473. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice if he will provide a breakdown of the number of international protection applicants who have been awarded labour market access permission; the number of international protection applicants who are awaiting a decision on labour market access permission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9484/23]
472. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice if he will provide a breakdown of the current staffing numbers of the Legal Aid Board; the number of full-time and part-time staff. [9483/23]
471. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice if he will provide a breakdown of the current staffing numbers of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal; the number of full-time and part-time staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9482/23]
470. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice if he will provide an update on the current timeframe for asylum applications to be processed; the number of asylum seekers waiting for a decision and length of time waiting for a decision; the number of asylum seekers who have appealed their application decision; the average length of time for an appeal; the steps being taken to speed up the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9481/23]
464. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice if he will, within the international protection system, distinguish victims of trafficking in accommodation in order that they can take trips home to see family, as part of their recovery and integration process. [10092/23]
450. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will put forward a referendum to amend the language of the constitution to adopt gender neutral language, specifically the articles on the role of President, which refers to the role exclusively in the male form, thus recognising the fact that Ireland has had, to date, two female presidents, and such language does not reflect this fact nor would it be perceived as such by those wishing to run for this office who may be non-gender binary. [9991/23]
431. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children currently in direct provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9485/23]
386. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider extending access to child benefit payments to asylum seekers and those in direct provision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9486/23]
332. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education if she will outline the actions taken with respect to the taking of the copper roof off a building (details supplied) which is a protected structure; how such an event occurred, given it has 24/7 security; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9467/23]
295. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how the retrospective aspects of the defective apartments redress scheme will work; when further details will be released; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10036/23]
294. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the establishment of the defective apartments redress scheme; when further details will be released; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10035/23]
228. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Finance his views on the current rate of taxation on exchange-traded funds and capital gains tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10105/23]
191. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport if he will provide an update on the Programme for Government commitment to establish a national public transport forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9778/23]
152. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will provide an update on the development of a national environmental policy position; the timeline for completion and publication of the policy position; whether it will incorporate environmental justice principles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10004/23]
151. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will outline what is envisaged in terms of the proposed administrative scheme to deal with costs associated with initiating proceedings relating to non-compliance with national law relating to the environment; if the scheme will replace existing protective costs orders; if it will provide for public interest and multi-party actions; the planned timeframe for roll-out of the scheme; if the scheme will be informed by the current review of the civil legal aid scheme and stakeholder submissions to same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10003/23]
224. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health the number of staff in the children's disability network teams for the Dublin area, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9023/23]
190. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide an update on the implementation of the new national fund for the protection of enrolled learners as per the Qualification and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Act 2019; the way and the moneys and resources that have been allocated for the establishment of the fund; the steps that have been taken to mitigate potential impact on the Exchequer from exposure to financial risk through the establishment of the fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8928/23]
151. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if any members of the Defence Forces conducted a risk analysis on devices (details supplied) and communication systems used in State-run buildings. [8926/23]
92. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport if he will provide an update on his recent interactions with the National Transport Authority to tackle the poor provision of bus services in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9038/23]
91. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport the measures his Department is taking to improve the provision of bus services in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9037/23]
90. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport if he will provide a monthly breakdown of the number of bus drivers working for Dublin Bus in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9036/23]
89. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport his views on the roll-out and operation of the G-spine Bus Connects programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9035/23]
88. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport if he will provide an update in relation to work permits for bus drivers from non-EU and non-EEA countries and the possible inclusion of bus drivers on the critical skills list due to the current driver shortages being experienced across the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9034/23]
85. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport the steps he is taking to ensure the smooth operation of a service by a company (details supplied) and bus services in Dublin South-Central, specifically Dublin Bus routes 60, G1 and G2; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9024/23]
586. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the status of the proposed introduction of an anti-SLAPP mechanism in Irish law (details supplied), as committed to in May 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8788/23]
357. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the total spent on equipment manufactured by a company (details supplied) for use in the Leinster House campus and other State-owned property, in tabular form, including a detailed breakdown of the make-up of the expenditure, including cameras and so on, on an annual basis since they were first purchased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8664/23]
344. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the efforts being made to support a person (details supplied) who has been imprisoned in Iran since 3 October 2022 to return to Ireland.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8466/23]
332. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the efforts being made by his Department to assist in the repatriation of the remains of a person (details supplied) to Ireland. [8139/23]
252. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the total spent on equipment produced by a company (details supplied) for use in the Leinster House campus and other State-owned property, in tabular form, including a detailed breakdown of the make-up of the expenditure, including cameras and so on, on an annual basis since they were first purchased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8665/23]
276. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education given that the Dublin 8 school zone does not currently have a multi-denominational secondary school, and given that the area has one of the highest proportions of residents who do not identify as 'Catholic' or 'Church of Ireland', the justification that is given by her Department for not providing multi-denominational education in this area [7863/23]
275. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education given that the Dublin 8 school zone is an area in which there is not currently sufficient provision of secondary places for all primary students as per departmental figures, and given that many parts of Dublin 8 have experienced significant population growth in recent years, the justification that is given by her Department for not constructing a new school in the area [7862/23]
527. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the status of his commitment to broadening the range of convictions that are considered spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7342/23]
526. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice if he will report on his plans for the operation of the Strategic Review of Penal Policy Implementation Oversight Group in reviewing the implementation of the Penal Policy Action Plan 2022-2024; if the eighth report of the group will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7341/23]
525. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice if he will report on the progress to establish the penal policy consultative council, as committed to in the Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7340/23]
487. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice when the review submitted to his Department in 2020 regarding the investor visa programme will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7560/23]
448. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 84 of 1 February 2023, if he will undertake to provide rental supports for PHD students who are excluded from tax credit scheme (details supplied). [6482/23]
112. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications further to Parliamentary Question No. 181 of 31 January 2023 (details supplied), if he will provide a breakdown for D6W, D8, D12, D10 and D20; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6476/23]
178. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will expedite legislation for the establishment of an independent commission on information retrieval as committed to under the Stormont House Agreement, and propose a timeline for the legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5962/23]
62. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the publication date for the national adaptation framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5614/23]
61. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the publication date for the national clean air strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5613/23]
390. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health the monthly breakdown of the bed capacity in Crumlin Children’s hospital since 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5350/23]
389. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health the annual breakdown of the bed capacity in Crumlin Children’s hospital since 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5349/23]
333. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for carer's allowance and the number of accepted applications in 2022, broken down by month, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5353/23]
332. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will examine the potential of removing the means tested income threshold for full-time carers, despite increasing the disregard limits in June 2022 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5351/23]
324. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Social Protection the actual cost of carer’s allowance for 2022, broken down by month, specifying full rate and half rate, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5354/23]
303. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education if his Department, in making decisions in relation whether to extend existing schools, build new ones, take no action and so on, takes consideration of the denominational mix of secondary schools in areas in which there is lack of an inter-denominational school in relation to the demographics of the area (details supplied). [5329/23]
125. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education if she will meet with a group (details supplied) to discuss redeployment of teachers within the second level system. [4839/23]
88. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Finance if he has engaged with an organisation (details supplied) in relation to the VAT level placed on the industry; and if he plans to proceed with the increase in VAT due in February 2023 on the sector. [4914/23]
84. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Finance if he will extend the rental tax credit to PHD students who are paying for rent from their educational stipend which is untaxed (details supplied). [5039/23]
463. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education if a school (details supplied) will open a second additional class for primary school entrants for 2023-2024 academic year given the physical additional capacity being used by another institution, recognising the lack of alternative local multi and non-denominational educational options in the area. [4685/23]