522 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the arrangements and procedures for the secure and controlled destruction of the quantities of illegal drugs that are seized by Garda and Customs officials throughout the year; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[4550/08]
507 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Science when a decision will be made by officials of her Department on a green field site for the relocation of a school (details supplied) in Dublin 18 to provide for a growing demand for school places and due to the inability to accommodate 24 classrooms on the current site; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[5150/08]
273 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport the requirements of applicants for taxi licences; if there is a differentiation between Irish and non-Irish national applicants regarding these requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[4496/08]
10 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment whether his Department has a strategy in respect of the training bodies, such as FÁS, to respond to the downturn in the construction industry; his views on the effects this downturn is having on their existing training courses and apprenticeship programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[4126/08]
68 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children if it is intended to provide a dedicated cystic fibrosis unit to meet the urgent and critical needs of cystic fibrosis sufferers; if she has plans to provide isolation units for CF patients at hospitals here; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[1592/08]
1316 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the position on the leasing of storage space for electronic voting machines and equipment on a constituency basis; the length and cost of lease in each case; the allowance which will be made for depreciation and obsolescence in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[1019/08]
564 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport if he will initiate the long promised review of the disabled person’s parking permit scheme in the near future with a view to ensuring that the scheme is protected from abuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2215/08]
437 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason only €25 million, or 8% of the additional health spending announced in Budget 2008 will be invested on community care initiatives for older people, despite widespread concerns regarding regional problems in accessing home care packages, home help hours and day and respite places; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[2050/08]
274 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children her proposals for the implementation of the Madrid Plan, as adopted by the Madrid Assembly on Aging 2002 and committed to by Member States of the European Union to prioritise the older person agenda, the development of a society for all ages, adjusting its structures and functions, policies and plans to the needs and capabilities of all, guided by the principles of equity and reciprocity; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[2216/08]
273 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children her views on the introduction of an Irish older persons’ Bill that would delineate the rights and entitlements of older Irish persons in the areas of non-discriminatory care and services provision, promotion of welfare of older persons, older persons’ entitlement to assessment of needs, protection from neglect and abuse, licensing of private nursing homes, inspection and publication of reports, public nursing home care provision, inspection and reports, registration, licensing and supervision of care facilities, and sanctions for failure to meet agreed standards of care; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[2062/08]
169 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Taoiseach his views on the successful Age Action Ireland Getting Started information technology training course for older people, which is currently running in libraries in the greater Dublin area; his further views on supporting the extension of this programme for the benefit and empowerment of older people nationwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[2051/08]
254 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will provide exemption for those female old age pensioners who are denied the qualified adult allowance due to the impact of joint accounts on their entitlement to QAA, where their husbands may have deposited in the account a lump sum received due to redundancy, retirement, severance and so on; if he will take into account the fact that the females concerned are likely to have remained at home to care for and nurture children, and look after their homes while the husband was the sole wage-earner; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[35809/07]
176 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will defer the introduction of the new fair deal scheme for the funding of nursing home care until there is further debate on the implications of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[35808/07]
88 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he intends amending section 246(b) of the Planning Act 2000 which requires that public representatives pay a fee of €20 in respect of a submission made on a planning application; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[29052/07]
736 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Science her views on the situation whereby local authorities are levying water charges at different rates throughout the country on schools which receive capitation payments from her Department at a uniform rate and where an element of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is imposing these charges on her Department’s schools which have received no funding to provide for these charges; if the Government will provide for schools water charges directly from Exchequer funding in the context of the schools annual capitation grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[34167/07]
230 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will provide core funding to the Irish Osteoporosis Society to enable this charity to continue and expand its vital work for osteoporosis sufferers and the general public; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[33324/07]
117 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children if it is her intention to establish and appropriately resource a network of specialist breast centres to which every woman here would be assured of access; if she will ring-fence funding to appropriately resource and staff such centres to ensure the best possible outcome for patients; if NQA standards will be implemented in such centres with a view to their independent accreditation by HIQA; if appropriate supports including travel and accommodation will be provided for women who need to travel for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment; if she will provide a clear time-scale for implementation of this programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[32645/07]
128 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Science when the application by a primary school (details supplied) in County Wicklow for an urgently needed extension, the necessity for which has been supported by Department inspectors and by her Department, will be approved; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[31696/07]
14 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the number of the staff opting for decentralisation under either phase one or two who are relocating from Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[31515/07]
93 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his proposals to facilitate people to work past 65 years of age by abolishing the mandatory retirement age as recommended in the recently published report of the senior, select, retain and retrain partnership; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[28768/07]
81 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that due to delays in renewing work permits for foreign workers, difficulties are being caused for visa renewals in that frequently visas have expired prior to the renewed work permit being issued; if he will take steps to ensure that where work permit renewal applications are made prior to the expiry of the visa, that the work permits are issued prior to the visa expiry, in order that visas can be renewed without a gap; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[27054/07]
567 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Defence if agreement has been reached between his Department and the trustees of the Maritime Museum, Dún Laoghaire, regarding the renting of the basement of this building for use by the membership of the FCA in Dún Laoghaire; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30776/07]
106 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children when work will commence on the provision of additional beds at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Rochestown Avenue, Dún Laoghaire which are urgently needed for patients all over the country; if step-down beds are included in the hospital’s future development; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[24951/07]
68 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children if she is developing a policy to deal with the increases in both the numbers of children committed to care in the past two years and the numbers of supervision orders applied for, as evidenced by the 174% increase in child care orders from 411 in 2004 to 1,125 in 2006, and the 90% increase in applications for supervision orders in the same period from 273 in 2004 to 520 in 2006; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[24960/07]
