1754 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of primary schools and second level schools that have dedicated physical education halls and gym facilities; the number of primary schools and second level schools that have access to and use other State funded physical education halls and gym facilities; if these figures are not readily available if he will undertake to research the sports facilities and to revert to this Deputy once he has obtained these figures; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30793/08]
1744 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will review the decision to halt the promised extension at a school (details supplied) in Dublin 6W; if he will ensure that the work of this extension commences as promised; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30504/08]
1496 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that An Bord Pleanála chose to ignore the recommendations of its own inspectors on more than 600 occasions in 2007, representing more than 13% of cases; his views on whether it is value for money to employ inspectors at great cost to the Exchequer when the board of An Bord Pleanála frequently choose to ignore this advice; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[31274/08]
1276 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of applications for rent allowance which have been rejected in 2008; if she will categorise the reason for refusal and provide the numbers for each in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[30777/08]
1058 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the situation regarding the travel ban initiated by the authorities in Belarus preventing children from travelling here for medical treatment and holidays; the steps he is taking to work with the Belarussian authorities to resolve the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30794/08]
971 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the ways in which the Government attempts to prevent human trafficking into Ireland; if the Government is following international best practice to thwart human trafficking into Ireland; if anyone has been convicted of human trafficking in Ireland since 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30790/08]
970 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of members of An Garda Síochána and the Garda Reserve Force who are of a non-Irish background; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30789/08]
969 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if best international practice is being followed to ensure Ireland reaps the full benefits of immigration and that new Irish integrate into Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30784/08]
968 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress he is making towards ensuring new Irish people do not form parallel societies and structures but instead integrate into Irish society whilst retaining their own cultural heritage; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30783/08]
990 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the plans he has to establish a Garda central bicycle theft unit to help tackle the problem of bicycle theft, particularly in cities and towns; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the situation in which cases are dealt with on a station basis does not take into account the frequently systematic nature of bicycle theft and the transportation of these stolen goods throughout the country and beyond; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[31237/08]
967 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will instruct the Garda Commissioner to establish a central bike theft unit to help tackle the problem of bicycle theft on a city and national basis and not just on a station basis.
[30782/08]
730 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of groups that have availed of the Community Graffiti Reduction Programme; the amount that has been spent on this programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30781/08]
713 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Transport the status of the St. Stephen’s Green to Liffey Junction LUAS line; if the concerns of Dublin Bus have been suitably addressed to allow this project to proceed; if the funding for this project is secure in view of budgetary shortfalls; if he will announce a start and completion date for this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30792/08]
712 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Transport the status of the real-time passenger information programme for Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann; when this project will be fully functioning; if funding for this project is secure in view of budgetary shortfalls; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30791/08]
714 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Transport the status of the Metro North project; if funding for this project is to be maintained; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30795/08]
728 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Transport the supports and initiatives he has initiated to support the increased use of electric transport vehicles particularly in urban areas; his plans to support the increased use of electric vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30796/08]
652 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Health and Children the status of the fair deal for nursing homes patients plan; the reason this has not been implemented; if there are legal problems in implementing this deal; when she expects that this fair deal will be implemented; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[30797/08]
566 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Health and Children her views on the status of the National Children’s Hospital project; the long-term future for Crumlin Hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[30788/08]
564 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Health and Children the numbers of Health Service Executive employees in frontline services and non-front line services for each year since 2005; if she will provide this information in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[30786/08]
563 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Health and Children the status of the negotiations between the Irish Pharmaceutical Union and the Health Service Executive regarding pharmacist contracts; the progress that has been made towards reaching an agreement; if she will publish the report compiled by the independent body chaired by Sean Dorgan; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[30785/08]
143 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the review of the Competition Act 2002 is expected to be completed; the person by whom the review is being carried out; the terms of reference of the review; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[30938/08]
912 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on whether it is acceptable that a person who has been offered an affordable home for €182,000 has had the home valued by the local authority at €315,000 for purposes of clawback; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[28772/08]
911 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason the valuation of affordable housing by local authorities seems to be significantly higher than the market value at the time of valuation; his views on whether this valuation process imposes significant financial constraint on the purchaser of the affordable house should they decide to sell the house at a later stage; and that while it is fully acceptable to have a clawback clause, that it should not be such that it penalises the purchaser of the affordable home and effectively forces them to stay in what might be unsuitable accommodation, when for example their family size increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[28771/08]
621 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on the arts and education committee report, Points of Alignment; the steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of this report; the way he proposes to work with the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[28477/08]
