107 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when she will give ministerial clearance for the processing of the 3,000 applications that were received between 21 October and 31 October 2007 for grant aid under the farm improvement scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[13065/08]
1012 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will respond to correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12325/08]
891 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will respond to correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11981/08]
882 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the status of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11832/08]
833 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11291/08]
832 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform further to parliamentary Question No. 1155, of 30 January 2008 the procedure for allowing Interpol to access the AFIS database of non-EU citizens resident here; if a specific search request will be required in each case; if there will be a monitoring mechanism or judicial oversight; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11289/08]
307 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health and Children if the internal inquiry into the death of a person (details supplied) has been completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[11575/08]
233 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will retain the breast cancer care service in Sligo General Hospital; if she will make Sligo General Hospital a centre of excellence; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[11288/08]
181 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if there is a mechanism whereby third level colleges and colleges of further education can avail of tax incentives for the provision of student accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11574/08]
124 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the action his Department has taken to improve the allocation of PPS numbers and any further proposals he may have in this area.
[12185/08]
95 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the current industrial relations issues affecting the transfer of staff from the Health Service Executive to his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12186/08]
22 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the initiatives he has undertaken to provide spaces and funding for ethnic minority communities to develop their cultural expressions and participation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10840/08]
7 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the way he is promoting accessibility to the arts for all sectors of society in Government owned and sponsored institutions and organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10837/08]
110 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the fact that Northern Ireland has achieved 100% broadband penetration; the lessons to be learned from its example; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10556/08]
121 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the merits of functional or structural separation of Eircom; his preference in relation to same; the position regarding the local loop unbundling situation here; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10557/08]
487 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress of the application for asylum of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 1; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10485/08]
461 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, further to Parliamentary Question No. 301 of February 2008, if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a person (details supplied) in Dublin 3 applied for residency in April 2007; if he will expedite that application; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10105/08]
452 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the circumstances in which students from abroad are entitled to work while studying here; the circumstances there are for enabling such students to apply for residency; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10029/08]
366 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Education and Science the procedures and conditions under which the Dublin Institute of Technology lands will be vested in the Grangegorman Development Agency; and the timescale for finalising the vesting of the lands, in view of the fact that the master planners have been appointed and commenced work.
[10015/08]
213 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason homeless people are denied the medical card; the number of homeless applicants who have been refused the medical card in each of the past five years because they have no fixed abode; if she will put in place a mechanism to enable homeless people to avail of their entitlement; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[10209/08]
214 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health and Children when the means threshold for the medical card was last increased; when it is proposed to increase the means threshold again; the number of medical card holders who have lost the medical card as a result of the failure to increase; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[10210/08]
187 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health and Children the procedures and conditions under which the Health Service Executive lands at Grangegorman will be vested in the Grangegorman Development Agency; the timescale for finalising the vesting of the lands, in view of the fact that the master planners have been appointed and commenced work; and the reason an area (details supplied) is not included in the lands to be vested.
[10014/08]
66 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Transport when he will publish the legislation necessary for rolling out the graduated driving licence programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9609/08]
149 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of Health Service Executive grade VIII and above posts on 31 December 2007; the number of these posts on 29 February 2008; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[9296/08]
132 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will clarify the commitment in the Programme for Government that states that funds will be ringfenced from the sale of existing mental hospitals, estimated to be approximately €800 million, to fund community based services; if, as this statement is under the heading mental health services, the money will all be spent on community based mental health services; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[9295/08]
418 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Education and Science the progress made in the provision of a new school building for a school (details supplied) in Dublin 7; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[8925/08]
360 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the amount the Health Service Executive paid in rent allowance in 2007 from centres (details supplied); the number of rent supplements paid to families or individuals by the centres; the number of inspections carried out by the centres prior to approving rent allowance; and the number of payments that have been withheld by the HSE at the centres as a result of a notification by Dublin City Council of non-compliance with housing standards.
