Parliamentary questions

National Oversight and Audit Commission

Eamon Ryan

165. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he is satisfied that the performance indicators in local authorities, as compiled by the National Oversight and Audit Commission in regard to the measure concerning transport, only measures the quality of road surface and amount of road grants and does not measure any metric relating to sustainable transport and travel, such as funding or mode share for walking, cycling or public transport; and if he plans to make any changes to the indicators measured. [6252/17]

National Oversight and Audit Commission

Eamon Ryan

166. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he is satisfied that the performance indicators in local authorities, as compiled by the National Oversight and Audit Commission concerning the related measure, do not examine the issue of carbon emissions; and if he plans to make any changes to the indicators measured. [6253/17]

Planning Issues

Eamon Ryan

167. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if consideration will be given to allowing members of the public to make observations on subsequent planning applications on the same site in a five-year period without paying the €20 fee, where the member of the public has previously made an observation, given that the cost of commenting on repeat applications can be significant to the public. [6255/17]

Office of Public Works Properties

Eamon Ryan

187. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of car parking spaces that are controlled by the Office of Public Works in Dublin's inner city; the Department or other body which leases them; the number of spaces available for free use; the locations of same; and the number rented and the price paid to the State for same. [6249/17]

Referendum Data

Eamon Ryan

188. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the full cost to the State of holding the referenda on the 34th and 35th amendments to the Constitution in 2015. [6254/17]

Renewable Energy Incentives

Eamon Ryan

254. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if, in addition to advertising scholarships for students undertaking taught MSc degrees commencing in the academic year 2017-2018 on topics of direct relevance to the development of Ireland’s petroleum resources, he will consider offering similar scholarships in the field of renewable energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6247/17]

Road Safety Strategy

Eamon Ryan

263. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if consideration will be given to altering the rules of the road to reflect the advice (details supplied) provided to drivers in the Netherlands. [6248/17]

Wildlife Protection

Eamon Ryan

46. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the reason for awarding the ObSERVE programme; the way in which its aim of surveying cetaceans such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises and sea birds offshore aligns with the programme's aim of supporting the sustainable development of the oil and gas industry; and the basis on which this programme was awarded a nomination for the Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Awards 2016. [5791/17]

Energy Policy

Eamon Ryan

80. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the reason his Department is offering MSc scholarship opportunities in petroleum-related courses in view of the fact his Department's statement of strategy declares one of its objectives is to pursue and achieve transition to a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy, underpinned by a secure and competitive energy supply, in the period to 2050 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5792/17]

Refugee Resettlement Programme

Eamon Ryan

100. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she is still planning to reach the target of 4,000 refugees taken under the Irish refugee protection programme by September 2017. [5490/17]

Refugee Resettlement Programme

Eamon Ryan

101. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if adequate temporary accommodation has been sourced to facilitate the remainder of the 4,000 refugee target before September 2017. [5491/17]

Refugee Resettlement Programme

Eamon Ryan

103. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when and the way in which post-September 2017 targets will be set at an Irish level and at the European level with regard to the refugee protection programme. [5527/17]

Local Elections

Eamon Ryan

283. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to initiate a new boundary commission for local election wards; the proposed terms of reference; if it will consider increasing or decreasing the total number of seats in each local authority; if it will consider reducing the geographic size of wards; if it will consider reducing the number of seats per ward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5961/17]

Banking Sector

Eamon Ryan

365. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if she has received a submission from an organisation (details supplied) requesting that her Department establish a working group to investigate the establishment of a local public banking network here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5489/17]

HIV-AIDS Programmes

Eamon Ryan

390. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Health further to the Topical Issue debate of 7 December 2016, if he will provide the timeline mentioned in the debate. [5526/17]

Bioenergy Strategy

Eamon Ryan

562. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when the draft bioenergy plan and the strategic environmental assessment of the plan will be put to public consultation; and the reason for the delay in this process. [5464/17]

Communications Market Regulation

Eamon Ryan

563. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on whether, in view of the volume of complaints to ComReg regarding the activities of PRS providers, the regulatory framework governing telephone companies debiting the accounts of consumers for services of such third-party PRS providers is adequate; his further views on whether there should not be an opt-out provision for consumers from such premium rate services in the regulatory framework; and his views on whether in the regulatory framework, there ought not to be an obligation on telephone companies similar to credit card companies for the improper debiting of customer accounts on behalf of PRS providers. [5465/17]

Aquaculture Licence Applications

Eamon Ryan

5. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the planned increase in size and number of oyster farms in County Donegal; if an environmental impact assessment has been carried out; the local consultation that has been undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5066/17]

Fisheries Protection

Eamon Ryan

275. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline the action he will take to mitigate harm caused by supertrawlers on fishing communities in view of a recent documentary (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5067/17]

Public Procurement Contracts

Eamon Ryan

4. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to implement sustainability clauses within the public procurement process in order to incentivise companies engaged in public contracts to act in as sustainable and environmentally friendly manner as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3625/17]

UN Conferences

Eamon Ryan

88. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he or his Department attended or were represented at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development commonly referred to as Habitat III that took place in Quito, Ecuador from 17 to 21 October 2016 (details supplied). [3540/17]

Planning Issues

Eamon Ryan

89. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the terms of reference of the committee appointed to carry out the root and branch review of the planning system proposed in the programme for Government; the details of the membership of the committee and their qualifications to carry out this task; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3541/17]

Election Monitoring Missions

Eamon Ryan

112. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the election observation roster; if he plans to open it up for a public call for applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3542/17]

