88 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has issued a directive to the National Council for Special Education to pause the processing of applications for resource hours in primary schools until June 2012; the reasons underpinning this decision; if his attention has been drawn to the hardship that such an instruction will cause students and families; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[13428/12]
87 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a national school pupil (details supplied) suffering from dsypraxia has been told by his Department that his-her application for resource hours will not be assessed until June 2012; if his attention has been drawn to the damaging effect that this delay will have on the pupil; the rationale for the delay and the steps he will take to rectify the problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[13427/12]
572 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health if he will discuss with his counterparts in Australia, New Zealand and the state of California ways of putting governance structures in place to ensure the retention of existing Guthrie cards which contain important genetic and medical data for many families; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12674/12]
571 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health if he will explore ways of overcoming any data protection issues in relation to existing Guthrie cards in order that the valuable medical and genetic data on these cards can be retained with the consent of the appropriate persons; if he will consider examining governance structure which could be put in place to make this possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12673/12]
570 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health the contact his office has had with the Health Service Executive and the Data Protection Commissioner regarding the retention and storage of Guthrie cards; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12672/12]
524 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the restrictions and guidelines that he operates regarding the provision of homoeopathy services and practitioners’ rights to make claims about the medical efficacy of their services; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12274/12]
384 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to establish an independent inquiry to ascertain the cause of the Stardust fire, Dublin, which took place on 14 February 1981 and which claimed the lives of 48 people; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12293/12]
323 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will outline the difference between the licence (details supplied) granted by him in respect of exploring oil and gas deposits off the eastern coast and the licence that would be required from him to extract any deposits found; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12297/12]
322 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will outline details, conditions and terms of a licence granted by him (details supplied) to explore for oil and gas deposits off the eastern coast; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12296/12]
257 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow has been told by FÁS that they cannot partake in a FÁS course on account of funding constraints; her views on whether this position is acceptable; the steps she will take to rectify this problem; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[12368/12]
245 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that FÁS has advertised a job (details supplied) which requires applicants to be in possession of a certain qualification which is not taught or professionally supplied through any institution here; her views on the difficulties this imposes on applicants; her views that this is acceptable; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[12289/12]
232 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a detailed breakdown of the current rent allowance limits in Bray, County Wicklow, which were revised following a meeting between the Health Service Executive and her officials following the nationwide review of rent allowance limits; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[12136/12]
165 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills the total number of redundancy applications in respect of special needs assistants he has received over the past 12 months; the number of applicants who have received their payments; the number outstanding; the average time applicants must wait to receive their payment; if he is satisfied with this waiting time; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12304/12]
164 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills, further to Parliamentary Question No. 65 of 28 September 2011, the number of additional staff who have been transferred within his Department’s payroll division to expedite the payment of redundancy money to former special needs assistants; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12303/12]
163 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will expedite the redundancy payments owed to a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow who used to be employed as a special needs assistant and will not receive any redundancy pay until April 2012 at the earliest despite applying for payment in September 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12302/12]
162 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the delay being experienced by former special needs assistants for their redundancy payments, some of whom will have to wait in excess of six months before receiving their payments; his views on whether this is an acceptable situation; the steps he will take to rectify the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12301/12]
124 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Finance if the Revenue Commissioners have completed the recommended in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of available deterrents, prosecutions and sanctions regarding illegal tobacco production; if he will direct the Revenue Commissioners to release the results of their analysis; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12292/12]
123 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Finance if the study on comparing the detection rate of X-ray scanners with other countries as outlined in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s 2009 report to improve the detection of illegal tobacco here has been completed; if he will make public the results of this study; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12291/12]
117 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person can be in receipt of both the over 80s allowance, €10.00 weekly, and the living alone allowance, €7.70 weekly, in addition to their State pensions with a total weekly increase of €17.70 or if the payments are mutually exclusive; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[11919/12]
106 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he intends to amend legislation to ensure the National Asset Management Agency is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act; if so, when he intends to ensure that this happens; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12074/12]
72 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Finance if it is still his view that the National Asset Management Agency will make a profit for the Irish Exchequer as per the view espoused by his predecessor upon the establishment of the agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12073/12]
42 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider extending the partial capacity benefit to those in receipt of disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[11700/12]
31 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons working in the Bray social welfare office, County Wicklow; the way this compares to the staffing levels for the years 2007 to 2011; her plans to redeploy additional staff to assist in dealing with the increased workload; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[11699/12]