[9139/08]
290 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason blood donors records were being transported in the public arena by a staff member of the New York blood centre without security on a New York street; the steps being taken to prevent such records being stolen in future; the steps being taken to allay donors’ fears; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[9184/08]
209 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his views on correspondence (details supplied); if he will reduce VAT on defibrillators from 21% to 13.5%; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9183/08]
163 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps he will take to end the flow of drugs to prisons, in view of the disclosure that inmates have tested positive for drugs 40,000 times over the past three years; the prisons or places of detention that are regarded as drug free; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8967/08]
135 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the quantity and values of seizures of heroin, cocaine, cannabis and other drugs here during 2007; the proportion of the overall flow of drugs into Ireland believed to be represented by these seizures; the new initiatives he is planning to control the flow of illegal drugs into Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8968/08]
116 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has had talks with the principals in a retailers (details supplied) either before or after their announcement of the loss of 580 jobs; if so, the outcome of the talks; the steps he proposes to provide employment opportunities for the redundant workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8555/08]
171 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will respond to the case of a person (details attached) in Dublin 1; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8215/08]
170 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will respond to correspondence from a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8214/08]
49 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when, in view of the 2008 legislative programme and the Social Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, he anticipates that the legislative framework will be in place to enable tenants of council flats to purchase their homes under the tenant purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8044/08]
38 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the regulations in place regarding Part VIII developments by local authorities; the liability a local authority has to advertise a Part VIII development; the liability a local authority has to make the public aware of the distinct characteristics of a Part VIII submission; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8045/08]
412 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the status of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[7577/08]
411 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the status of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[7576/08]
405 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason the intended capacity in the proposed women’s prison at Thornton Hall is double that of the Dóchas Centre when international best practice recommends a reduction in use of incarceration for women; if a full review of the use of detention for women will be conducted in advance of the drawing up of plans for the new prison; if the proposed prison complex in Kilworth, County Cork will include facilities for women; if so the number of same; if he will make a statement regarding the proposed closure of the Dóchas Centre in view of the unique character and regime of the centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[7513/08]
260 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if, in relation to rent allowance provided by Health Service Executive community welfare officers the HSE inspects a premises before awarding rent allowance; the HSE requires the landlord to furnish a tax clearance certificate before awarding rent allowance; if not the reason for same; if the HSE will deal with complaints of anti-social behaviour from residents associations in relation to rent allowance tenants; if the HSE exchanges information with the Private Residential Tenancies Board in relation to payments to landlords; and if the HSE exchanges information with the local authority in relation to inspections of standards in rented accommodation.
[7512/08]
228 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Transport if a final decision has been made on the LUAS D line to Broadstone and Liffey Junction, in accordance with the policy outlined in Transport 21; if so whether the decision has been communicated to all parties; and when it is anticipated work on the LUAS Bx and D lines will commence.
[7568/08]
142 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will ensure that there is a full consultation with the organisations representing the elderly on the proposed fair deal legislation; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[7567/08]
79 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his views on recent increases in banks’ headline borrowing rates, despite no increase in ECB rates, and their apparent reluctance to pass on future cuts in the ECB rates to borrowers; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[7748/08]
21 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the recently published European Commission assessment of Ireland’s Stability and Convergence Programme; his views on same and its assessment of Ireland’s budgetary situation; if he will undertake corrective action to improve that situation; if he will introduce further reforms to the pension system in line with its recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[7747/08]
190 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will respond to correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[7209/08]
53 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if her Department’s officials are testing fertilisers for adequate nitrate urea levels on importations; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[7110/08]
155 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of primary school boards of management that have applied for a new school building to be constructed on the site of the existing school or on an alternative site; the number of applications that have been sanctioned and given permission to make arrangements for the construction; the number under construction; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[6054/08]
150 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Education and Science if, in the context of the Good Friday Agreement she will examine the possibility of ensuring that a person (details supplied), who has split teaching experience in the public sector on both sides of the Border could have their reckonable service aggregated in order to maximise their pension entitlement; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[6055/08]
664 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the status of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 1; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6839/08]
663 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if a person (details supplied) in Dublin 1 is eligible for a work permit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6838/08]