Parliamentary questions

Passport Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

67. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if a child's first-time passport (details supplied) will be processed in time for travel on 5 May 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20270/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

210. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has confidence in the fisheries sales notes system to deliver robust and accurate fisheries data in order that Ireland can comply with its obligations under the Common Fisheries Policy and other EU regulations. [19689/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

211. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what supports he intends to introduce to support fishermen affected by the restrictions on directed fishing for pollack as is the case in the UK under its fisheries and seafood scheme. [19690/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

212. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a social impact analysis has been carried out, prior to the closure of the targeted pollack fisheries in ICES areas 6 and 7. [19691/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

213. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is aware that the pollack ICES benchmark report listed a significant number of issues with the data used to base the closure decision; and the steps being taken to address these shortcomings at a national level. [19692/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

214. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is aware that there is a risk that a future ICES pollack benchmark without appropriate representative inshore survey data being collected will result in prolonged closures with significant social impacts; and the steps being taken to address this. [19693/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

215. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures being introduced to incorporate fishermen's traditional knowledge into fisheries co-management, in order to improve knowledge and outcomes. [19694/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

216. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has a plan to prioritise selective low-impact fishing practices such as line caught fishing during future fishery negotiations. [19695/24]

Passport Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

153. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will ensure that two child passports will be processed on-time for two siblings (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19288/24]

School Funding

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

363. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education if she will review the decision not to grant a school (details supplied) funding under the emergency works scheme. [19462/24]

Schools Building Projects

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

364. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education if she will meet with the board of management of a school (details supplied) to discuss their serious concerns at the failure of her Department to consider inclusion of the school in the forthcoming school capital building programme. [19463/24]

Hospital Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

737. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if he will support and implement the call from a group (details supplied) for a consultant neurology service to be based in Letterkenny University Hospital.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19466/24]

Health Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

738. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the reason memory assessment support services for persons with dementia and their families has not been rolled out in County Donegal. [19467/24]

Hospital Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

739. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health when the Saolta University Healthcare Group will meet with TDs, Senators and HSE forum county councillors in County Donegal to update them on the progress made in addressing the grave concerns of over 100 GPs and hospital consultants in the county about the level of health services being provided at Letterkenny University Hospital and the solutions that they had put forward late last year; and if the Saolta University Healthcare Group will commit to a dedicated meeting with those County Donegal public representatives every three months to update them further on the progress made, as previously committed to. [19468/24]

Passport Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

110. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if there are plans to establish a designated telephone helpline or allow access to the Oireachtas passport query service for members of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland, since it is restored and functioning, allowing members of parliament to query passport applications on behalf of Irish citizens in the North of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18519/24]

Passport Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

111. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if any briefings with members of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland, members of parliament and their staff will be provided ahead of the summer months to assist constituency offices in the North of Ireland to provide up-to-date information on the passport process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18520/24]

Passport Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

112. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of passport applications queried through the members of the Legislative Assembly passport online portal since it was launched in April 2023, by month, in tabular form; the current waiting time for a query response; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18521/24]

Passport Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

113. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if his Department will open a passport office in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18522/24]

Passport Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

114. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is satisfied that the current online passport application system processes queries on paperwork or requests for additional documentation as quickly as possible; his views on whether queries should be put back for significant time periods when queries arise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18523/24]

Inland Fisheries

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

112. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to outline what role Inland Fisheries Ireland plays regarding the by-catch in relation to bass, sea trout, salmon, kelts and salmon smolts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18012/24]

Health and Safety

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

286. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education if her Department will assist the board of management of a school (details supplied) to ensure that the entire site at the school is surveyed and cleared of any potentially explosive devices following the discovery of same on the site last November. [17494/24]

Fisheries Protection

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

498. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what research has been carried out on the link between the decline in the sea trout population and sprat fishing in south Kerry; what the allowable by-catch is as a percentage of the total sprat catch in south Kerry; the volume of the total sprat for each of the years since 2007 in south Kerry, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18010/24]

Fisheries Protection

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

499. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline the current law regarding mesh size in the brailers for use in the south Kerry region; if the Sea Fisheries Protection Agency monitor the use of brailers to ensure mesh size requirements are being adhered to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18011/24]

Equality Issues

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

551. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has finalised his policy and legislative proposals for a tenth equality ground of socioeconomic status; when he will make public these proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17743/24]

Hospital Appointments Status

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

634. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive an appointment for vestibular physiotherapy at Tallaght University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17741/24]

Health Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

635. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the process for a disabled person to apply for a personal assistant through the HSE; if it is the same process in all CHO areas; what is the process for allocating hours to a person once a decision is made that a person qualifies for a personal assistant; if he will provide, in tabular form, a guide to the number of hours that can be allocated to a person based on their needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17742/24]