92 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the 25 year storage contracts entered into by a number of returning officers to store electronic voting machines; if he made allowance for depreciation and obsolescence of the said machines; if it is intended to use these machines in future elections; if he has noted the decision by the authorities in the Netherlands to abandon electronic voting for the foreseeable future; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25290/07]
461 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will use his discretionary power to grant citizenship by way of naturalisation to persons (details supplied) in view of the fact that their mother, an Irish citizen by descent as a grand-daughter of Irish-born immigrants, formally acquired Irish citizenship in 1989, after the passage of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1986 which denies them citizenship on residency grounds; if he will take into account the anomalous situation that such children born after 1986 could be registered in the Foreign Births Entry Book and granted Irish citizenship by right; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[28223/07]
58 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on the 3% decrease in visitors from Britain in the first half of 2007 and the 1% decrease in UK visitors bed night sales in the same period; his proposals to take advantage of the lucrative UK tourism market; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[23958/07]
45 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his Department’s initiatives for making tourism more sustainable with particular reference to tourism’s environmental impact and its implications for social equity and cohesion and economic prosperity; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[23959/07]
110 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he will take to highlight the violations of human rights in Zimbabwe and the suffering of its citizens as a result of the collapsing economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[22326/07]
230 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if, in view of the recent serious flooding in the Blackrock area, he will approve the major Carysfort Maretimo stream improvement scheme submitted by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[24532/07]
177 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the reason for withdrawing funding under the community service programme from a club (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[24548/07]
97 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport if he will enter into discussions with local authorities regarding policy in relation to introducing quality bus corridors and their locations, operating times and days with a view to ensuring some uniformity of approach; if he will ensure that public consultation will take place before they are introduced.
[22290/07]
95 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport his proposals to enter into discussions with Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann and the Luas management company Veolia with a view to providing linking Imp buses between the three transport services; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[22321/07]
272 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport his proposals to make the wearing of safety helmets by cyclists mandatory; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[22322/07]
271 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport if he will make a once-off grant, perhaps from national lottery funds, to a company (details supplied) in County Dublin in order to carry out necessary renovations to the fort at the end of the east pier in Dún Laoghaire, in order that this amenity can be opened up to the public, and the establishment of recreational facilities accommodated; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[22312/07]
108 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children the way funding disparities between the various health services will be resolved in budget 2008 having regard to the current 7.7% expenditure on mental health services in view of the fact that mental health problems account for 12% of the overall global disease burden; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[22315/07]
86 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children if funding for mental health services will be increased from the current 7.7% to 12% in line with the overall global proportion of spending on mental health problems and compared with funding of 12% in England and 18% in Scotland; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[22316/07]
599 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he has proposals to introduce an efficient energy in hotels programme incorporating advice and education on energy efficiency and alternative energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[23887/07]
551 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if there are requirements for the provision of wheelchair toilet facilities and wheelchair access to buildings such as hotels and pubs, similar to the requirements in Part 3 of the Disability Act 2005, which requires the provision of these facilities in public buildings; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[23368/07]
346 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he has proposals to introduce an efficient energy in hotels programme, appropriate tax incentives and financial support for investment costs to adjust to more efficient and more sustainable methods; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[23887/07]
345 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on the problem of the continuing diminution of competitiveness in the tourism sector stemming from high Irish inflation, interest rate increases and high local authority charges and taxes; his proposals to address this continuing problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[23886/07]
344 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he has plans to increase the marketing budget for tourism in 2008 to ensure a significant increase in resources to take account of the changing tourism market and increased competition; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[23885/07]
343 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if separate funds will be provided to Tourism Ireland to implement the recommendations arising from the current review of the Ireland tourism brand; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[23884/07]
121 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason for his decision to withdraw without notice funding for the local authority playground grant scheme which provided for €120,000 grant aid per local authority for the construction of playgrounds; his views on whether many playground projects countrywide which had matching funding in place in anticipation of this grant aid being available may now have to be abandoned; if he will give serious consideration to reinstating this grant in view of the crucial importance of playground facilities in the fight against childhood obesity; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[22289/07]
239 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children the number employed in her Department; the amount expended on their salaries and its percentage of overall Departmental spending from a value for money perspective; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[22357/07]
187 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will postpone further development of the COSC Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence to address the serious concerns of the Irish Violence against Women non-governmental sector in relation to COSC’s limited remit; if it is proposed to address all forms of violence against women in an integrated and cohesive way, focusing on the three key elements of protection, provision and prevention, as required by the 1995 UN Beijing Platform for Action; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[22154/07]
451 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will introduce legislation to regulate estate management companies, particularly in view of the level of fees being charged in estates occupied mainly by first time buyers; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[21559/07]
217 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children her views on the increase of 174% in child care orders within two years, from 411 care orders in 2004 to 1,125 in 2006; her further views on the 90% increase in applications for supervision orders within the same period, from 273 applications in 2004 to 520 requests in 2006; the reason for these increases; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[21560/07]
143 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Science the progress made in securing a green field site to relocate a school (details supplied) in Dublin 18 in order to satisfy a growing demand for places and in view of the inability of extending the existing buildings to accommodate 24 classrooms due to the size of the existing site; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[21544/07]
132 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Science the reasons for denying parents of Irish born children access to third level educational grants in contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003, which underpins the right of access to higher and further education for all non-EU nationals living here; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[21516/07]