79. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he receives reports on the extent to which the pricing structure of bin collections incentivise reduce and recycle through the differential between the cost of black, brown and green collections; if domestic waste is currently being appropriately segregated into the respective streams; whether such segregation is delivering lower total volumes of waste and lower levels of contamination in the respective streams; and if any changes in price structures are anticipated. [37354/23]
7. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he would consider publishing individual census returns earlier than the elapse of 100 years, in order that more timely research could be undertaken by those interested in genealogy and social history. [37832/23]
704. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider relaxing the rule whereby a substantial period of time must elapse before a back-to-work enterprise application may be approved, given the huge disruption caused to fledgling businesses as a consequence of Covid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36171/23]
867. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total number of college places now being made available outside the CAO system in the different schemes; how these have grown over the past five years, to include Springboard, apprenticeships, human capital initiative, skillnet, FET, and his new scheme for entry into certain health and practical skills announced recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35375/23]
789. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health the number of active age groups and the number of day centres for persons being cared for at home that his Department supports through the HSE or other funding routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35274/23]
788. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to develop the terms and conditions under which home care workers are employed, in order that more people could be attracted to this work. [35273/23]
787. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the progress in developing a national home care scheme; whether it envisages a uniform standard for access to care in all parts of the country; whether new oversight of the various private providers of home care is envisaged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35272/23]
639. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will outline the participation levels in programmes in disadvantaged areas which use an approach of working with parents, and particularly mothers, from before the birth of the child; his plans for the strengthening and extending of this approach; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35414/23]
628. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth whether he plans new calls for the integration and employment of migrants, in view of the substantial increase in inflows since the last call in July 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35217/23]
573. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will outline the assessment of the need for dredging of Howth Harbour, which his Department has completed; and if he will indicate his plans for the undertaking of needed work over the coming years. [35276/23]
548. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice if she has considered a core budget to fund innovative projects for the current initiatives in Dublin 17; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35413/23]
508. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if the suite of interventions to support placement in developmental roles needs to change now that unemployment is so low and those who need to be placed often have greater needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35412/23]
506. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of households which benefit from the fuel scheme; and how this number has grown as a result of the extended eligibility introduced in January 2023. [35376/23]
505. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection the proposed start date for auto-enrolment pensions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35374/23]
491. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the level of State support to undertake fire protection standard investments that were not required by the building requirements at the time they were built. [35476/23]
488. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will indicate his projection of the relative need for cost-rental versus the affordable purchase scheme to be developed by public authorities; and the basis on which this projection has been made. [35373/23]
487. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has examined the interplay of the help-to-buy scheme with the first-home equity scheme which can operate to prevent applicants drawing upon the full value of each scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35372/23]
479. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will indicate the movement on the waiting lists for social housing in each local authority over the past five years. [35271/23]
459. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to give an update on the scheme targeting the wastewater collection and treatment needs of villages and settlements without access to public wastewater services; to provide a list of all applications received from local authorities under that scheme; to provide a list of the applications that were approved for funding; if he will provide a provide a summary of the status of each of those approved projects; the timelines for works to be commenced and completed for those applications that were not approved for funding at this time; the timeline for further funding announcements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34987/23]
333. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform what assessment has been carried out by his Department of the proposed new flood defence approach for the Clontarf seafront; if his Department plans to engage with a detailed design; and if money has been factored into the NDP envelope for its construction. [34791/23]
310. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the latest statistics for the number of persons claiming each category of credit or allowance in the income tax code; and the cost in each case. [35377/23]
263. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Transport if he will indicate the total number of new public chargers installed by the ESB and by local authorities over the past four years; their overall power capacity; and how this compares for the target which he believes will be required by 2025 [35270/23]
190. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will outline the installed capacity of renewable energy under all of the various modes; solar, on shore wind, anaerobic digestion and so on; the categories large scale commercial farms, small business units, household and microgeneration and so on; if he is satisfied that the supports; price for supply to the grid in each case is at an appropriate level to encourage rapid uptake of renewable technologies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35277/23]
189. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of applications which are on hand for the warmer homes scheme; whether this list has been divided into the categories of poor building energy rating; the present annual number of energy upgrades now being completed under the scheme; if he will indicate when those households with somewhat better BER will be reached; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35275/23]
128. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his plans for the proposed introduction of a levy on disposable cups and on a deposit/return scheme for PET bottles and cans; if he intends to modify proposals in view of submissions; and whether dates for commencement have been set. [34790/23]
81. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media whether the review of sports capital grants indicates the desirability of introducing changes or new elements to the application and selection process. [34168/23]
59. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if her Department has assessed the future patterns of media consumption and the implications this has for public policy. [34167/23]
46. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will outline the anticipated steps needed in order to implement carbon farming as a reliable source of income for farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34170/23]
41. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether a land use strategy is being developed within which aspirations for forestry, the protection of biodiversity, climate, renewables and the bioeconomy could be evolved in a coherent manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34169/23]
223. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of programmes, and their purpose, operated by his Department with ESF support in place during 2023; the prospects of additional programmes in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34595/23]
215. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware of children who have been in the disability services since birth who now find themselves without any prospective placement as they complete their school attendance, as in a particular case (details supplied); and if there are any policy options through which he could assist. [34461/23]
173. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice the terms of the pension of a person (details supplied); and whether continuing payments are due to their surviving spouse; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34512/23]
873. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he can make provision for school leavers with a stamp 4 Visa to get access to third-level education at an affordable price, in order that they will not be treated in the same way as students travelling from outside the EU to study in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33826/23]
646. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is considering legislation to restrict the use of non-disclosure agreements in the case of sexual harassment and discrimination, along the lines considered in Seanad Éireann. [34298/23]
505. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice if she has received a report from the Garda Commissioner on the new initiatives that have been put in place to make Dublin city centre safer; if it shows the impact on criminal or anti-social behaviour on arrests, on detection rates, and so on; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33982/23]
495. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice whether she has considered extending greater residency rights to the spouse of an Irish citizen where the family has been living abroad, so that it would be easier for them to come and go with their children and spouse who are all Irish citizens; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33868/23]
453. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection whether it is possible to claim retrospection on the fuel allowance where it can be established that an applicant met the means guidelines but had not applied; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33983/23]
394. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline the approach which is being taken in aligning the operational approaches of those working in local authorities that have great expertise in managing water infrastructure, as Uisce Éireann takes over more direct responsibility for these operations and the workforce involved; and whether the Workplace Relations Commission or other such bodies have been engaged to evaluate issues which may cause challenges. [33865/23]
384. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that many apartments built to high insulation standards seem to be without any method for achieving reasonable temperatures during a very hot spell; and whether the regulatory standards have considered how this matter might be addressed, without recourse to very energy intensive air conditioning. [33847/23]
336. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the cull of seagulls which was permitted on a pilot basis in Balbriggan proved a success; whether an extension into other areas where over-invasion of residential areas is occurring, could be considered where these birds are clearly moving out of their natural habitat; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33448/23]
285. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education the number of new SNA posts which have been created in the past five years; how these extra posts have been allocated as between special schools, special classes within mainstream and to mainstream classes to support children with special needs; and if she is satisfied the children in different settings have an equitable chance of having their needs for support met. [33984/23]
199. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Finance whether the Tax Strategy Group is looking at any particular issues in respect of the structure of USC and of income tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33867/23]
133. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications whether any policy options exist for homes which have no fireplace and cannot heat their home without power in the event of a power cut. [33866/23]
126. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he is aware of a report which suggests inaccuracies in the Regulatory Impact Assessment of the levy on single-use containers, particularly concerning: the overall size of the market impacted, the existing penetration of reusable cups, the elasticity of demand in response to the levy; and the emission intensity of the production and use of a recycled paper cup compared to that of reusable cups commonly in use when compared over their life cycle; and his views on the claim that this invalidates much of the argument in favour of the levy. [33556/23]
86. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice if she has received a report of the impact of the initiative in crime statistics and in feedback from organisations in the area. [33994/23]
361. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he has received a report from the HSE about waiting lists in Dublin for physiotherapy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33422/23]
195. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Finance when the age tax credit of €245 was last increased; the percentage increase in average earnings since that last increase; and if he will list the age credit as an element of the tax code which should be reviewed as preparation for the Budget 2024 commencement. [33425/23]
194. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the number of people who have benefitted from the earned income tax credit since its introduction, in tabular form. [33345/23]
193. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the number of people who have benefitted from the increase in the home carers tax credit in Budget 2023. [33344/23]
192. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the percentage of full-time workers that pay income tax at the top 40% rate, before tax credits are taken into account. [33343/23]