Parliamentary questions

Ministerial Appointments

Noel Grealish

211. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Justice if appointments to the policing and community safety authority will be made by the end of June 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22179/24]

Appointments to State Boards

Noel Grealish

223. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Justice if appointments of lay members to the Judicial Appointments Commission will be made by the end of June 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22353/24]

Immigration Policy

Noel Grealish

75. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Justice the number of overseas students on a stamp 2 visa currently in Ireland; if she has considered making these visas more flexible to enable them to work more than 20 hours per week outside the Christmas and June to September periods as many of these people are struggling to pay rent and many of their employers are struggling to secure sufficient staff; if employers, who have no official way of knowing if stamp 2 students have already worked 20 hours in any week, could be held liable for a breach of visa rules; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21982/24]

Gender Recognition

Noel Grealish

298. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Health if, in relation to his recent statement (details supplied) that a consultant psychiatrist had been recruited by the HSE for children's gender healthcare and that a new team is being built up by the HSE, he will identify the post that has been filled; the person selected to fill the post; where the consultant and the new team will be based; when the HSE appointment and the new team will commence services; to provide details of the membership of the new team to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21030/24]

Bus Services

Noel Grealish

129. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider introducing a dedicated funding scheme aimed at incentivising commercial bus operators to purchase alternatively fuelled vehicles; or alternatively, if he will enhance the funding under the alternatively fuelled heavy duty vehicles grant purchase scheme to support commercial bus operators to make the transition to EVs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20616/24]

Bus Services

Noel Grealish

130. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Transport if he will outline how much funding was made available for buses under the alternatively fuelled heavy duty vehicles grant purchase scheme in 2021, 2022 and 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20619/24]

Transport Policy

Noel Grealish

140. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider eliminating the cost of toll-charging during off-peak periods for shared mobility vehicles, for example, taxis or car rental; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20874/24]

Tax Code

Noel Grealish

159. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Finance if he will help Ireland reduce carbon emissions and encourage a modal shift by reducing the tax applicable to e-bikes and other relevant modes of transport that decarbonise the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20875/24]

Nursing Homes

Noel Grealish

566. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Health if a person's personal financial contribution under the fair deal scheme includes a contribution based on assets, when the person is not the legal owner of the property, but would have succession rights while still alive, but if the applicant passes away before his remaining siblings he will not have any entitlement to a share of the property (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20466/24]

Tax Rebates

Noel Grealish

246. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Finance if he will further amend the statutory instrument which sets out the qualifying parameters for the VAT 71 refund scheme to extend qualification to low-floor EV buses, to support the objectives of accessibility and decarbonisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19382/24]

Housing Schemes

Noel Grealish

424. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider allowing local authority houses acquired under the Part V planning process to be sold to tenants under the tenant incremental purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19439/24]

Widow's Pension

Noel Grealish

473. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Social Protection when people who have lived with long-term partners that have passed away will be entitled to apply for widow’s pension benefits (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19440/24]

School Funding

Noel Grealish

178. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No. 289 of 16 April 2024, when the digital ICT grant for 2023 and 2024 will be paid to schools; the timeframe for this payment to issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18505/24]

Hospital Facilities

Noel Grealish

303. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Health if he will consider providing a minor injuries unit in Galway on the grounds of Merlin Park Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18515/24]

Special Areas of Conservation

Noel Grealish

126. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when the inland fisheries division within the Minister’s Department is introducing new secondary legislation such as by-laws, ministerial orders, regulations, etc., that affect special areas of conservation; to clarify if responsibility for implementing the appropriate assessment process under the EU Habitats Directive lies with the inland fisheries division or Inland Fisheries Ireland, which is the statutory body; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17583/24]

Driver Test

Noel Grealish

157. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Transport the current waiting times for a driving test in Clifden, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17428/24]

Tax Exemptions

Noel Grealish

163. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Transport if he will allow for a VAT exemption on the purchase of new buses for deployment in passenger transport given the overarching benefits to decarbonising the national fleet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17510/24]

Tax Exemptions

Noel Grealish

164. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of a shortage of the availability of buses in Ireland; if he will introduce a scheme where vehicles can be imported from the UK for a defined period, with no duty applying to the imports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17511/24]

Tax Code

Noel Grealish

197. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Finance if he plans to reform the current taxation amounts applying to the deployment of HVO and biofuel for HGVs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17512/24]

Health Strategies

Noel Grealish

601. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Health when he will set up a Diabetes Taskforce of relevant stakeholders to develop a National Diabetes Strategy that will ensure the provision of optimum care to every person with diabetes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17483/24]