194 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the areas of priority country markets his Department has suggested should be excluded from liberalisation, in EU and inter-departmental meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6028/05]
193 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the concerns his Department has raised with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment over the opening up of priority country markets to EU competition; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6027/05]
192 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the communications, meetings and other representations his Department has had with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the liberalisation of markets under the proposed EPAs; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6026/05]
191 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the details of any EPA impact assessments on Irish priority aid countries, that is, the level of unemployment expected, the nature of industries to be adversely affected and the capacity of these countries to adjust to EU competition within the transition period; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6025/05]
190 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the assessment his Department has undertaken concerning the impact upon agricultural and industrial producers in Ireland’s priority aid countries of the EPAs; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6024/05]
189 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Government will press its EU partners for increased co-operation with ACP countries to attain an extension of the Cotonou waiver at the WTO or to change GATT Article XXIV in order for the EU to continue to give preferential access to poor countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6023/05]
188 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the nature of contact his Department has had at EU 133 committee meetings in view of the impact of liberalisation of trade with Ireland’s priority aid countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6022/05]
45 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs his views on whether the outcry from hundreds of local and national organisations (details supplied) working against poverty reflects the importance of the anti-poverty work of the Community Workers Co-operative.
[5781/05]
19 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the process which has been carried out to determine that the Community Workers Co-operative alone of the ten national anti-poverty networks, has failed to meet the necessary criteria for funding.
[5780/05]
32 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the amount which has been spent on supporting Irish cultural activities abroad over the past five years; the criteria being used in assessing such activities; if an analysis has been carried out of the way in which other countries promote themselves and their artists; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[5162/05]
130 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans to resolve the potential conflict of interest that arises for Garda ethnic minority liaison officers who are also members of the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
[5103/05]
90 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will report on the process that has been followed in the selection of a site to replace the Mountjoy Prison complex; if he will further report on the weighting given to the issues of sustainability and cost; and the status of the detailed plans drawn up by the Office of Public Works for the refurbishment and renewal of the Mountjoy complex.
[5104/05]
327 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport the status of registered driving instructors with regard to the Driver Testing and Standards Authority Bill 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[4578/05]
319 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport the estimated length of new quality bus corridors that are due to come into operation in Dublin in 2005; the number of new buses that will be added to the Dublin bus fleet; and his views on whether Dublin Bus has a sufficiently large fleet to be able to provide the frequency of bus service for these routes to be characterised as quality bus corridors.
[5092/05]
318 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport the process which his Department is engaging in to establish the ten-year transport investment plan proposed in budget 2005; the analysis which has been undertaken to help prioritise projects; and the planning guidelines which are being used to provide a background to the investment decisions that are being made.
[5091/05]
136 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport the measures he intends introducing to try to prevent the continued incidence of fatal accidents between cyclists and heavy goods vehicles.
[4805/05]
110 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport the process which his Department is engaging in to establish the ten-year transport investment plan proposed in budget 2005; the analysis which has been undertaken to help prioritise projects; and the planning guidelines which are being used to provide a background to the investment decisions that are being made.
[4804/05]
94 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport the role his Department will play in the possible planning of new orbital motorways around Dublin; the work which has been done to set out the design, cost and possible timescale for the building of such roads; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[5090/05]
85 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her views on whether we need regulation of complementary and alternative medicines to deal with those persons who refer to themselves as allergists; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[4174/05]
99 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the reason there are no consultant allergists in teaching hospitals here; if she intends to review this; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[4173/05]
132 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the amount of tenancies that have been registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board; the plans which are being put in place to increase registration; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[3934/05]
114 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the estimated size of the wild salmon stock on the rivers Liffey and Boyne; the fish counting and measures which are planned on each river to return the stocks to sustainable conservation levels; and his estimate of the number of salmon returning to these rivers which will be intercepted in driftnets to the north, west and south of the country.
[3674/05]
105 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if the practice of pair trawling in the Shannon Estuary special area of conservation is in compliance with the habitat directives here in view of the fact that the area is a resident site and calving area for bottlenose dolphins and in view of the recorded history of dolphin bycatch with pair trawling.
[3673/05]
139 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she has carried out an analysis regarding the provision of support for the conversion of facilities such as the Carlow sugar factory which is now set to close, to be able to process ethanol from sugar beet; if she has engaged in discussions with the company involved in this regard; and if any European or national regulations preclude support mechanisms being applied to support such sugar beet derived products.
