68 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will introduce administrative sanctions for minor fisheries offences here in view of the recent EU decision to implement administrative sanctions on a harmonised basis throughout Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[43886/08]
427 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Science if it is proposed to cut funding to a college (details supplied) in Dublin 2; his views on the consequences for the deaf community of such a reduction, in terms of teacher, university lecturer and sign language interpreter education, and educational delivery to deaf and hard of hearing students; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[43360/08]
87 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children if people with an intellectual disability will be exempted from the increased long-stay residential charges which will require them to pay up to 75% of their disability allowance on these charges; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[43266/08]
163 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children the funding allocated to the Health Service Executive Dublin mid-Leinster in each year since 2004 in respect of Beechpark Services; the various schemes and programmes for which funding was allocated; the amount of funding allocated in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[43012/08]
6 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she is satisfied that sufficient action is being taken to stem the tide of rising unemployment; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[41860/08]
515 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Science if funding will be made available to a centre (details supplied) to assist with the hosting of the seventh quadrennial European Conference of the International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment at Trinity College, Dublin from 5 to 10 July 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[40659/08]
212 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children the actions taken to implement the recommendations of the joint sub-committee on the adverse side-effects of pharmaceuticals; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[40688/08]
107 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport the position regarding the proposed graduated driving licence; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[39892/08]
246 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children the rationale for the 1% cut in disability funding in both 2008 and 2009, along with the withdrawal of €53 million and €17 million in 2007 and 2008 respectively from the multi-annual disability funding voted in Dáil Éireann; if she will restore these cuts to disability and mental health; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[39214/08]
163 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will take the necessary steps to bring to the notice of members of the public, who may be unaware of their rights, to deferred pensions from previous employment under pension funds of previous employers; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[39479/08]
197 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has satisfied himself with progress in the various EU-Israeli partnership agreements; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[39085/08]
11 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Finance if new inter-agency management structures have been put in place to handle the banking crisis; and if clear lines of accountability have been put in place in respect of the responsibilities of respective agencies.
[38728/08]
272 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children the details of the savings that are expected to be realised by the removal of the automatic entitlement to a medical card for persons over 70 years; the way the figure of 5% of older people losing their cards was arrived at; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[38422/08]
191 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Finance if the proposed €10 travel tax is compatible with EU laws, in particular, Articles 39 and 49, which guarantee the rights of free movement of workers and freedom to receive services in another member state and Article 18, which accords EU citizens the right to move freely within the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[38421/08]
190 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Finance if the proposed travel tax provisions of budget 2009 accords with case law of the European Court of Justice, which routinely condemns any member states’ measures that render the exercise of citizens’ rights less advantageous; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[38420/08]
344 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will commit to points made in a declaration (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[37313/08]
342 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will commit to the points made in a declaration (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[37311/08]
134 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if there is a pricing tariff available for a person who wants to sell energy back to the national grid as a result of microgeneration and smart metering technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[37159/08]
253 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children if, in view of the decline in the housing market, and in estimates of imputed rental income from house property, she will enter into negotiations with the Health Service Executive with a view to reviewing the mechanism used in determining rental income levels for nursing home subvention purposes and seeking a downward adjustment thereof, in line with current rental expectations; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[35403/08]
157 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the measures that prevent workers continuing to claim jobseeker’s allowance or jobseeker’s benefit, despite not being resident here; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[34497/08]
117 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the expenditure by her Department on advertising and awareness activities since January 2008; the amount spent on same for the period January 2007 to January 2008; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[34496/08]
29 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will provide assurances that proposed cutbacks in the various Departments will not impact adversely on the vital front-line work being carried out by the Safe Home programme, which continues to assist in the repatriation and resettlement of Irish emigrants from various countries worldwide, who by their lifelong remittances have contributed on a major scale to the development of the Irish economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[31093/08]
104 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport the reason bus lanes are operational on a 24-hour 7-day basis in some locations in which buses do not provide 24-hour services; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25454/08]
23 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport if he will grant a licence to a bus service (details supplied) to operate a scheduled bus service between Dalkey and intermediary points such as Glasthule, Dún Laoghaire and Monkstown with Dublin Airport which are not served by an alternative bus operator; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[32450/08]
187 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will expedite the commencement of construction of the new National Rehabilitation Hospital at Dún Laoghaire, the services of which are needed by patients countrywide; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[31904/08]
44 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Finance the capital projects referred for reconsideration under his decision of July 2008; the number which have been postponed; and the number given the go ahead.
