261. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for the delay in the publication of the Garda Inspectorate report into Garda handling of serious crime; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41139/14]
260. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her views on putting an independent mechanism in place to deal with the selection of the proposed new policing authority board; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41138/14]
122. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps taken and progress made to address the root causes of each of the Garda controversies from earlier this year, to include any improvements or departures in direction since her tenure as Minister commenced; if she will provide a clear timeframe for her reform programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43822/14]
117. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the policy reasons for her decision to retain ministerial control of policing in the same hierarchical arrangement, to include the political appointment and protection of both the Garda Commissioner and head of the policing authority; if she will set out in detail the process being applied to the two appointments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43823/14]
32. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence his views regarding the presence of US military aircraft in Irish territory and air space; the measures taken by the Irish Defence Forces to ensure that these aircraft are not armed, carrying arms or engaging in military exercises or operations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43272/14]
27. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence when Defence Forces personnel currently participating in ISAF will be withdrawn from Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41252/14]
21. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence if he will provide details on the involvement of Irish Defence Forces personnel in ongoing overseas missions; their role and effectiveness in achieving peace; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41253/14]
10. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence when Irish Defence Forces personnel currently participating in ISAF will be withdrawn from Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43271/14]
131. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details on the planned 50% increase in the annual retention fees for nurses and midwives by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland; if he is satisfied that this increase is fair in view of pay cuts for health services staff in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43431/14]
22. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider introducing more flexibility and common sense to the specific risk material regulation that impacts on the price of cattle over 30 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43018/14]
13. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures being taken to protect the future of the agrifood sector here in view of planned trade agreements between the EU and US; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43017/14]
480. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills the school transport supports or allowances in place to assist parents and guardians of post-primary pupils at risk of early school leaving; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43313/14]
128. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health his plans to address the ongoing issues regarding the provision and quality of ambulance services in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42782/14]
94. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health the way ambulance services here are regulated to ensure compliance with best operational and clinical practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42783/14]
31. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is satisfied that the system of awarding public contracts allows indigenous Irish companies fair opportunity in the tender process; if he has planned any particular initiatives that will help improve access for Irish companies to bid and be awarded public contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42063/14]
24. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the criteria and the measures undertaken for the awarding of public contracts, with regard to ensuring that indigenous Irish companies receive fair access to this valuable work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42062/14]
1064. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to outline the amount of public money granted annually to the ISPCA for the running of dog pounds; if he will indicate the regularity with which these dog pounds are inspected and by whom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42148/14]
471. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if an inquiry was made into an incident which occurred in Roscommon dog pound in August 2014, in which the dogs were left unattended for days without food and water; if this incident would constitute an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42149/14]
118. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to increase rent supplement levels, in view of the recent rise in homelessness; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41698/14]
100. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans for a review of the current system of rent supplement in view of rising rental prices; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41699/14]
72. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Finance the criteria for the award of tax exemption to artists; the changes made in this regard in the recent budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40137/14]
27. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the measures taken by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to prevent persons or corporations from gaining undue control over the media; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40360/14]
20. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans for the 1916 commemoration to be announced; the amount of funding that will be allocated to it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40138/14]
258. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of Government contracts that were awarded to companies in County Wexford last year; and the number of Government contracts that were awarded to companies in County Wexford in the lifetime of this Government. [39989/14]
257. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the public contracts that have been awarded to companies (details supplied) or subsidiaries of companies. [39988/14]
256. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the public contracts that have been awarded to a company (details supplied) or subsidiaries of the company in the lifetime of this Government. [39987/14]
211. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Finance his views, in the interests of transparency, of bringing Irish Bank Resolution Corporation under the Freedom of Information Acts, with a view to clearing up any misunderstandings or suspicions that persons of influence gain favour. [39986/14]
210. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Finance if any debt has been written off by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation for companies (details supplied) or any subsidiaries of those companies; and if so, the amount write-off debt involved each time. [39985/14]
203. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Finance the reason ballet is rated at 0% VAT and Irish dance, in all its forms, is charged at the full VAT rate of 23%; the reason ballet (details supplied) is considered as cultural while Irish dancing is considered luxury; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40215/14]
101. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if existing training schemes and courses are designed to solely reduce numbers on the live register and that opening these schemes to persons on other social welfare allowances would actually have a greater impact on returning persons to the work force; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39869/14]
87. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to reassess the maximum participation time limit with regard to community employment schemes for persons aged 55 and over, which currently stands at six years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39868/14]
207. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on a full exemption to water charges for households that care full-time for one or more disabled persons, in view of the fact that such households spend far more time in the home than the general population, such households double as workplaces, and services and payments to persons with disabilities have already been subject to numerous cuts, thereby reducing significantly their disposable income. [39536/14]
190. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the fact that significant articles contained in the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 have not been implemented ten years after enactment of the legislation; if her attention has been further drawn to the fact that Ireland remains in breach of its commitment under the terms of the European Social Charter; her views that Ireland is in direct violation of the rights of people to live in an integrated society; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39528/14]
189. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills in view of the return to stability in the economy, her plans to abolish the cap on special needs assistants; her future plans to allocate resources on the basis of need and not budgetary limitations as per the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39527/14]
155. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health the number of adults and children with intellectual, physical and sensory disabilities or autism who are on waiting lists for speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and psychological services in County Wexford; the average length of time a person may expect to wait for such services; and her views that it is acceptable that long waiting lists prevent vulnerable children and adults from accessing vital early interventions that, if accessed in a timely manner, can have positive and life changing effects. [39526/14]
154. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health her views that the practice of reviewing medical cards in the case of lifelong illness or disability, in order to avoid situations whereby applicants are asked whether they still suffer from what they have already told the Department is a lifelong condition, such as Down's syndrome, should cease; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39525/14]
153. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health if she shares views with a disability action group (details supplied) that medical cards should not be means tested, that they should be awarded solely on the basis of need alone; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39524/14]
59. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Finance his views on a full exemption to the property tax for households that care full time for one or more disabled persons, in view of the fact that such households spend far more time in the home than the general population, such households double as workplaces, and services and payments to persons with disabilities have already been subject to numerous cuts, thereby reducing significantly their disposable income. [39536/14]
45. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she shares the views of the Ombudsman for Children, that services and welfare entitlements for persons with disabilities should be ring-fenced and protected by future Government, regardless of the economic climate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39523/14]
44. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection in view of the fact that most persons receiving it have a lifelong illness or disability, the reason the awarding of the domiciliary care allowance payment is subject to regular and rigorous review; her views on whether this process places significant additional pressure on families already under strain; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39522/14]
43. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on whether a refusal rate of 60% on applications made for the domiciliary care allowance is too high; the reason the refusal rate is so high; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39521/14]
42. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection in view of the €1.5 billion which the work of carers saves the Exchequer each year, and in view of the return to stability in the economy, her plans to restore the 19% cut to the respite carer's grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39520/14]
33. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will address the threat to Irish jobs posed by the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations currently under way between the EU and the US (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39300/14]
21. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Question No. 76 of 8 October 2014, if he has made any commitments or plans to make any commitments; and, if so, if he will provide the services and activities that could possibly be provided by foreign companies as a result of the TISA negotiations. [39299/14]
200. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will reinstate the subsidy towards the compulsory Gaeltacht placement required to be completed by all primary teacher students. [38712/14]
199. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review the terms of reference of the Caranua redress scheme to include those victims of clerical sexual abuse who were awarded compensation under the original redress scheme; her views on whether the terms of reference are too restrictive and on whether those who were deemed eligible for redress in the first instance should be automatically included in the Caranua scheme, irrespective of whether they were in a residential institution; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38711/14]
28. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of persons employed by his Department to collect data on public procurement; their level of remuneration; and when the Government will begin publishing the awarding of contracts in the future. [38012/14]
9. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of contracts that have been awarded to companies part-owned by a person (details supplied); the total net worth of all contracts awarded to companies owned by or part-owned by this person in the lifetime of this Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38013/14]
76. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Question No. 227 of 30 September 2014, where he references documents on the EU Commission’s website that have been tabled by the EU in the TiSA negotiations, stating that they clearly exclude public services from the remit of the talks, his understanding of the TiSA definition of public services; and if his response should be corrected in the context of information (details supplied). [38406/14]
19. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on whether it is good policy to ask research students from the humanities to compete on an equal footing with those from economics and the sciences for funding, in particular the stress on transferable skills as a prerequisite for funding and the detrimental effects it is having on the humanities as a research area here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37945/14]