768. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will sanction that all medical card holders be entitled to the entresto heart drug, regardless of their LVEF level, given that a person (details supplied) is finding purchasing the drug a financial burden due to their level not being below LVEF 35; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58166/22]
720. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm that persons should be afforded dental treatment and appliances by the dental hospital in accordance with function 4 (b) of its establishment order, irrespective of any assessment as suitable for treatment by undergraduate or postgraduate students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58031/22]
644. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to introduce a mechanism for frontline workers to register for their pandemic bonus payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57634/22]
451. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will explain the reasoning as to the reason a person who is in receipt of partial capacity benefits, if recipients are on an invalidity-based payment rate they will not be entitled to the one-off payment of €500; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57570/22]
202. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Education if research has been carried out by her Department into the number of ASD places needed in primary and secondary schools in south Kildare for the next five years; if so, the number that are required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57085/22]
201. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Education the number of ASD units in planning to be built in each primary and secondary school; the location of those units; the number of places that the units will have; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57084/22]
200. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Education the number of ASD units built in each primary and secondary school in south Kildare over the past five years; the location of those units; the number of places in the units; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57083/22]
580. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on his Department’s progress in making hepatitis C a rare disease by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56597/22]
579. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on when a new national sexual health strategy will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56596/22]
537. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if his Department will be drawing down funding under the EU joint action on diabetes and cardiovascular disease scheme; if not, the reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56325/22]
536. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the status of a new cardiovascular disease strategy; if a strategy will be published by his Department in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56324/22]
496. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the assistance available to persons diagnosed as deaf to replace their hearing aids should they become damaged; if there is a time limit on such replacement or cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56121/22]
436. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the basis for the removal of entitlements from section 56 workers who were re-designated from section 38, such as workers in an organisation (details supplied), when these section 38 organisations were re-designated as section 56 upon the establishment of Tusla; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56500/22]
363. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the assistance available to persons diagnosed as deaf to replace their hearing aids should they become damaged; if there is a time limit on such replacement or cost; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56122/22]
360. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the reasoning as to if a person who is in receipt of disability allowance and that person takes up a community employment scheme before 16 November 2022 that they will not be entitled to the one-off payment of €500, and someone who is currently on a community employment scheme who was originally on disability allowance will not get this one-off payment either; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56572/22]
293. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if persons with homes in Fingal, County Dublin, which have defective pyrite or mica blocks will be able to apply for an enhanced defective block remediation scheme; if he will provide further details on the way that the application process will proceed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56663/22]
171. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport the way in which the National Transport Authority and his Department are treating the annual tax-saver rail ticket already purchased by commuters, following the recent announcement by Government of the 20% reduction in public transport fares; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56123/22]
270. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if she is considering changing the rules for fuel allowance in circumstances (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56069/22]
232. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will order the preservation of the recently discovered souterrain at lands in Corballis, Donabate, as set out in section 8 (1) of the National Monuments Act 1930, especially given the writing on the walls within the souterrain, which may be ogham or futhark and is of historic importance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55948/22]
84. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport if he has any plans to consolidate public transport ticketing in one monthly ticket, such as the €49 monthly ticket scheme for all regional public transport in Germany, announced in November 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55763/22]
59. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport if he has any plans to extend the ten-year taxi vehicle licensing rule to 15 years, in view of the significant increase in the cost of used cars and the scarcity of used electric vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55759/22]
57. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport the way the decision to extend the contract of bus services (details supplied) by 12 months was reached, given the companies serial fines for missing service targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55760/22]
15. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport the steps he is taking to reduce the waiting times at national car test, NCT, centres throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55762/22]
12. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport his plans to implement a public transport security strategy; if he plans to include An Garda Síochána in such a strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55761/22]
1320. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if there is any assistance currently available for a community group (details supplied) in County Laois; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54246/22]
