1372. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected cost in 2025 of increasing the income disregard for carer’s allowance to €625 (single) and €1,250 (couple); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32727/24]
1371. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected cost in 2025 of increasing the carer’s support grant to €2,000 or €2,500; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32726/24]
1370. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected cost in 2025 of increasing the disability allowance income disregard to €205; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32725/24]
1369. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost in 2025 to provide a cost-of-disability payment of €20 per week; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32724/24]
1368. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of providing a Christmas bonus social welfare payment on the same basis as in December 2023 this year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32723/24]
1367. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost in 2025 of restoring jobseeker’s allowance for under-25s to the standard adult rate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32722/24]
1366. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected yield from every 0.1% increase in employer’s PRSI or self-employment PRSI; to provide the individual yield from each class of PRSI, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32721/24]
1365. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected cost a permanent €50 or €100 increase in both rates of the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance; the additional cost if those payment rates were made available to all school going children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32720/24]
1364. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected cost in 2025 of increasing the household benefits package by €10 a month; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32719/24]
1363. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected cost of increasing the State pension (contributory) to a level equivalent to 34% of average earnings, or the cost to do so over two years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32718/24]
1362. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected cost of introducing the bereaved partner payments as outlined in the heads of Bill if such reformed widower’s payments were available from January 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32717/24]
1361. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected cost of providing pay related maternity benefit on the same terms as the new pay-related jobseeker’s payment, with the maximum rate available for 26 weeks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32716/24]
1360. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of every €1 increase in the living alone allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32715/24]
1359. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost increasing the weekly fuel allowance weekly payment by €7 for the 2024-2025 fuel season; the full-year cost in 2025; the cost of an additional four weeks of fuel allowance in 2025; the additional cost of those four weeks with a €7-per-week increase; the number of applicants that would benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32714/24]
1358. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of an additional three weeks of paid parent’s leave in 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32713/24]
1357. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of every €10 increase in the working family payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32712/24]
1356. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing child benefit by €10 a month in 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32711/24]
1355. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the qualified child increase payment in 2025 by €6 for children aged under 12 years, and €15 for those aged 12 years and over; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32710/24]
1354. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending eligibility for working family payment (WFP) to parents in receipt of jobseeker’s transitional payment (JTP); the policy reasons those in receipt of the one-parent family payment are eligible for WFP but those on JST are not; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32709/24]
1353. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing all weekly social protection payments by €20 a week from 1 January 2025, or alternatively the cost of increasing payments by 4.25%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32708/24]
1093. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he expects to approve and roll out the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32135/24]
1088. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he will review the level of subsidies paid to rural group water schemes; if he plans to increase the subsidy to take into account increased costs of energy and other factors contributing to the increased running costs of such schemes; if he accepts that restrictions on the development of one-off rural homes as contained in county development plans which reflect national planning policy is impacting on revenue generation for schemes; if any revised subsidy scheme will take account of that reality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32062/24]
932. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if the State will consider purchasing a guitar and any other important items associated with an iconic blues and rock musician (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32113/24]
622. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education if the capital funds are available to her Department or the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB) to undertake the work to develop the new LMETB Head Office in Drogheda, as per the Government decision of 2013; the stage this process is at; when the building work will commence on the site; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31297/24]
533. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when he commissioned the ESRI research on the impact of statutory sick leave; the scope of this research; the methodology; the timeline for completion; and any other information on the research he will review before deciding on any further increases in statutory sick days. [30879/24]
493. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he will set out the composition of the €3.7 billion existing services level expenditure by Departments, as set out in the summer economic statement; the percentage increase against the revised estimates allocated to each Department and the one-off measures netted off against the €3.7 billion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32323/24]
473. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform his views on an issue raised by the acting chief economist of IFAC (details supplied) regarding the discrepancy between the capital expenditure outlined in the most recently published Stability Programme Update and summer economic statement, respectively; his plans to address the issue as outlined by IFAC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31511/24]
380. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the projected updated general Government balance (GGB) for 2024 and 2025 respectively, after the publication of the summer economic statement and the allocation of €1.5 billion to the health vote; the projected end-of-year surplus or deficit, in light of the most recent Exchequer returns; if he will confirm that his Department does not have prepared updated GGB figures to hand; if not, the reason therefor; if he will furnish those projections for 2025 to 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32894/24]
379. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the position with respect to the charging of VAT on bicycles, e-bikes and cycling safety equipment; the estimated cost to zero-rate VAT on these items; if it is possible to zero-rate those items; if he has sought sanction at a European level to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32893/24]
378. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance to provide the bond redemptions due on Irish national debt for each year from 2024 to 2030; the month when redemptions are due; the interest rate applying to each; the projected interest rate costs on servicing the national debt each year from 2025 to 2030, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32892/24]
377. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the National Treasury Management Agency’s end-of-year cash balance for 2023; its current cash balance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32891/24]
376. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance when, based on current projections and forecasts from his Department and the National Treasury Management Agency, it is forecast that the debt to GNI* ratio will fall below 60%; the projected net debt ratio for 2023; the projected net debt ratio for 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32890/24]
199. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Transport his views on a policy matter raised with the National Transport Authority (NTA) (details supplied) regarding the delayed implementation of the proposed new fare model within the Dublin commuter zone; his plans to meet to with the NTA to discuss an interim solution to ensure the reduction of commuter fares this autumn 2024, as originally scheduled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31612/24]
198. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the introduction of a planned town bus service in Newbridge, County Kildare (details supplied); when work on this project commenced; the completed work to date; the proposed timeline for implementation of the town bus service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31611/24]
37. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will correct the response given by his Department to a Parliamentary Question (details supplied) that under Irish legislation, an employee cannot be discriminated against or dismissed due to their being a member of a trade union; and if, by doing so, he agrees that this statement is incorrect as there is no legislative protection against discrimination or any other disciplinary measure short of dismissal which an employer can impose on a trade union member as trade union membership is not a protected ground under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015. [30097/24]
36. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for an update on his work and that of the Labour Employer Economic Forum on the transposition of the Adequate Minimum Wages Directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30098/24]
1. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for an update on the work of both his Department and the IDA on the issue of the planned closure of a plant (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30099/24]
502. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice when she will publish the heads of a Bill, arising from the conclusion of the consultation process in 2022, to set aside, or disregard, criminal convictions and exonerate men who were arrested and prosecuted prior to the 1993 legislation which decriminalised homosexuality; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29102/24]
283. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of IDA site visits to County Louth in 2022, 2023 and 2024; the number of such client visits made to Drogheda, County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29448/24]
282. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to list all of the IDA-backed client companies located in County Louth; to provide details of the number of whole-time equivalent employees at each IDA-backed firm in County Louth as of 1 July 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29447/24]
281. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide a timeline for the completion of the proposed IDA advance facilities planned for Drogheda, County Louth; if client companies have been identified to occupy the facilities; if any formal agreement has been entered into at this point; the nature of any agreements entered into in regard to the advance facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29446/24]
280. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to name all of the IDA client companies with operations in Drogheda, County Louth and in Dundalk, County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29445/24]
279. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide details of the value of grants made by the IDA to a business (details supplied) in 2021, 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29444/24]
302. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education if she is aware of a proposal (details supplied) in relation to the future of an institution; if her Department plans to provide the necessary approval for the proposal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29018/24]
265. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reasons the Employment (Restriction of Certain Mandatory Retirement Ages) Bill 2024 will not be enacted before the summer recess; if he will commit to introducing the Bill this autumn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28971/24]
243. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance if the Government supports moves at G20 level to agree the principle of a 2% minimum annual tax on the wealth of billionaires to help tackle the climate crisis, global poverty and wealth inequality; if any formal contact has been made by the initiators of this proposal with the Government at any level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28995/24]
205. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Health the number of the 39 advanced nurse practitioner/clinical nurse specialist inflammatory bowel disease related posts that were to be appointed by approximately July 2023 who have been formally recruited and have commenced their employment; the number who have been empanelled and are awaiting formal offers of employment; the number of successful candidates who have been informed that their post is lost and will not proceed; when posts still on offer will be filled, by each CHO area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28518/24]
133. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice when her Department will formally commence the Government commitment in the context of Budget 2024 to establish a review process to examine the structure and level of fees paid to barristers practising criminal law; if she will provide details on the reasons such a process has not commenced; if she will provide clear details and a timeframe/framework in respect of the process announced in October 2023; the form of engagement her Department has had to date with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform on the issues in questions and the framework of a process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28512/24]
83. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he is aware of plans by barristers practising criminal law to withdraw services on 9, 15 and 24 July 2024; if he will provide details of any advice his officials have provided to their counterparts in the Department of Justice following the announcement as part of Budget 2024 to establish a review process to examine the structure and level of fees paid to barristers practising criminal law; if he is in favour of establishing such a process that would allow for restoration of FEMPI-era cuts to fees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28513/24]
76. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance if he is aware of the advantageous (40% and 39% respectively) visual effects (VFX)-related tax reliefs system the French and UK governments have introduced to support their respective VFX industries; if he is concerned that these measures will create a competitive disadvantage for the Irish VFX sector; if he is considering any measures to address this matter specifically as it relates to the indigenous Irish VFX sector in respect of a potential review of tax credits, for example; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28530/24]