2359. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health his plans to amend the medical card income thresholds to ensure that persons on social welfare incomes including pensions are not over the income threshold for medical cards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37497/21]
2350. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health when he plans to allow indoor facilities at pet farms and leisure parks to reopen to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37464/21]
2112. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if he will introduce a support scheme to provide a 100% grant for solar panels to be fitted in homes of persons with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36560/21]
2111. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if he will introduce a support scheme to provide a 100% grant for charging points in homes of disabled driver of electric vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36559/21]
1917. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health the status of the promised inquiry into anti-epilepsy drug sodium valproate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35863/21]
1582. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health his views on the current difficulties being faced by sporting businesses and clubs that are not affiliated to a governing body such as independent carting clubs which are excluded from operation due to the definition of a sporting event under the current Covid-19 legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34360/21]
1581. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if the HSE has support staff and policies in place to assist and support employees who feel they may have dyslexia to assist with diagnosis and to get formal accommodations if required; the other supports in place for persons working within the HSE who have dyslexia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34358/21]
1447. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health when the management teams will be in place for the roll-out of disability teams in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33365/21]
1378. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Justice when she plans to introduce the recommendation of the O’Malley report to address the fact that in the case of sexual assault the victim’s counselling records may be used by the defence in any court proceedings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40204/21]
1352. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Justice when her Department will resume accepting applications for short-term visit visas; if her attention has been drawn to the distress the blanket suspension is causing to Irish citizens who live abroad and have a spouse who needs a visa to visit Ireland; her plans to create exemptions to the current restrictions for spouses of Irish citizens; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39743/21]
1136. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the pandemic unemployment payment criteria for recipients who were employed in the music and entertainment businesses to assess their eligibility given their work is periodic and they should be allowed to sign back on to the payment after 8 July 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40208/21]
1122. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider ceasing the tendering process for the delivery of local employment services in order for her Department to actively engage with all stakeholders to find the best way forward for the delivery of the services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39758/21]
983. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education if the design team has been appointed for the new Gaelscoil campus in Athenry, County Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40073/21]
982. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education if the design team has been appointed for the new national school campus for Tuam, County Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40072/21]
623. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of funding his Department applied for in budget 2021 for the farm plan scheme; the amount of funding that was allocated to his Department for 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39408/21]
530. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will review the music and entertainment business assistance scheme to create a lower turnover of €15,000 to €20,000 and remove the minimum cost to align with the small business assistance scheme for Covid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40206/21]
76. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to ensure that farmers who make trivial mistakes on online applications, such as failing to tick the ANC box when they wish to get paid for ANC, have an easy and transparent mechanism to have their mistakes rectified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37229/21]
70. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of efforts by his Department to combat ash dieback disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37231/21]
41. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has addressed the shortcomings in terms of resources in his Department to deal with ecologist’s reports for tree felling licences in which there is a two year backlog in the application process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37228/21]
32. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on lifting the restrictions on horticultural peat harvesting for 2021 to avoid a shortage of supply for 2021 which will result in job losses and businesses closures in the regions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37227/21]
9. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the increase in budget his Department will receive in 2021 to deal with the cost of implementing the Climate Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37230/21]
4. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to organise the sheep wool industry in Ireland to ensure that sheep farmers get a fair price for their produce. [37226/21]
460. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on whether it is discriminatory to place a ceiling on a minority of recipients of the deserted wives benefit 1992-1997; her further views on whether this allowance should be subject to inflationary rebalancing over the past 14 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37632/21]
412. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education her views on the new agricultural science syllabus now in place in secondary schools for the leaving certificate programme; if she considers it relevant, practical and of benefit to the learning outcomes of students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37463/21]
281. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Finance when a proper appeals process will be put in place in relation to the disabled drivers and passengers scheme; when appeals will resume; when regional appeals will take place in order that disabled persons from all over the country do not have to travel to Dún Laoghaire to have an appeal hearing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37777/21]
210. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if he plans to change the assessment of the fair deal rate paid to private nursing homes from a by county basis to a care need basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30785/21]
209. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health the reason for the disparity in the rates of payment to private nursing homes nationwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30784/21]
193. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health the reason that children are required to have PCR tests when coming from EU countries when non-essential travel reopens in July 2021 given that children cannot be vaccinated and the requirement for PCR tests will put the cost of a family holiday beyond the means of many families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30604/21]
561. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress that has been made on the feasibility study on wool; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35809/21]
287. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the problems being faced by the board of management of a school (details supplied) which has outgrown its temporary accommodation and which is designated by her Department as a regional solution to serve students of both Galway city and Oranmore school planning areas and beyond; if she can provide clarity for school management, staff and parents as to the area or location the school will be located in the medium and long-term; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35854/21]
163. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Finance if he will reduce the VAT rate on construction works from 13.5% to counteract the increases in costs experienced by first-time buyers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35856/21]
162. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Finance if he plans to reduce the VAT on the music and entertainment industry in line with the hospitality sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35855/21]
132. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if it will be ensured that there is proper collaboration between parties in the installation of microgeneration projects including the time taken for the ESB to install smart meters. [36534/21]
246. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education if a school (details supplied) will be supported in purchasing land to install a safe set down area and carpark for the school which is located on the N17; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35499/21]
243. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health his rationale for excluding solo dancing from the list of individual training activities allowed as it is a non-contact, physically distanced sport with no shared equipment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27774/21]
134. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education if she will introduce accredited grades on a permanent basis for the leaving certificate given that the old system is no longer fit for purpose; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35321/21]
611. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will consider increasing the funding for the local improvement scheme to help meet the demands; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34299/21]
598. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the plight of farmers who are over the age for the young farmer scheme and who are starting or restarting a career in farming following various changes in life circumstances, including marriage breakdown but who cannot access entitlements and are forced to lease entitlements from non-active farmers; if he plans to change the current regulations to allow such farmers to access entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34721/21]
587. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason the beef plan movement has been excluded from the beef taskforce forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34355/21]
540. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health the reason for not allowing communions or confirmations to proceed given that churches have reopened and the children involved are attending school together; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27374/21]
331. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education if he will consider the option of providing school transport to facilitate siblings of special needs children to attend the same school in which services are available in order to keep the family unit in attendance at the same school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34452/21]
330. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education the progress being made with the proposed additional accommodation for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34450/21]
174. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her views on the current difficulties being faced by sporting businesses and clubs that are not affiliated to a governing body such as independent carting clubs which are excluded from operating as the current definition of a sporting event under the current Covid-19 legislation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34357/21]
173. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her views on the implementation of a universal basic income for artists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34356/21]
98. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider match funding the local improvement scheme to help deal with the demand for the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34298/21]
86. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when the scheme to pay microgenerators for electricity exported to the national grid will be operational; the measures that are in place to ensure that accurate records are kept of the quantity of electricity being exported from the microgeneration units to the grid from 1 July 2020 in order that they can get compensated properly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34725/21]
383. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education the person or body that is responsible for creating a school placement for children with autism as the support from Tusla only extends to examining nearby schools to determine if there are spaces and the National Council for Special Education’s help to parents is also limited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33366/21]
255. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media when the Burren trail will become operational; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32918/21]
247. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress that has been made with removing pinch points from the River Shannon; when he expects the work to commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33364/21]
172. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Transport if consideration will be given to amending the nine-year rule as it pertains to taxi replacement with electric vehicles given that many taxi drivers will be unable to meet the current requirements especially after losing out on more than a year’s income during Covid-19 while still facing insurance and other costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32922/21]