school for the deaf project in light of the view by the sponsors of the school that the cap actually acts to inhibit the development of pupils in a classroom context.
[6875/04]
268 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason officials from his Department are advising parents not to attend the pre-school run by the model school for the deaf project even though it was established by his predecessor and is fully funded by his Department.
[6874/04]
267 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Education and Science if his attention has been drawn to the model school for the deaf project and the sense among some parents that his Department is actively opposing the establishment of such a primary school; and if he will make a statement allaying such fears.
[6873/04]
266 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will meet as a matter of urgency the model school for the deaf project to discuss how their plans for a primary school for the deaf can be progressed further.
[6872/04]
208 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the studies her Department and agencies reporting to her Department, made in relation to the job retention issue in the context of the general drive to make the economy more competitive; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[6959/04]
207 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the efforts her Department and the agencies that report to her make in relation to the issue of job retention rather than job creation; and if there is a special section within her Department to monitor developments in this area.
[6958/04]
453 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will set out the level and number of community gardaí available for duty in the Tallaght area; and if these numbers have grown or fallen in recent years.
[5904/04]
452 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will set out the number of gardaí that are designated as community Garda and what this represents in percentage terms relative to the number of gardaí available for duty on the beat.
[5903/04]
451 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he can set out the role he sees in future for the community Garda programme; and if his Department has held an evaluation of the programme so that it can be enhanced to cover all areas of the country and all neighbourhoods.
[5902/04]
450 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he or the Gardaí have received requests from the division of Dublin area south in relation to extra resources for the Tallaght station and surrounding districts in the division.
[5901/04]
449 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the disparity in the level of Garda resourcing between Limerick and Tallaght; and if he will set out measures he believes can be implemented to enhance the level of policing in the division.
[5900/04]
448 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he can give comparative figures for the number of gardaí serving the Limerick area and the comparable numbers of gardaí serving the Tallaght district in Dublin.
[5899/04]
455 Mr Conor Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will ensure that if the Shelton Abbey prison facility is to be given to another agency, that all ot the existing prisoner officer staff will be offered positions with the new agencies given both the age and experience these officers have in relation to administering this open prison facility.
[5906/04]
454 Mr. Conor Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans for the Shelton Abbey prison facility and if it will be retained under the control of the Irish Prison Service.
[5904/04]
180 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will investigate the circumstances and reasons the Eastern Health Board will not allow a person (details supplied) whose parents believe he needs urgent medical treatment in the UK to travel to England; and if a meeting can be arranged between the parents and the health board as soon as possible.
[5420/04]
296 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the plans he has for the future of the ESB; and his views on whether the company should be further capitalised but remain in State hands.
[3890/04]
295 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the plans he has to open up the power supply sector to competition; and the timescale he envisages for the opening of competition in this area.
[3889/04]
857 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of serving prison officers now entitled to leave their positions and take retirement because they have served their contractual period of employment; and the contingency plans he has made should that become a reality against the background of a future industrial dispute.
[1262/04]
855 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he can give a breakdown of the overtime payments to prison officers in the different prison facilities; and his views on the level of overtime payments made to staff at Shelton Abbey in comparison with the rest of the Prison Service.
[1260/04]
854 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the overall situation in the prison service regarding over-staffing; and if the facility at Shelton Abbey has been deemed by either his Department or the prison service to be over-staffed regarding the ratio of staff to prisoners kept there.
[1259/04]
856 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans regarding handing over the Shelton Abbey facility to another agency; and what, if any, savings are envisaged by his Department if that were done.
[1261/04]
853 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans regarding the Shelton Abbey facility and whether he has visited the centre to hear at first hand the views of staff on their future and the effectiveness of the facility.
[1258/04]