528. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the method and criteria used in the appointment, not initial selection, of members to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal in November 2013 and March 2014; if he will consider introducing a legislative requirement in the long-awaited IRP Bill that such appointments must be made through open competition along with a legislative requirement that members possess an expertise in refugee law; and if he will consider publishing statistics relating to each RAT member’s decisions in order to ensure a broad consistency, particularly in relation to credibility issues, reasonableness, use of country-of-origin information and the standard-burden of proof required. [19466/14]
26. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality in view of the fact that the current Haddington Road review of An Garda Síochána focuses only on resources, staffing, pay and industrial relations matters, if he will consider extending these terms to encompass the first ever full and independent root and branch review of An Garda Síochána to include for example Garda practices, policies and procedures; the person he has asked to conduct the Haddington Road review as proposed; and if that review will be published in full on completion. [19267/14]
19. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his position and belief has now changed regarding the existence of racial or ethnic profiling within An Garda Síochána as indicated by his comments at the annual conference of Garda superintendents on 9 April 2014; the action he will now take and legislation he will now introduce to address these concerns, to include legislation prohibiting Garda racial profiling as recommended by the UN and the Council of Europe. [19271/14]
14. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he forward a document which summarises the differences between the Verrimus report and the RITS peer review regarding GSOC bugging; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19270/14]
12. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will detail and publish his strategy and An Garda Síochána action plan addressing the concerns and recommendations arising from the Data Protection Commissioner’s internal audit in March 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19269/14]
6. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality in view of the renewed concerns and requests of Afri and Archbishop Desmond Tutu regarding policing issues in Corrib and the wider examination of police accountability issues here, if he will now order an independent inquiry in this regard in view of the fact that he has already refused in December 2013 to exercise his ministerial power to order a practice, policies and procedures GSOC review under section 106 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. [19268/14]
3. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on whether there is adequate external oversight and monitoring of Garda covert surveillance; the steps he has taken to address the level of internally authorised surveillance by gardaí under section 7(3) of the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009; if he will provide an itemised list of communications and-or correspondence methods that he and An Garda Síochána agree require authorisation or monitoring under the current legislation; and if, and to what extent, this includes e-mail and-or Internet and tracking devices. [19557/14]
15. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in view of the fact that the national cultural institutions are required to be in compliance with public sector pay and recruitment policy, as set down by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, if it is acceptable for these institutions to advertise full-time unpaid internships; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16818/14]
34. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection the research that was undertaken by her Department in advance of the introduction of the Gateway scheme to assess whether mandatory work schemes are effective in improving an unemployed person's prospects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17691/14]
26. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection in relation to the Gateway scheme the reasons participation in the initiative is mandatory rather than voluntary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17692/14]
639. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health when he will publish the reports of Judge Yvonne Murphy and Professor Oonagh Walsh, of which he has been in possession since last May; if he will publish both of these reports in their entirety; and if he will, in accordance with the principles of equality of arms and procedural fairness, publish both of these reports well in advance of July 2014, when the adequacy of the Government's response to the victims of symphysiotomy will be addressed in Geneva by the UN Human Rights Committee. [17846/14]
489. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when he will publish the reports of the Ombudsman for Children into the Health Service Executive conduct, and the report of the Ombudsman under section 42 of the Garda Act 2005 into the Garda conduct, both relating to the Roma children controversy last October; if he will publish these reports before the Easter break; and if he will publish them in their entirety, aside from any redactions necessary to protect the identity of children involved, along with the internal reports of the HSE and the Garda provided to the Ombudsman for Children, Emily O'Reilly, for consideration in the course of her investigation. [17845/14]
124. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on whether the EU-US negotiations on a transatlantic trade and investment partnership are sufficiently transparent; his views that the text of the EU's negotiating mandate and the initial position papers tabled by the EU should be published, in addition to other relevant documents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17416/14]
108. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation when stakeholder discussions on collective bargaining are expected to conclude; if he will reform the current law on employees' right to engage in collective bargaining in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17417/14]
24. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the catchment flood risk assessment and management programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16817/14]
29. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department's requirements in relation to child protection are being implemented and monitored by his Department at a school (details supplied) in County Limerick following the constructive dismissal of the school principal and the resignation of the school board of management; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16446/14]
21. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider the case of a small school (details supplied) in County Wexford which is due to lose one of its teachers despite having 87 children on roll; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16445/14]
30. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Finance his views on the need for a global tax on individual net worth; if he has had discussions at an EU level on the feasibility of a global wealth tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16060/14]
11. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Finance his views on figures from the Central Bank of Ireland which show that the total lending to Irish households fell back to €106 billion in February, the lowest level since July 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16061/14]
51. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Finance his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding a matter of public expenditure. [15691/14]
35. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has had ongoing contact with the United States Embassy since a US military aircraft landed in Shannon Airport in September 2013 with a fixed weapon; if he has sought further assurances since this incident that no aircraft involved in extraordinary rendition has transited through Shannon Airport; his views on whether diplomatic assurances are sufficient to comply with the State's obligations to prevent torture or prohibit ill-treatment taking place in its territory or airspace and to ensure its territory is not being used to facilitate extraordinary rendition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15685/14]
27. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has taken any action at European Union level in relation to the release of Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti; if he has raised this issue with the Israeli Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15397/14]
23. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on recent events in Egypt where 529 persons have been sentenced to death; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15399/14]
22. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views, in relation to rendition flights, on whether relying on diplomatic assurances from the United States is sufficient to comply with the State's obligations to prevent torture or prohibit ill-treatment taking place in its territory or airspace and to ensure its territory is not being used to facilitate extraordinary rendition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15398/14]
15. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had recently with the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Minister for Justice, Mr. David Ford, MLA, regarding prisoner issues and security in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15396/14]
8. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views in relation to Ukraine, his views on whether a more balanced approach from the European Union is required as further moves to integrate the country with the West may lead to increased social and economic chaos for Ukrainians; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15400/14]
3. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the basis for his assertion that the use of Shannon Airport by the US military is not in breach of Ireland's policy of neutrality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15684/14]
11. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of requests made by aircraft from the United States in 2013 for a permit to transport munitions through Shannon Airport; the number of these requests that were refused and the grounds for those refusals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15131/14]
7. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the fact an increasing number of haulage operators are reregistering their vehicles in other jurisdictions due to the significant costs associated with the haulage industry here, such as the commercial vehicle road tax and commercial vehicle testing; his views on the United Kingdom’s restrictive interpretation of the revised cabotage rules which is making it extremely difficult for Irish operators, in addition to the pending introduction of the lorry road user charge in the UK and Northern Ireland; his plans to address these challenges facing the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15132/14]
139. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health his plans to address the midwife shortage at Wexford General Hospital where the ratio of midwives to births stands at 1:47, which is significantly above the internationally recommended midwife to birth ratio of 1:29.5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14903/14]
123. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health his views on whether it is acceptable for graduate nurses and midwives participating in the graduate nurse-midwifery programme to be paid only 85% of the first point of the new entrant scale; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14904/14]
25. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on reports that only 11 children have been adopted from abroad under the terms of the Hague Convention on adoption, which Ireland ratified in November 2010, even though there are 537 active declarations; her plans to speed up this process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14012/14]
24. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the contact she has had with the Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána regarding allegations that Traveller children, including a 16 day old baby, have been registered on the PULSE system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14013/14]
10. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason the scheme of assistance for pot fishermen is capped at 50 pots for boats under 12 m, rather than 100 pots as is the case for 12 to 15 m boats in view of the fact that the majority of vessels affected by recent events are under 10 m in length; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13223/14]
811. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence the circumstances in which deductions are made from the gratuity or pension of former serving soldiers in relation to outstanding payments for rent or ESB on Defence Forces dwellings; and the legislative basis for same, particularly where the person no longer resides in the dwelling. [12971/14]
810. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence if planning permission was sought to demolish dwellings at the Curragh Camp as required by Schedule 2, Part (1), class 50 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001; and if not, the reason for same. [12970/14]
809. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on the technical assessment of the Curragh Camp dwellings; if he will consider organising a cross-departmental meeting to include the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, in addition to representatives from Kildare County Council, in order to discuss the future of these houses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13083/14]
768. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps he has taken to address the findings regarding Garda racial profiling as set out in the European Commission on Racism and Intolerance report of February 2013; and if, in accordance with the strong recommendations of that report and of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, his programme for legislative reform will include a Bill to prohibit racial profiling by gardaí, which is all the more necessary in view of the fact that services provided by gardaí are largely exempt from protection by equality legislation. [13421/14]
767. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will confirm that he will extend the terms of reference of the section 42 inquiry into the Roma children controversy to now include an examination of Garda racial profiling practices and any impact on the Garda conduct and decision to remove the two Roma children from their families; if he will examine the wider question of whether and to what degree racial profiling practices exist in An Garda Síochána; and if he will make recommendations in this regard. [13420/14]
766. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Justice and Equality in view of allegations that more than 40 Traveller families, including a Traveller baby, were registered on the PULSE system, if he will set out in detail the specific enquiries he has made and assurances he has received from the Garda Commissioner regarding same; if he will publish any relevant correspondence; and if he will set out in detail the steps that both he and the Commissioner have taken since he was made aware of the whistleblower's allegations in this regard by e-mail in December 2012. [13419/14]
153. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence the position regarding the withdrawal of the seven Army personnel remaining with the NATO ISAF forces in Afghanistan, in view of the fact that most other European countries have withdrawn their troops. [12965/14]
146. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence the position regarding the progress of the technical assessment of dwellings in the Curragh Camp; when the report is expected; if he will convene a multi-departmental meeting with representatives of the Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government and Public Expenditure and Reform and Kildare County Council to discuss the way these houses can be used in the interests of both the Defence Forces and the Exchequer. [12968/14]
144. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No.12 of 6 February 2014, relating to Ireland's participation in EU battle groups, his views on whether the triple lock has been substantially weakened by the Defence (Amendment) Act 2006; and that if Irish troops are committed to take part in a war it is highly unlikely that they will only be involved for 120 days. [12967/14]
138. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence the reason Defence forces personnel were stationed in front of US warplanes at Shannon airport on 22 February 2014 and 2 March 2014; and if any inspections of the aircraft took place. [12966/14]
135. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence in view of the fact that the surveying, listing and ongoing monitoring of protected buildings in the Defence property portfolio falls within the remit of the local authority, the number of meetings and level of engagement that took place between the Defence Forces property section and Kildare County Council in relation to these matters over the past five years. [12969/14]
127. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence in relation to the recently announced recruitment campaign for the Defence Forces, if he will be reviewing the admissibility criteria in relation to the visibility of tattoos; if there will be an appeal mechanism in place for persons whose application to the Defence Forces is refused; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13082/14]
38. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on whether the national minimum wage should be increased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12174/14]
18. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an update on the negotiations between the EU and the US on a transatlantic trade and investment partnership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12176/14]
16. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his plans to allow former employees access to the Labour Court or the Labour Relations Commission in relation to pension matters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12177/14]
13. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will consider banning zero-hour contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12175/14]