8. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an update on the progress of the commitment in An Action Plan for Jobs to deliver an integrated licensing application service for the retail sector; when the service will be introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29922/14]
123. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if school transport will be provided for a student (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30323/14]
19. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on the progress of the Government reform unit of his Department; if he will outline the composition of the unit and its operation, including the number of meetings held and areas of scrutiny; the way the progress of the unit is measured and monitored and if this includes external organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29594/14]
352. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will confirm the average time taken by Departments in addressing invoices from suppliers; if his Department is working on reducing the time taken to settle invoices, particularly when involving small and medium-sized enterprises; and if his Department is engaging with Departments and the agencies under the remit of each Department on this matter. [29593/14]
87. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline the progress on securing new premises and establishing new schools (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29375/14]
76. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 24 of 29 May 2014 and the subsequent completion of the school year at primary and secondary level, if he will report on the progress to implement the new, updated and more comprehensive anti-bullying policy; if he will outline his Department's role in ensuring its speedy implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29374/14]
6. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Finance the progress of the review of the law concerning inheritance taxation treatment of foster children, in particular the five year requirement before a foster child can be viewed the same as a blood relative for inheritance taxation purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28500/14]
30. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his recent trip to the United States on which he raised issues including migration, US immigration reform and the estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish residing in the US; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28191/14]
8. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on the progress of the Global Irish Network since its creation; his Department's interaction and participation with this initiative; if a date for the next Global Irish Economic Forum has been set; and if the forum will continue and consolidate its regional events in view of the potential benefits for regional development. [28192/14]
586. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Health when an alternative to the mobility allowance scheme will be introduced following the closure of the scheme to new applicants in February of this year due to the requirements of the Equal Status acts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28502/14]
345. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if, in the context of a housing strategy, consideration will be given to assisting persons residing in large family homes but with grown-up children and no longer in need of such a house type in acquiring financial assistance such as a bridging loan to trade down to a smaller size home and thereby improve the availability of larger houses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28508/14]
193. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number and locations of schools which have closed in each of the years between 2004 and 2013 in tabular form. [28503/14]
176. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the provision of a new school (details supplied) in County Galway following a planned meeting between the board of management and his Department in May 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28193/14]
148. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Finance if, in the context of the strategic banking corporation Ireland and alongside the work on the legislation, work is progressing on the structures of the bank, including personnel, internal procedures, processes, operations and other activities associated with an undertaking of this type; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28504/14]
112. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Finance if consideration will be given to creating a scheme to provide bridging loans to persons, such as persons with grown up children, who no longer require houses of larger sizes and who would like to trade down but face difficulties to secure the necessary finance due to financial institutions' reluctance to lend to this age group, and in consideration of how such a scheme could improve the housing stock available. [28507/14]
82. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the anticipated timeline for the further development and introduction of the recently-introduced programmes implementation platform; the lead agency or agencies for the PIP; his plans to introduce the system on a county basis; if so, the counties that will pilot or trial the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27973/14]
80. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children in each of the past three years who have participated in the free preschool year of the early childhood care and education scheme; the number and locations by county of the child care providers participating; if a second preschool year will be added; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27974/14]
46. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding the introduction of a capital grant scheme for the voluntary mountain rescue teams such as the Galway mountain rescue team; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27110/14]
26. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if consideration is being given to assisting mountain rescue teams with the purchase of new vehicles which are essential in the performance of the organisations' duties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27111/14]
41. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Health the progress achieved since the launch of the Healthy Ireland strategy last year on each of the recommendations contained therein; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27008/14]
10. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Health to set out the progress in establishing new health centres at two locations in County Galway (details supplied) in recognition of the critical nature of the health facilities for the communities; whether the provision of the health facility is a matter for his Department and the Health Service Executive rather than any other Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27009/14]
544. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Health his views on the national cancer care guidelines regarding a 12 week period of referrals for routine cases; and if such a waiting time for an 18 year old with a lump on her breast is too long, in view of the stress such a wait would cause to a girl so young. [26725/14]
440. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with regard to the proposed GLAS scheme his views on the process of getting agreement of 50% or 80% of active commonage shareholders in the preparation of a GLAS plan; the way a planner would be selected in view of the fact that many individual farmers have used different planners over the years. [27221/14]
439. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with regard to the proposed GLAS scheme, the reason the RDP leaves the issue of funding the costs of preparing GLAS plans to be borne by farmers alone when it could be funded/part funded directly by his Department under the knowledge transfer or collaborative support measures. [27219/14]
438. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with regard to the proposed GLAS scheme, the structures that will be put in place to ensure that sustainable commonage management plans reach a common standard across the country. [27218/14]
437. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with regard to the proposed GLAS scheme, the level of training and support that will be provided to the process by the National Parks and Wildlife Services and his Department; and when ecologists and agriculturalists will be selected and trained to do this work. [27217/14]
436. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with regard to the proposed GLAS scheme, the status of the maximum minimum commonage figures published in 2012 by the National Parks and Wildlife Service; and if these will be used in the preparation of rural environment protection scheme plans. [27215/14]
435. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with regard to the proposed GLAS scheme, if his Department will provide farmers and/or planners with lists of farmers who have declared shares on any given commonage to make it possible to prepare plans. [27209/14]
433. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration will be given to farmers who volunteer lands to county councils for greenways, in terms of retaining the use of this land in calculating areas for entitlements and disadvantaged area payments as there are at present no compensatory payments being made to the farmers for this public good; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27200/14]
411. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans, under additional funding for islands, to help farmers with privately owned Islands with the cost of transporting stock and equipment from the mainland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26724/14]
341. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the numbers and locations of post offices that closed in each of the years between 2005 and 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27330/14]
330. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if a decision has been made on an appeal against the boundaries of a special protection area in Inishbofin Island, County Galway; if so, the results of the appeal; and if not, when a decision is expected. [27324/14]
315. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Social Protection the ways in which a person with a jobseeker's claim can contact her Department if that person has secured very temporary employment; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that persons who secure temporary employment are experiencing difficulties in informing her Department in order that the jobseeker's claim may be suspended; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27342/14]
314. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Social Protection when the contract for provision of social welfare payments was awarded to An Post; the duration of this contract; if there is an option to renew; if there is any legislation before the Houses of the Oireachtas that would alter this contract in any way; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27341/14]
255. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on the possibility of opening outreach or sub-offices of the local enterprise offices particularly in larger counties, including in Clifden in County Galway; if there is scope to involve the local development companies in such a policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27346/14]
254. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on the creation of local enterprise strategies by each of the local enterprise offices for its corresponding areas; if there are specific timeframes in which strategies must be prepared; if such strategies will include public consultation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27344/14]
253. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if his attention has been drawn to the UK's patent box incentive which encourages and facilitates companies to register patents in the UK and simplify taxation obligations which in turn increases the attractiveness of that location for foreign direct investment; his views on the way Ireland can combat such an initiative particularly if the local division of the new Unified Patent Court is located in London; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27331/14]
228. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if, due to Circular 22/2012, there is an obligation on special needs assistants to take a career break if undertaking a distance or online course in education or other subject areas, including a postgraduate diploma in education, formerly the HDip; and if so, the reasons for same stipulation in view of the hardship that it places on SNAs attempting to upskill. [27335/14]
227. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary schools that have closed in each of the years 2011, 2012 and 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27333/14]
173. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Finance in recognition of the increase in budget 2012 in the threshold at which the universal social charge, USC, applies which removed over 330,000 persons from this charge, if consideration will be given to reducing the overall rate of USC in view of the fact that the charge was initially introduced as an emergency taxation measure at a time of severe economic and financial turmoil for the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27334/14]
172. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the UK's patent box incentive which encourages and facilitates companies in reducing taxation obligations on the condition of registering patents in that jurisdiction; and his views on the way Ireland can compete with such an initiative in continuing to attract foreign direct investment. [27332/14]
99. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons availing of the direct provision facilities; the numbers who have entered the system in each of the past eight years; the numbers and locations of the centres; if records are kept of the number of persons originally in the direct provision system who have attained citizenship; her plans for the direct provision system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26685/14]
85. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress of the Children and Family Relationships Bill; if the Bill is likely to be introduced on Second Stage before the summer recess; and if it is envisaged that the Bill will be enacted, including any ministerial orders or regulations, before the end of the year. [26684/14]
33. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the consultation and discussion with farming groups regarding GLAS, especially regarding 50% and 80% for the tiered participation of commonage shareholders in the scheme. [26132/14]
24. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when it is envisaged that a final decision on the future of the sheep grasslands scheme will be made; if it will be retained as a separate payment or if it will be integrated with single payment entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26136/14]
21. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Defence if a right of way access to a beach in Galway city by Renmore Barracks has been extinguished; the reason for same; if such reasons included those of privacy or security; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25785/14]
6. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Defence in recognition of the substantial number of Irish men and women who participated in the Great War, if the current Irish Defence Forces will be participating in commemorative events; if so, if he will outline such events particularly in the context of the forthcoming centenary of the war; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25786/14]
744. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to including the medication, fampyra, for multiple sclerosis on the long-term illness scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26118/14]
481. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the implementation of the proposed housing assistance payment can be fast-tracked to assist in alleviating the problem of housing which is particularly prominent in urban areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26085/14]
386. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department's representatives, formerly community welfare officers, have access to information such as bank statements and other documentation supplied by customers to her Department's local offices; and, if not, if consideration will be given to introducing a system onto which documents could be uploaded giving DSP representatives immediate access and facilitating faster decision making regarding temporary social welfare supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26122/14]