[3240/05]
133 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport when he expects integrated ticketing will be available between services on Dublin Bus and the Luas rail lines.
[3201/05]
109 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the measures he plans to take to promote the development of Irish biodiesel fuels.
[3203/05]
105 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Finance the regulations that now apply to the imposition of excise duties on biodiesel produced from the crushing of rape seed.
[3203/05]
10 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Education and Science if it is planned to have additional classrooms open at a school (details supplied) for December 2005; if not, the reason for the delay; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[3061/05]
233 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the numbers, for each category, of renewable power projects within the AER V and AER VI support mechanisms, which he expects will be able to connect to the grid before the time deadlines notified in clause 2.2.4 of the AER V competition rules and clause 2.8 of the AER VI competition rules; the number of projects in each category which now have either a forecast connection after the end of 2005 or have for other reasons been delayed; the timeframe and assessment standards which will apply to his Department’s case by case consideration of possible extensions to these contracts; if he expects any such contracts to be reallocated to other projects on the AER reserve lists.
[3122/05]
230 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if the contract for the purchase of electricity from the anaerobic digester projects under the AER 6 scheme (details supplied) will be reviewed.
[3046/05]
150 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the efforts he has made on behalf of a person (details supplied); his views on whether the parliamentary procedures used to convict and sentence this person fell far short of internationally recognised standards; his further views on Amnesty International’s opinion that this person should face trial by an independent and impartial court; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2812/05]
169 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the plans for the ratification procedure for the EU constitution in the various member states; the implications of any member state of the EU failing to ratify the constitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2813/05]
259 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the legislation which governs the use of scrambling motorbikes within Coillte forest roads and paths; if it is a specific offence for vehicles in such locations not to display appropriate registration plates; and if the gardaí are restricted in any manner in enforcing such regulations.
[2395/05]
245 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she plans to introduce legislation to allow the Garda to police activities such as motorbike scrambling on Coillte lands; and if so, when.
[2394/05]
25 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Finance the measures he proposes by way of other environmental tax measures, that will help this country meet its global environmental obligations, in view of the fact that he has confirmed his predecessor’s intention not to introduce carbon tax.
[2594/05]
24 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Finance the way in which €200 million in VAT returns have been lost to the Exchequer through food sales in canteens.
[2595/05]
43 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food her plans to address the crisis caused by the closure of the Carlow sugar factory; and if she has explored the possibility of producing bio-fuel from sugar beet to provide replacement employment in the area.
[1943/05]
19 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if her attention has been drawn to the fact that potato-grower numbers have declined from 956 in 2000 to 700 in 2004; that vegetable-grower numbers have halved in the past five years alone; that 385 acres of tomatoes were grown in 1980 compared to only 50 acres now; and her plans to reverse these declines.
[1944/05]
138 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Defence the progress made in decentralisation of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[1526/05]
127 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Defence if he will report on progress in the investigation he has initiated into practices at the Army Equitation School in McKee Barracks, Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[1525/05]
121 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason for the recent budgetary announcement regarding the transfer of the funding of some element of the jobs initiative and community employment schemes to the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
[34048/04]
120 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the further progress which has been made in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the enterprise strategy group report, in particular, with regard to the future role and structure of Enterprise Ireland.
[34047/04]
15 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason for the recent budgetary announcement regarding the transfer of the funding of some element of the jobs initiative and community employment schemes to the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
[33845/04]
6 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the further progress which has been made in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Enterprise Strategy Group report, in particular with regard to the future role and structure of Enterprise Ireland.
[33846/04]
3 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has carried out an analysis of the implications of lifting the cap on retail size with regard to employment and competition within the retail sector here; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[34046/04]
185 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport if the National Roads Authority will carry out an analysis on the feasibility of providing a new high quality road connection between the N3 near Navan and the M1 near Drogheda as an alternative route for commuters between Navan and Dublin to that proposed as part of the N3 motorway route between Clonee and Kells.
[33731/04]
83 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on the 300% take up of the services of the St. Vincent de Paul organisation by the most needy in society; and if he intends to respond to this trend in any way.
[33472/04]
54 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he has recently met representatives of an organisation (details supplied); and if he has acted on its concerns in relation to the budgetary process.
[33473/04]
63 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if the White Paper, Supporting Voluntary Activity, remains policy in this area; and if not, the policy to be put in its place.
[33286/04]
98 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the action being undertaken by his Department to ensure that planning authorities do not zone land for development that is under risk of flooding.
[32801/04]