341 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on the Arts and Education Committee Report, Points of Alignment; the steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of this report; the way he proposes to work with the Department of Education and Science on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[28476/08]
340 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the number of sports capital grants withdrawn since 2000 due to the sunset rule where clubs are unable to match funding; the number of these clubs that have been based in CLÁR or RAPID areas; if he will provide the information in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[28475/08]
28 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the warning by an organisation (details supplied) for the need for Government action in view of fears that pensioners will face a choice between food and fuel in winter 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[28039/08]
17 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views, in relation to the draft directive on the promotion of energy from renewable sources, on the top priorities for Ireland in the negotiations; if the targets proposed are consistent with Government policy; the further measures needed to ensure the targets will be met; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[28040/08]
274 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science the way schools can avail of assistance from his Department to increase energy efficiency; when the research project underway with Sustainable Energy Ireland aimed at helping schools to meet the certification requirements of the energy performance building directive will be rolled out to every school here; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[27866/08]
260 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs when the new National Drugs Strategy is expected to be launched; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[27864/08]
227 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his position on Zimbabwe; the sanctions the Government and the diplomatic service are planning to take to isolate the Mugabe regime in the aftermath of a presidential election which was not free and fair; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[27862/08]
117 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Health and Children the status of the negotiations between the Health Service Executive and the Irish Pharmaceutical Union; when the report from the independent body is expected to be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[28474/08]
575 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if there are plans to release the Land Commission records in view of the fact that they are an irreplaceable historical repository; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[26746/08]
541 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if income from FÁS training schemes counts as income when assessing family income supplement entitlements; if it is counted as income, when this rule was introduced; if it was ever the case that income from a FÁS training scheme was exempt as income for FIS purposes; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[27003/08]
320 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Health and Children if a child (details supplied) in Dublin 12 will commence their essential orthodontic treatment in November 2008, as indicated at their assessment; if she will confirm that there is no embargo on treatment for new orthodontic patients within the Health Service Executive dental service; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[26946/08]
82 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of persons given anti-social behaviour warnings since the new system came into operation on 1 January 2007; the number of anti-social behaviour orders sought in the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[27048/08]
71 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason those provisions of the Children Act 2001, which were designed to help combat juvenile crime by ensuring that parents took responsibility for children involved in acts of crime and vandalism, have never been used in the seven years since the Act was passed, specifically sections 91, 111, 113 and 114; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[27049/08]
36 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science the plans he has to reinstate an undergraduate acting programme here in view of the fact that the programme run by Trinity College has been discontinued; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[24570/08]
13 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will ensure that between his Department and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism funding for some form of undergraduate acting programme will be guaranteed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[24572/08]
195 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the person who will be the owner of the Abbey Theatre once it is completed as a public private partnership; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[26140/08]
519 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to a file that was opened in the Department of Education and Science early in 1988 to deal with letters of concern from a childrens’ detention centre (details supplied) in Dublin 11; the date on which papers from the file were provided to the gardaí to assist in their investigations into possible abuse; the date on which the file was given to the Child Abuse Commission; the reason for delays in either case; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25284/08]
505 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will have the decision to halt the promised extension at a school (details supplied) in Dublin 6W reviewed; if he will ensure that the work of this extension commences as promised in Summer 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25919/08]
502 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will review the decision to remove information and communication technology advisors from schools; if he will specifically address the needs of a school (details supplied) in Dublin 10; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25913/08]
297 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will investigate the delay in providing results of tests (details supplied) to persons who are waiting for a number of months for these results; if her attention has been drawn to the effect this wait and uncertainty is having on their lives; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[25935/08]
50 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the discussions he has had with the Department of Foreign Affairs in regard to the use of the Irish language as an official working language of the European Union; the number of official meetings he has had in regard to the Gaeltacht and the Irish language in each of the past three months; the business in each case; the number of meetings he has had with the Taoiseach in regard to the Irish language since the Taoiseach assumed office; the decisions made arising from these meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[24974/08]
136 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her Department will publish proposals revising those in its discussion document proposals for supporting lone parents in order that all poverty traps are eliminated.
[24791/08]
102 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will publish the findings of the pilot studies in Kilkenny and Coolock relating to reforms of the social welfare code as it relates to lone parents; and when she expects to act on these findings.
[24790/08]
357 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will assist in putting in place an energy audit for all primary and post-primary schools in order to assist schools in tackling increasing energy costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[24693/08]
356 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science the provisions in place to track early school leavers; the numbers of students who have left school early in the academic years 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[24692/08]