598. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for the delay in a pupil (details supplied) in County Kilkenny receiving an assessment from the special educational needs officer regarding the allocation of a special needs assistant; and the steps that are being taken to ensure that the pupil is receiving assistance with education in the meantime. [36388/15]
582. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the legislative provisions necessary to ensure that schools are no longer allowed to discriminate in admissions criteria on the basis of religion. [36242/15]
581. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out her plans for a new school for 2016 in the Stillorgan and Goatstown areas in County Dublin; when the patronage will be awarded; and if any potential sites have been identified. [36227/15]
570. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of the difficulties teaching graduates are currently having in securing the full 100 hours to complete their higher diploma in arts in primary education; and her plans to address this problem. [36154/15]
569. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update concerning the schools that were built by a building company from County Tyrone that have been found to be in breach of fire safety regulations; the total number of schools constructed by this company, by name and location; if funding has been made available to bring these schools up to standard; and if action is being taken against the company responsible for the poor building compliance. [36153/15]
568. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools that have been built since 2005 that have been found to be in breach fire safety regulations; and the name of the company that constructed each school. [36152/15]
307. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Health his plans to re-open the former health care unit building on the grounds of the Community Hospital in Macroom in County Cork, as promised by the Health Service Executive. [35602/15]
637. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 148 of 21 January 2014, if advice on the use of seclusion, isolation, or withdrawal rooms by the National Council for Special Education was ever received; and the detail of this advice. [34134/15]
629. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of resource persons, resource workers, and resource co-ordinators within Youthreach structures; if those persons must be registered with the Teaching Council; and if they are considered teachers by her Department. [33998/15]
625. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to address Student Universal Support Ireland’s application of rules preventing young persons estranged from their families from accessing its support; if she is aware of a particular case (details supplied); her views that this is an effective use of the courts system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33983/15]
172. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Taoiseach if the Cabinet handbook protocol requires Ministers to consult him in advance of international visits as to whether a spouse may accompany them; if a Minister of State (details supplied) did so for recent travel to Brussels in Belgium; the response received to the request; the number of such requests made during each year since 2011; and the number of those requests acceded to. [34311/15]
161. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children requiring resource hours of any kind during each year since 2009; and if she will provide an update on the National Council for Special Education reformed allocation system. [33938/15]
160. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has ever sought legal advice on the operation of prone restraint and seclusion rooms in schools; if she will provide the details of this advice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33941/15]
144. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to hold an inquiry into the schools using resource hours for administrative duties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33937/15]
127. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware that parents in County Cork are finding it difficult to access mainstream secondary school places for their children with autism, in view of the unavailability of resources at a school (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will set out her plans to rectify the lack of mainstream places for children with autism as a matter of urgency. [33939/15]
122. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the cost of reducing the primary school pupil-teacher ratio by one point for each of the next five years, accounting for rising demographics; and the cost of additional school and classroom building to cater for reduced class sizes during each of these years. [34191/15]
546. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to change the grant-aid that schools use to employ caretaker staff, that would result in those staff being employed directly by her Department rather than by the board of the school; and if she will provide the detail of any such changes proposed. [33257/15]
540. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 1198, 1199 and 1286 of 22 September 2015, if her Department monitors whether institutes of technology adhere to the employment control framework; the actions her Department takes when a notification is made that an institute of technology has breached the framework; whether it is legal for third level institutions to discriminate on the basis of religion when appointing persons as chaplains. [33194/15]
526. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of consultants engaged by Caranua; the payments made to date; the matters that they are consulting on; the details of any reports they have produced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33049/15]
525. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the guidelines that are in place for Caranua case officers when reviewing quotes supplied by applicants for remedial work to homes; if it is standard practice for case officers to appoint specific builders or contractors on behalf of the applicants; the number of companies engaged by Caranua in this manner; the level of funding paid to them per application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33048/15]
524. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the expenditure incurred by Caranua since its establishment, including salaries and expenses paid to staff. [33047/15]
523. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of applications for assistance made to Caranua since its establishment; the number processed; and the level of resources allocated to these applications. [33046/15]
522. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of telephone lines operated by Caranua, whereby applicants can contact their case officers; the times at which these lines are available; if she is aware that some applicants are reporting that they have had to make over 25 separate telephone calls, in order to contact their case officer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33045/15]
521. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will meet members of Right to Peace, a group of survivors of institutional abuse, as they have requested. [33044/15]
520. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the legislative basis on which Caranua is entitled to ask applicants for assistance for medical evidence to support their application. [33043/15]
519. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of rules disallowing survivors of institutional abuse from engaging directly with board members of Caranua; the reason for this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33065/15]
518. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of the long waiting times for in processing applications for assistance from Caranua; that there are persons waiting for over nine months for assistance; and her plans to address same. [33077/15]
517. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 602 of 21 April 2015, the date on which she will review eligibility for assistance from Caranua in order to ensure that survivors are not unfairly excluded as a result of having not applied to the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund. [33076/15]
516. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 972 of 9 June 2015, the date on which she requested Caranua to set out its case for the proposed expansion of approved service classes in accordance with the Act; if she has received a response on this from Caranua; the details of the case made; and the date on which she plans to address the necessary changes. [33075/15]
515. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to review the current eligible services that survivors of institutional abuse may currently apply for through Caranua, such as funeral and burial services, for survivors as well as their spouses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33074/15]
514. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she has received any report or information from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner regarding the compliance of Caranua, including its chief executive officer, board and employees, regarding their compliance with data protection legislation; the date on which she received this information; if she will make this information public; and any action she took as a result of this information. [33073/15]
513. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if any action has been taken against the chief executive officer of Caranua for using confidential information received from the redress board which profiled survivors of abuse; if she is aware that this breaches legislation; if she received legal advice on the matter; and, if so, from whom. [33072/15]
512. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of concerns from male survivors of institutional abuse resident in Ireland that they are under-represented on the board of Caranua; the reason there are more United Kingdom residents appointed to the board; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33071/15]
511. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to ensure that there is a gender balance on the board of Caranua; if she will provide a list of the current board members; the states in which they are resident; the date of the appointment; and the date that their term will expire. [33070/15]
129. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the discussions she has held with the Department of Social Protection regarding offsetting changes to payments from the Department of Social Protection that will restrict student eligibility for Student Universal Support Ireland grants as their income will be €100 over the limit; her plans to allocate additional funding for the student assistance fund. [32424/15]
1603. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is aware that insurance companies will no longer provide quotes for cars that are aged 14 years or older and 15 years or older, respectively; and his views on this policy. [30807/15]
1457. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update regarding the proposal from Tabor Lodge Addiction and Housing Services re development of 31 homeless units on a 2.5 acre site at Fellowship House, Spur Hill, Togher, County Cork; if he is aware it was granted planning permission by Cork County Council (details supplied) for the development; if he is aware that finances were granted; the date on which it will receive permission from his Department to go to tender; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31515/15]
1447. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if possession of a dog licence alone is considered proof of ownership of a dog. [31312/15]
1446. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the cost for a county council dog pound to put a dog to sleep; and the cost of keeping a dog in the same pound for a period of four weeks. [31311/15]
1445. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if any investigations into the practice of illegally selling dogs through county council dog pounds have been conducted during the past ten years; the detail of those investigations; and the outcome of same. [31310/15]
1444. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the rate of expenditure of each county council dog pound during each of the last five years. [31309/15]
1443. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the level of funding allocated to each county council dog pound during each of the last five years. [31308/15]
1442. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the guidelines that set out the standard and conditions each county council dog pound must operate under; the persons responsible for ensuring these conditions are complied with; if any of the county council dog pounds have breached these conditions during the last five years and the repercussions of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31307/15]
1441. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of dogs claimed from each county council pound during each of the last five years. [31306/15]
1440. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of dogs put to sleep by each county council pound during each of the last five years. [31305/15]
1439. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of dogs which had licences purchased for them during each of the last five years; the number of dogs he estimates that are not currently licensed. [31304/15]
1438. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of revenue received per county council area through dog licence fees for each of the last five years, set out in tabular form. [31303/15]
1437. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if planning authorities and-or local authorities have any discretion to allow oral hearings for third parties to a planning application, under the Planning and Development Acts 2000–2012 and the Planning and Development Regulations 2001-2012; if not, his plans to consider same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31271/15]
1314. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the precise role of physical education in the new junior cycle short course of well-being; the exact allocation of hours that will be given to PE; if the current 132 hours allocated will be reduced to 100 hours under the short course model; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31719/15]