Hospital Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

672. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the number of persons with type 1 diabetes attending the adult diabetes service in Letterkenny University Hospital; the number waiting fewer than 12, between 12 and 24 and waiting more than 24 months for an endocrinology appointment; and the longest waiting time for an appointment. [17970/24]

Schools Building Projects

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

60. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education for an update on when construction will commence on new school buildings (details supplied). [16349/24]

Schools Building Projects

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

70. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education when she will meet the board of management of a school (details supplied) and urgently review the decision by her Department not to include the school in the school capital buildings programme; and if she has received correspondence from the board of management of the school, confirming that it can provide an alternative and appropriate site for a new school at no cost to the State. [16350/24]

Departmental Funding

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

142. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Government will commit to contributing to the UN pooled fund that will support local and international organisations, such as an organisation (details supplied) that is working in Haiti. [16417/24]

Defective Building Materials

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

19. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will amend the enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme to ensure that it provides the same 100% redress that was made available to the 3,000 families who have had their homes remediated under the pyrite remediation scheme, in view of the attendance of over 1,000 homeowners at a public meeting in Buncrana, County Donegal on 26 March 2024, in support of genuine 100% redress for the victims of the defective concrete block scandal. [15023/24]

Hospital Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

255. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health how many adults with type 1 diabetes attending Letterkenny University Hospital use CGM technology and how many use insulin pump therapy. [15901/24]

Hospital Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

256. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health how many patients attending the adult diabetes service in Letterkenny University Hospital declared their interest in commencing insulin pump therapy in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024; how many of those commenced insulin pump therapy in each of those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15902/24]

Teaching Council of Ireland

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

418. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education when the CAR system which allows a person to do their teacher induction here will re-open; and if not, if the closing date will be extended; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13890/24]

School Transport

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

533. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education when the review of the school transport scheme will be brought to cabinet and published; and if this will include a resolution to the unfair pay, terms and conditions endured by school transport escorts. [15024/24]

Defective Building Materials

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

652. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason an applicant under the enhanced defective concrete blocks grant scheme cannot be paid a stage payment and rental support payment at the same time under the scheme; and if he is aware that this causes real distress to families as this will delay the remediation works if building contractors are delayed their stage payments. [14530/24]

Social Welfare Code

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

777. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection how a person who is expected to receive financial compensation due to having two faulty hip replacements implanted will be treated for their current social protection benefits mindful of the current means test for persons in receipt of disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14547/24]

Fisheries Protection

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

983. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider carrying out a scientific survey involving Irish inshore fishermen on pollack numbers in Irish inshore waters to give an alternative view to the stock assessment benchmark study by ICES; if he has given any consideration to re-examining the data used in the study that has led to the closure of the pollack fishery in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14535/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

984. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what actions he and his Department have and will take to support wild shellfish fishermen in loughs around Ireland to continue fishing given that new Brexit related regulations now have them in legal limbo due to having no physical site/processing facility for veterinarians to visit and issue health certificates for molluscs transiting the British Landbridge; what engagements he has had with other Irish seafood agencies to address this loophole; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14536/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

985. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on the latest work of the Brown Crab Working Group that he established in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14537/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

986. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide the latest update on the total amount of monies drawn down and spent in the Irish fishing industry from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund; to advise how much money he expects to return to the EU unspent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14538/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

987. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to advise how much of the 1,874 tonne quota of spurdog that he announced in December 2022 was caught, landed and processed; to confirm what markets were identified for selling this species into; to confirm what processing facilities are available for spurdog landings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14539/24]

Fishing Industry

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

1043. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will distribute the additional mackerel quota negotiated at the December Fisheries Council as a matter of urgency. [15329/24]

Disability Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

1127. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his attention has been drawn to the situation faced by the family of a child (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14500/24]

Disability Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

1179. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when a child in County Donegal (details supplied) will receive services from CDNT; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15367/24]

Medical Aids and Appliances

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

1201. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health when a child in County Donegal (details supplied) will receive a date to have an insulin pump fitted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13574/24]

Medical Aids and Appliances

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

1202. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if a child in County Donegal (details supplied) can get an insulin pump fitted in Letterkenny University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13575/24]

Hospital Appointments Status

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

1203. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if a child in County Donegal (details supplied) can get an appointment in Letterkenny University Hospital to attend the diabetes team for a consultation with the dietician. [13576/24]

Hospital Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

1204. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health what services is currently available in Letterkenny University Hospital for adults and children that have diabetes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13577/24]

Health Services

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

1314. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health what short-term and long-term plans are in place to care for those awaiting eye surgery at Letterkenny University Hospital. [14058/24]