1246. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if bringing additional expertise for health and social care professionals, HSCPs, to his Department equates to a chief HSCP role on par with the chief nursing officer; if he will outline the details of the reporting relationship for the envisaged role within his Department; the resources that are being allocated to support the role; the engagement that he and his Department have had with a union (details supplied) and the relevant professional bodies on drafting the job description for this role; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55638/22]
1245. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if the HSE has completed transfer of its banking arrangements relating to employee payrolls at all locations from banks exiting the Republic of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55637/22]
1244. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update as of November 2022 as to the progress of the roll-out of COVID-19 booster vaccines to those under 50 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55636/22]
1224. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health his plans to ensure that the national maternity strategy offers birthing choices, including home births, irrespective of location; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55494/22]
1223. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the status of discussions on home births with relevant stakeholders, including GPs, as of November 2022 and as promised by him as part of a national policy in the context of the national maternity strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55493/22]
1221. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of unfilled consultant positions that currently remain unfilled for each hospital, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55468/22]
1220. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of nurses and midwives’ positions, respectively, that remain unfilled for each hospital, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55467/22]
1219. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of resignations among nurses and midwives, respectively, for each hospital in 2021 and to date in 2022; the number who resigned in September and October 2022, respectively; the figures for the same months in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55466/22]
1218. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the annual value of the contract for the patient advocacy service; the number of staff that it supports; the annual funding for the service for each of the years 2019 to 2021 and to date in 2022; the number of persons supported in each year since 2019; the projected number for 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55465/22]
1211. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the full-year funding amount in the HSE service plan for progressing disability services for children and young people; the amount of this funding that has been spent to date; and the amount of this 2022 funding, including unspent funding, that will be transferred to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Inclusion and Youth under the transfer of functions. [55442/22]
1210. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm that similarly increased vulnerability also applies to infants, toddlers and very young children with regard to the national warnings to the general public posted on various Government Department websites, and to the additional vulnerability of infection and disease to elderly and immuno-compromised persons that is highlighted in the advice, and persons with open skin wounds/lesions (details supplied); if so, if he will consider having the advices amended accordingly, published appropriately, and to include appropriate measures to mitigate such risks. [55439/22]
1209. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health his views on public health warnings in relation to the persistent avian 'flu' and if he is aware of best practice on this matter (details supplied). [55438/22]
1123. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the length of the contract for wheelchair maintenance that an organisation (details supplied) has with the HSE; the oversight mechanisms, if any, that are in place in relation to the performance of the contract; the value of the organisation’s contract for wheelchair maintenance in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54991/22]
842. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Justice if there are data available on the number of prosecutions taken for assault of front-line health workers since the enactment of section 185 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. [54291/22]
483. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Defence the number, name and location of current military barracks in use by the State; the amount of land in each of these barracks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54711/22]
482. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Defence the number, name and location of former military barracks still in State ownership; the amount of land in each of these barracks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54710/22]
472. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Defence the amount of funding and investment provided for and spent in the Curragh training camp in County Kildare in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54247/22]
295. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Finance if his Department has carried-out an impact assessment of the financial implications of increasing interest rates on BIK, in view of the current inflation and fuel crises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55457/22]
294. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Finance if his Department has carried-out an impact assessment of the financial implications of introducing BIK for electric vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55456/22]
277. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Finance if a company is liable for the pensions levy when paying a pension out of its own company funds. [54815/22]
275. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Finance if there are any plans by Government to incorporate protection for cohabiting couples under inheritance laws; if he is aware of any similar schemes in other EU countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54709/22]
234. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport his views on the roll-out of fast charging points for electric vehicles; the plans that his Department has to increase the number of points over the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55455/22]
232. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport the rationale for the extension of a company (details supplied) contract, given its ongoing poor and unreliable service which has resulted in many workers being late for work and given written and verbal warning through no fault of their own, students being late for school and college, patients missing hospital appointments and many commuters left stranded on many routes across Fingal and the Greater Dublin Area, and in counties Wicklow, Louth and Kildare, impacting commuters’ confidence in public transport, especially at a time when national policy is to encourage the use of public transport and reduce car usage in line with Ireland’s climate obligations to reduce carbon emissions by 51% by 2030, and given the penalties incurred by the company to date in 2022 for non-operation of services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55448/22]