39 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if his attention has been drawn to the pressing need for a jobs strategy for Bray, County Wicklow; if he is taking steps to ensure that this need is addressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11402/12]
794 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if it is his intention to tackle the practice of drivers using their fog-lights when not warranted by the weather conditions as part of his efforts to increase road safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11485/12]
656 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health the reason the Oireachtas primary care reimbursement service has stopped responding to inquiries and representations from TDs via the dedicated email system; the reason the phone number provided to Members is no longer answered by any member of Health Service Executive staff; his views that this situation is acceptable; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10686/12]
277 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason a person (details supplied) had their employment terminated by the Office of Public Works when other individuals at the same grade with the same length of experience were retained; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10847/12]
265 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to a situation at a post-primary school (details supplied) in which two assistant principals have been appointed but cannot take up their positions as a result of his Department’s decision to freeze payment allowances pending a review of all new appointments to this grade; the advice he will offer to the school in this instance; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11484/12]
264 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the hardships being caused to post-primary schools as a result of the decision to review the appointment of assistant principals and freeze all payments for allowances for newly appointed individuals until this review is completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[11483/12]
193 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline the catchment areas for certain schools in a geographic area (details supplied); the extent to which these schools can derogate from these boundaries; if he can direct schools to alter their catchment boundaries and allocation policies in view of changing demographics; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10843/12]
60 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total funding granted to the Irish embassy in Malawi for 2008 to 2012, inclusive; the total staff complement in the embassy; if he will further give an itemised list of the number and nature of consular assistance incidents by embassy staff for these years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10139/12]
654 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a decision by the Health Service Executive to refuse a medical card to a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9641/12]
653 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an application to join the nursing homes support scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9640/12]
622 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health the rationale behind the closure of a service (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9310/12]
621 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health the cost of the needle exchange programme in an area (details supplied) for each of the years 2008 to 2012; the person who was financially responsible for this programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9309/12]
620 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health the cost of the methadone programme in an area (details supplied) for each of the years 2008 to 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9308/12]
618 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health his plans to introduce measures to ensure adequate services continue to be provided for young school-leavers with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9302/12]
596 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health the name and role of each member of the steering group for the Review of Efficiency and Effectiveness of Disability Services in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9305/12]
514 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the current legislation governing cash for gold shops; if he deems the current legislation sufficient to safeguard local communities; his plans to reform this area of law during his tenure; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9513/12]
371 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an appeal against a refusal to grant domiciliary care allowance payments in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow; if the appeal will be processed by the social welfare appeals office; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[9688/12]
343 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an appeal against the refusal to grant carer’s allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow; if she will provide a time frame for when this appeal will be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[9341/12]
342 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an appeal against a refusal to grant domiciliary care allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow; if she will provide a time frame for when this appeal will be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[9340/12]
295 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will outline the range of business start-up grants offered by him for those persons seeking support who have not been claiming jobseeker’s allowance or benefit payments; the way a person may apply for these schemes; the average time it takes to process new applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9245/12]
270 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his attention has been drawn to the situation facing some former university lecturers who retired far in advance of 2010 who have had their pension payments cut as against the guarantee issued by him in budget 2010 to public servants that any person taking retirement would have their pension and lump sum entitlements based on their pre-pay cut salary, his views on this dichotomous situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9495/12]
249 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will clarify specifically if he is empowered to order primary schools to review their catchment areas and policies; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9676/12]
158 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Finance the number of public sector workers currently required to make payments under both the pension related deduction for their public pensions and the pension fund levy in respect of any interest they may have in a funded pension scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9316/12]
242 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health if the same criteria are applied in drawing up the Health Service Executive independent assessment of needs plan for children with autism regardless of the part of the country in which the child resides; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9011/12]
241 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health the community support services available to children with autism being educated in a mainstream setting and living in an area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9010/12]
240 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health if he will ask the Health Service Executive to address the undue delays that children with cerebral palsy and similar conditions are facing in accessing vital medical equipment, such as walkers; if the HSE will consider making second-hand equipment available to families to help alleviate this delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9009/12]
239 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health his plans to examine the way in which ongoing travel expenses are reimbursed by the Health Service Executive, HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9007/12]