707. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the armed raid conducted by Pakistani police on the administrative offices at the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Rabwah, Pakistan on 5 December 2016 and that according to media reports the police caused needless damage to property and arrested four persons; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that the Ahmadiyya have suffered decades of repression by state and federal governments in Pakistan; his views on this latest raid; and if he will raise the issue with his Pakistani counterpart. [1620/17]
691. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the plight of the Rohingya people in Myanmar, Burma; if his attention has been further drawn to the reports of rape, violence and massacres being carried about by the Myanmar Government forces and that tens of thousands of Rohingya have become refugees; and his plans to assist the Rohingya people. [41379/16]
689. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the fact that the current President of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, is refusing to accept defeat in recent elections and step down; his further views on the fact that there is reportedly an increased military presence in Banjul; and if he will join the calls for Mr. Jammeh to accept the result of the democratic elections and step down. [41242/16]
688. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on the Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg on 7 December 2016 when a number of legacy cases, including the case of a person (details supplied), were discussed; if his Department made a statement at the discussion; and if it included continued support to the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval and the legacy bodies established under the Stormont House Agreement. [41241/16]
687. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has read the report by a person (details supplied) into the British Government’s handling of legacy issues from the conflict in Northern Ireland; his views on whether the report is a damning indictment of the British Government’s approach to dealing with the past; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41240/16]
686. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the expected changes the recently signed EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Co-operation Agreement will have on Ireland's bilateral relations with Cuba; and his plans to explore improving trade and relations with Cuba or sending a high level delegation from his Department to Cuba. [41239/16]
685. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the prosecution of a person (details supplied). [41238/16]
353. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the lengthy delay and difficulties being experienced by a sports club and a school (details supplied) and on a wall and pitch development project on part of his Department's lands; the cause of the delay; and if he will attempt to resolve the delay in the project receiving permission that would benefit the club, school and the adjoining local community. [41331/16]
123. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to difficulties being experienced by the Garda authorities in 2016 in responding to local residents in the Tallaght and Rathfarnham areas due to the non-availability of a car or no garda being available to respond to phone call requests in both Tallaght and Rathfarnham garda stations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41376/16]
120. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the vetting arrangements that are in place in accordance with section 15 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997; if she will confirm that requests for information from a housing authority are processed by the superintendent in charge of the district wherein the subject of the request resides and that they are dealt with on a case-by-case basis; the number of requests that have been made by South Dublin County Council on a year-by-year basis over the past five years; and if this request process is used in every allocation and transfer locally. [41332/16]
353. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the increase in the assassination of human rights defenders, HRDs, in Colombia and regarding ongoing threats and intimidation against them (details supplied); and if he will call on the Colombian government to immediately implement the protection mechanisms for HRDs that are enshrined in the peace accords and in national law. [39639/16]
194. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the killing of a person (details supplied); if his attention has been further drawn to increasing levels of intimidation and violence human rights defenders face in Guatemala and the impunity that surrounds these crimes; and if he will raise the person's case and Ireland’s concerns for the security of all environmental and human rights defenders in Guatemala with his Guatemalan counterpart. [38081/16]
367. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to Article 155 of the Egyptian constitution which allows President Sisi, with his cabinet's approval, to issue pardons to prisoners; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that President Sisi has used Article 155 four times in 2016, resulting in 859 prisoners being released, with the most recent pardon focusing on 82 young prisoners; and if he will explore the viability of this option for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37183/16]
357. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a person (details supplied) who is being detained in York County Prison, Pennsylvania, USA, will be deported; and if his Department is providing them with consular assistance. [36875/16]
52. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the supposed 50,000 undocumented Irish citizens living in the USA, particularly since the recent US election; if his Department is supporting organisations in the country that are assisting the undocumented Irish; and if he will raise the issue with his American counterpart. [36311/16]
46. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the fact that a person's (details supplied) trial was postponed for the sixteenth time on 12 November 2016 and that the person is being charged in a mass trial and has no hope of receiving a fair trial; his further views on the fact that the next trial date will be on 13 December 2016, the same day as the person's 21st birthday; and if he will urgently raise the case with his Egyptian counterpart and press for the person's release under Presidential Decree 140. [36310/16]
33. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of the discussions at the EU foreign affairs Ministers meeting on 14 November 2016; if he spoke out against the plans to create an EU military headquarters and joint rapid reaction forces, which will ultimately lead to a standing EU army; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36309/16]
30. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his recent trip to Saudi Arabia; if he will clarify the comments he made during the trip regarding Iran fuelling conflicts in the region, as reported by a media organisation (details supplied); that he said that Saudi Arabia might become the best strategic partner for Ireland in the region; and if he, at any stage, criticised the Saudi Arabian regime for its poor human rights record and its well documented support for jihadist and salafist militant groups involved in wars and attacks on civilians throughout the region. [36312/16]
28. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to comments by UN officials that 75,000 children in Nigeria’s north east could starve to death within months; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that 14 million persons are in need of humanitarian aid in this region due to the Boko Haram insurgency, which has killed 20,000 persons and has left 2.6 million persons displaced; and if his Department is providing any assistance to ensure a famine does not take hold and to assist those in the middle of this humanitarian crisis. [36313/16]
24. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied) who is a member of the Turkish Parliament for the Peoples’ Democratic Party, HDP, who was due to visit Ireland on 14 November 2016 for three days; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that while the person was in Brussels carrying out diplomatic work for the HDP, his passport was revoked by the Turkish authorities and a warrant for his arrest issued in Turkey; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that 11 HDP MPs have already been imprisoned in Turkey; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36558/16]
22. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the matters discussed in his meetings with political parties in Stormont on 3 November 2016; and if he will provide a report on the North-South Ministerial Council meeting that took place on 18 November 2016. [36557/16]
331. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to a new draft NGO law that was approved in principle by the Egyptian Parliament; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that NGOs in Egypt feel that this latest draft NGO law means putting an end to the work and existence of the civil society organisations that are now trying to survive the ongoing crackdown on NGOs and continue their work, despite the government’s unprecedented violations of the freedoms of assembly and association; and if he will raise these concerns regarding this law with his Egyptian counterpart. [35966/16]
330. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to fact that the Turkish interior ministry has now declared 370 NGOs and associations which were operating legally inside Turkey to be closed down; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that 199 of these NGOs were Kurdish organisations that form an essential component of Kurdish civil society and have been providing vital services such as legal advice, help for prisoners and their families, assistance to women victims of violence and promoting Kurdish cultural activities; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that organisations such as the Peace Association of Turkey were also targeted; and if he will condemn this attempt to eradicate all traces of independent civil society and raise the issue with his Turkish counterpart. [35965/16]
203. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department will publish standard guidelines on opting out of faith formation in order that all schools can use them as a template and in order that they can be in accordance with the requirement under the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35875/16]
202. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will remove the baptism barrier as part of the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill in time for September 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35874/16]
100. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if a centre (details supplied) has applied recently for funding for free school meals; if so, the date it has applied; the outcome of each application; if there were rejections, the reasons for same; and if it will be granted for 2017. [34882/16]
90. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the total number of properties included in the pyrite remediation scheme; the total number of estates in which these properties are located; the total number of houses in these housing estates; and if he will run a pilot project to test properties in these estates that currently do not have physical damage to determine the level of pyrite that affect such properties in the future. [35432/16]
20. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the standards in place or the guidelines provided by his Department to local authorities to ensure that all new social housing new builds funded through the Exchequer meet the highest possible energy efficiency, water efficiency and environmental sustainability standards. [35433/16]
51. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a school (details supplied) has applied for a defibrillator to ensure the safety of a child at the school; the outcome of that request; if alternative funding is available; his Department’s approach to making funding available to children with life threatening conditions in mainstream schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34883/16]
412. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware that 11 MPs from the People's Democratic Party, HDP, and the party’s two co-chairs, were recently arrested in Turkey; his views on the dramatic escalation in the crackdown on democratic politics and civic society in Turkey; and if he will urgently raise his concern over these arrests with his Turkish counterpart. [34443/16]
202. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that a school (details supplied) has applied for funding to secure a permanent site for the school; the reasons for the significant delay in the construction of the permanent building for the planned 1,000 pupils; and when the work will be completed. [34444/16]
246. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to reports that the Israeli finance ministry has approved plans for the construction of 1,600 homes in the illegal Israeli settlement of Katzrin in the occupied Syrian Golan; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan is illegal under international law; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that meanwhile discriminatory land, housing and development policies mean that Syrian residential areas are severely overcrowded; if he will condemn these latest moves to build new settlement houses; and if he will raise the issue with his Israeli counterpart. [33449/16]
245. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the extremely tense and difficult environment for human rights defenders in Honduras currently; if his attention has been further drawn to the concern that an organisation (details supplied) has regarding the events that took place during a peaceful demonstration on 20 October 2016 in Tegucigalpa; and if he will contact his Honduran counterpart to express his concern regarding this incident. [33447/16]
138. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a school (details supplied) has applied for funding to secure a permanent site on which the school was supposed to be constructed in June 2016; the reason for the delay; and when the work will be completed. [33446/16]
89. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 71 of 7 July 2016, if she has made the necessary appointments to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal; and, if not, when it will be fully staffed and working at full capacity to review claims and appeals. [33448/16]
597. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Question No. 92 of 12 October 2016 (details supplied), if she will provide clarification of the nature of the charge upon public funds envisaged in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA; the basis for her determination that this constitutional provision is appropriate for ratifying CETA in view of the fact that it will not involve a decision of Seanad Éireann; and her plans to rely on Article 29.8 of Bunreacht na hÉireann with regard to CETA. [31875/16]
341. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to Israel’s continued demolition of structures in Palestine that were built with EU funding which includes schools, houses and other important infrastructure; his plans to protect infrastructure in Palestine, particularly infrastructure that has been paid for with the help of Irish taxpayers, from being illegally demolished by Israel; and if he will request compensation for demolished structures from Israel. [31874/16]
56. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the worsening situation in Yemen and that the UN estimates the war there has killed almost 6,900 persons, wounded more than 35,000 and displaced at least 3 million since March 2015; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that fighter jets belonging to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition have in recent weeks carried out air strikes which have directly targeted civilians and may constitute war crimes; and if he supports an independent and international investigation into these war crimes allegations. [31796/16]
52. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his Department is still committed to ensuring Ireland reaches the goal of spending 0.7% of gross national income on overseas development assistance; and, if so, if he will detail when and the way in which his Department plans on reaching this goal. [31792/16]
48. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the announcement by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo that it will push back the presidential election which was due to happen in November 2016 to April 2018; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that this will keep the incumbent President, Mr. Joseph Kabila, in power until the delayed vote takes places; and his views on whether this move will further destabilise the country. [31795/16]
39. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the comments made by the Israeli ambassador to Ireland in an interview with a newspaper (details supplied); if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the ambassador stated he could not guarantee that Irish passports would not be forged again by the Israeli secret service, Mossad; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Mossad agents previously used forged Irish passports to assassinate a Palestinian in the United Arab Emirates; if he has discussed the issue with the ambassador; and the action he will take to ensure Mossad, or other foreign secret service agencies, cannot forge Irish passports. [31794/16]
33. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if officials in his Department have met with the new general manager of a charity (details supplied); if he will confirm that Irish Aid funding to the charity is still suspended; and if this is due to the ongoing investigations into the allegations of bribery and bid rigging against the charity. [31793/16]
24. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his Department is assisting in efforts to open a humanitarian corridor to allow aid to reach the besieged civilians of eastern Aleppo and other besieged areas in Syria; and the efforts his Department is undertaking to help to establish a durable and lasting ceasefire in this conflict which is nearly six years old. [32024/16]
22. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the fact that the British Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May, has stated that she will seek to exclude the British army from the European Convention on Human Rights during future conflicts; his further views on the fact that this is just one step on the road to the British Government’s attempt to completely repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a so-called British Bill of Rights; his further views on whether this would be a violation of the Good Friday Agreement; and if he has discussed the issue with his British counterpart. [32023/16]
381. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health the licensed importers here for the anti-malarial drug mefloquine; and the licensed distributors here for mefloquine. [30387/16]
353. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to LAW-TRAIN, which is a project to build a technological platform to unify the interrogation methodology between EU and Israeli police forces, and the fact that it is part of the Horizon 2020 EU funding cycle; his views on this grave case of the EU's co-operation with Israel's colonial military, police and security sectors; if his attention has been drawn to any plans for State institutions here to participate in the LAW-TRAIN advisory board; and if he will seek the cessation of EU funding to the Israeli military and homeland security companies, as well as Israeli military and security institutions, within the Horizon 2020 framework, as a necessary step towards an EU policy that effectively promotes human rights and international law in the Palestine-Israel region. [30742/16]
352. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the increase there will be in Ireland's overseas development assistance, ODA, in 2017; and the percentage of gross national income, GNI, which will be spent on ODA in 2017. [30582/16]
49. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health the funding required as part of the digital package solution to the waiting list crisis that has been presented to him; his views on whether the funding that is earmarked is sufficient; the proposals made and the costs involved as part of the digital package solution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30506/16]
56. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills the action he will take to address the huge disparity in school costs which exists from school to school throughout the country and the inequality faced by parents by providing funding for a free primary education system as costed by a charity (details supplied) at €103 million. [30110/16]
293. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the EU is seeking to send persons back to war-torn Afghanistan as a part of a broader policy to return asylum seekers who refuse to be deported voluntarily; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the UN agency in Afghanistan, UNAMA, has recently documented the highest level of civilian casualties since record taking started; and his views on the proposal to return persons to this war-torn country. [29600/16]