[31454/08]
1862 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Science when he proposes to address the problem of extended prefabricated classroom accommodation in schools, in which teachers and students frequently spend their entire teaching and student careers; his views on whether malodorous and damp classrooms are unacceptable and not conducive to productive study and effective teaching; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[31036/08]
1393 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on issuing guidelines to local authorities to provide for improved standards in the construction of footpaths, pedestrian crossings and public lighting to help reduce the incidence of avoidable deaths of older pedestrians on Irish roads; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[29672/08]
1367 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Defence the progress on the sourcing of alternative accommodation to facilitate the Reserve Defence Force in Dún Laoghaire; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[29308/08]
1272 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the plans she has to review the State pension and living alone allowance with a view to addressing the issue of poverty among older people living alone by taking account of cost of living price increases and spiralling fuel costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[29673/08]
873 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason a person, with an Irish great grandparent who has lived in Ireland since the age of five, who was educated here at primary, secondary and third level, and who took Irish in junior and leaving certificate examinations is required to pay approximately €500 in applying to his Department for citizenship; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30015/08]
898 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the concern expressed recently by the Irish Human Rights Commission regarding the non-ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; the reason for its non-ratification; when it will be ratified; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[30286/08]
737 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the plans he has to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2006, and came into force on 3 May 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[29878/08]
726 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport if it is proposed, as part of an orbital public transport system connecting the various urban centres in greater Dublin, to provide a LUAS extension to link Sandyford/Dundrum with Tallaght, in view of the fact that they are connected by a single and infrequent bus service; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[29910/08]
724 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport his views on the findings in the report of the European Transport Safety Council that persons over 65 were one-and-a-half times more likely to die in road traffic accidents than those under 65; his further views on Ireland’s rate of progress, which is below the EU average, in reducing deaths among older road users, in view of our ranking as 21st out of 30 countries in road deaths; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[29674/08]
723 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport his views on the Taxi Regulator’s proposed prohibition on taxi and hackney owners in relation to the conversion of their existing vehicles to wheelchair accessible use and the consequent additional expense that will be incurred by the owners in the purchase of custom-built wheelchair accessible taxis and hackneys; the way he proposes to address the issue of monitoring the prioritisation of bookings for people with disabilities in wheelchair accessible vehicles in view of the favourable taxi licence level of €125 for such vehicles as against €6,300 for standard licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[29667/08]
675 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Transport the plans he has to improve and upgrade public transportation services that will link Dún Laoghaire town centre with the Dundrum-Sandyford town centre in view of connectivity, the economic development of Dún Laoghaire and the ferryport’s gateway function; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[29909/08]
637 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans she has to introduce clinical guidelines for the provision of criteria for the diagnosis, management and treatment of epilepsy similar to those in operation in the UK and due to be extended to Northern Ireland later in 2008; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[29759/08]
416 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children her views on whether the level and quality of stroke care available throughout the country is satisfactory; if she will provide organised stroke unit care with the emphasis on stroke prevention in order that stroke patients could have ready and rapid access to such units; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[29665/08]
415 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children her views on the shortage of rheumatologists which has resulted in long waiting lists in excess of two years for the treatment of arthritis and other conditions and the fact that 17% of the population are affected by some form of arthritis; her proposals to address the situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[29663/08]
414 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children her views on the Release speech and language and communication system which has attained wide acceptance in Ireland since 2005 and is affiliated with leading US universities and speech and language organisations; if she has examined its potential to address and eliminate lengthy waiting lists for intervention at minimal cost; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[29662/08]
72 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when he proposes to introduce the new standards regulations for rented accommodation that were promised by him to ensure that the interiors of rented properties would be maintained to acceptable standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[26937/08]
199 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children the way she proposes to accommodate those 18 year old mentally and intellectually challenged young people who are leaving a school (details supplied) in County Dublin, and who have been informed that there is no place available for them in a designated school due to lack of funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[26935/08]
44 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will make arrangements for vocational educational committee services to be made available to special needs schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25179/08]
140 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Defence the nature of costs the move of his Department under decentralisation will accrue to the State; if the costs will impact on the defence budget; if the move is on budget and on schedule; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25954/08]
91 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Defence the nature of the air support provided to the Defence Forces in Chad and its origins and cost; if it is operated by members of the Irish Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25953/08]
181 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children the amount of the €50 million provided to the Health Service Executive in budget 2008 for additional services to people with disabilities that will be allocated to services for young people with autism; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[25249/08]
94 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce a ewe grant scheme as proposed by a recently published EU report; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25609/08]
224 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he will take to protect the people of Somalia from displacement, deprivation, widespread human rights abuses and the threat of imminent famine; if he will press for a lasting solution to the conflict there; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[24719/08]
155 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children when it is proposed to conclude the discussions with the Health Service Executive regarding funding for 2008 in the context of the overall financial position of the HSE, particularly in view of the fact that 18 year old autistic students have left their previous schools in June 2008 without having been given an indication of September 2008 placements; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[24397/08]