Public Procurement Contracts Social Clauses

Eamon Ryan

114. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress his Department has made on social benefit clauses; and the timeframe for inclusion into the public tendering process. [3626/17]

Military Aircraft Landings

Eamon Ryan

202. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason an aircraft (details supplied) operating on behalf of the US military was permitted to fly from Shannon Airport to Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey and then back on 30 December 2016; if he will confirm that the plane cargo carried no weapons or munitions related to drone strikes or nuclear weapons; the steps that were taken to confirm if it did or did not carry such cargo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3539/17]

Human Rights

Eamon Ryan

65. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the contact he has had with Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of Egypt, and the Egyptian government in regard to a person (details supplied). [38633/16]

State Aid Investigations

Eamon Ryan

70. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide an update on a tax case (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1722/17]

Tax Code

Eamon Ryan

72. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to a recent documentary on vulture funds (details supplied); and his plans to address the issues raised. [1721/17]

Planning Issues

Eamon Ryan

214. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if the powers vested in him pursuant under section 9(7)(a) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 have ever been exercised by him or his predecessors; and if so, the details of its usage. [40941/16]

Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements

Eamon Ryan

13. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the outcomes of his recent visit to Silicon Valley and meeting with a person (details supplied). [39828/16]

Education and Training Boards Data

Eamon Ryan

99. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons that participated in english for speakers of other languages classes in each of the 16 education and training boards, ETBs, nationally, for each of the years, 2014 and 2015; and if the number of EU and non-EU citizens that participated in each ETB area for each year will be outlined. [40337/16]

European Defence Action Plan

Eamon Ryan

32. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the implications for Irish defence policy of the recent announcement of a European defence action plan. [40172/16]

Charitable and Voluntary Organisations

Eamon Ryan

596. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the requirement which his Department is placing on environmental organisations to register as charities will not in any way restrict their abilities to advocate for the policy changes needed to end biodiversity loss, stop climate change and protect human health and the environment. [40183/16]

Naval Service Vessels

Eamon Ryan

672. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the proposed programme for the purchase of new naval vessels; and the role it is expected that they will undertake. [40173/16]

Tax Code

Eamon Ryan

75. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Finance the reason cohabiting partners cannot be jointly assessed as cohabitants for tax purposes in the same way a married couple would be in view of the fact that they are assessed jointly for social protection entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39306/16]

Consumer Protection

Eamon Ryan

238. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he is satisfied that the regulatory framework that ComReg oversees is adequate to protect the consumer. [39307/16]

Commission for Communications Regulation Remit

Eamon Ryan

239. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will provide further powers to ComReg to allow the regulator to bring civil as well as criminal cases where necessary. [39309/16]

Transport Policy

Eamon Ryan

58. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps he will take to reduce emissions from the transport sector and to meet the official Government targets for 2020 set out in Smarter Travel in view of the EPA's projection that transport emissions will increase by 16% by 2020 to a share of 29% of total emissions and the fact that none of the targets set for 2020 by the Government's Smarter Travel - A Sustainable Transport Future Transport Policy for Ireland 2009-2020 are going to be met. [38832/16]

Transport Policy

Eamon Ryan

71. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will revise the greater Dublin area transport strategy adopted by his predecessor which plans for an increase in emissions in the greater Dublin area up to 2035 and the transport elements of the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme 2016-2021 adopted by the last Government, which apportions nearly 60% of transport spending to the road network with barely 1% for active travel modes, to bring them into compliance with the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act (details supplied). [38833/16]

Rail Network

Eamon Ryan

270. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the percentages of DART services that have run on time in the last quarter; if the trend is towards increasing or decreasing punctuality over the past year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39100/16]

Cabinet Committee Meetings

Eamon Ryan

4. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Taoiseach when the next meeting of the Cabinet committee on infrastructure, environment and climate action will take place. [38634/16]

Sustainable Development Strategy

Eamon Ryan

48. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there were upwards of 400 persons at the sustainability gathering in Dublin Castle recently, all demanding government action on policy for sustainability; and his plans to fast-track policy to support clean energy and sustainable business. [37399/16]

Electric Vehicles

Eamon Ryan

53. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to encourage the development of the electric vehicle fleet and electric vehicle charge points here. [38630/16]

Environmental Policy

Eamon Ryan

212. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he has written to the European Commission to notify it that the Government plans to introduce legislation to ban microbeads; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38865/16]

Food Wise 2025 Strategy

Eamon Ryan

19. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way the Food Wise 2025 strategy addresses climate change and sustainability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37724/16]

Organic Farming Scheme Eligibility

Eamon Ryan

23. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason his Department has made the decision since 2015 not to fund new entrants into the organic farming scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37723/16]

Social Enterprise Sector

Eamon Ryan

40. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the reason that in a recent report (details supplied) on countries with the best conditions for social enterprise Ireland ranks 43rd out of the 44 countries surveyed; and the initiatives she plans to implement to improve these conditions. [33012/16]

NAMA Assets Sale

Eamon Ryan

60. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the progress that has been made in regard to the purchase of 5,000 acres from NAMA in the Glenasmole valley; if an agreement has been reached; and the terms of the purchase. [37398/16]

Heritage Sites

Eamon Ryan

476. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the measures she will take to ensure that Westport House and its contents remain open to the public; the discussions that have taken place with the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to consider acquiring the estate and its contents for the benefit of the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37477/16]

National Drugs Strategy

Eamon Ryan

632. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Health the measures that apply to specifically address the issue of recreational drug users; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37749/16]