QUESTION NO: 463
DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Health (Simon Harris T.D.) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN ANSWER on 11/10/2016 * To ask the Minister for Health when the gratuity payment due to certain home help workers will be made in lieu of pension payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. Darragh O'Brien T.D. REPLY. The Deputy is referring to Home Help workers who are employed by voluntary providers of home help services which are funded under section 39 of the Health Act 2004. I advised the Deputy previously that as these home help workers are not employed by the HSE, the HSE and the Department have no role in determining the salaries or other terms and conditions applying to these staff including any pension arrangements. As the Deputy is aware a joint working group has been established, as agreed as part of the Lansdowne Road talks, to consider a number of issues in relation to section 39 organisations. The work of this group is still ongoing and is expected to conclude in the coming weeks. QUESTION NO: 221
DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN ANSWER on 18/10/2016 To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new site for a school (details supplied) as announced in November 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. (Details Supplied) Gaeilscoil Ros Eo, Rush, Co Dublin. REPLY. As the Deputy is aware, the project to which he refers was announced as part of the Six Year Capital Programme last year. The project is listed to proceed to tender and construction in 2017. Officials in my Department are working closely with officials from Fingal County Council under the memorandum of understanding in relation to the identification and acquisition of a suitable permanent location for the Gaelscoil. A suitable site has been identified and discussions are ongoing with the Council in relation to the provision of access and services. Due to commercial sensitivities relating to site acquisitions generally I am not in a position to provide further details at this time. Once a suitable site has been acquired my Department will be in a position to progress the project concerned into the architectural planning process QUESTION NOS: 153 & 154
DÁIL QUESTIONS addressed to the Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Frances Fitzgerald) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN on Tuesday, 18th October, 2016. * 153. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if funding is available for community CCTV; the way a community group can apply for funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. - Darragh O'Brien * 154. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the date of completion for the review instigated by her, in conjunction with the Garda authorities, on the effectiveness of the community CCTV scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. - Darragh O'Brien REPLY. I am very conscious of the value that communities, especially rural communities, place on CCTV as a means of deterring crime and assisting in the detection of offenders. With this in mind, I instigated a review last year of the effectiveness of the Community CCTV Scheme in conjunction with the Garda authorities. The Garda evaluation of community CCTV systems highlights the fact that CCTV is an effective deterrent to the commission of crime and that the presence of CCTV cameras helps to reduce fear among members of the public and provides a sense of safety and security. While acknowledging its role as part of wider crime prevention strategies, the Garda evaluation also notes that community based CCTV systems have been of significant assistance in both the prevention and detection of criminal activity throughout the country. I am happy to inform the Deputy that I have secured €1 million in budget 2017 for a new round of community CCTV schemes in line with the Programme for a Partnership Government commitment to provide investment in CCTV systems. I am currently developing proposals so that arrangements will be in place early in 2017 whereby Community Groups can apply for relevant funding. QUESTION NO: 51
DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN ANSWER on 19/10/2016 To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the approval of stage 2B for a school (details supplied) in order that this new school building project can proceed to tender stage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. (Details Supplied) St. Oliver Plunkett's National School, Malahide, Co. Dublin (roll number 17914S REPLY. The project referred to by the Deputy has recently been approved to proceed to Stage 3 which involves the tender competition for appointment of the building contractor. The school and its design team have been informed. QUESTION NO: 40
DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (Deputy Aodhán Ó RIordáin) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN on Tuesday, 11th October, 2016. * To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the commitments that the Government has made in terms of accepting refugees and unaccompanied minors to Ireland; the number of persons to date who have been accepted to Ireland under the various resettlement and relocation programmes and the number of unaccompanied minors who have arrived here, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. - Darragh O'Brien REPLY. Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (David Stanton) The Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) was established by Government Decision on 10 September 2015 as a direct response to the humanitarian crisis that developed in Southern Europe as a consequence of mass migration from areas of conflict in the Middle East and Africa. Under this programme, the Government has pledged to accept a total of 4,000 persons into the State by the end of 2017, through a combination of the EU relocation mechanism established by two EU Council Decisions in 2015 to assist Italy and Greece, and the UNHCR-led refugee resettlement programme currently focused on resettling refugees from camps in Lebanon. Under the resettlement part of the Programme, 520 refugees are to be resettled in Ireland by the end of 2016. To date, 486 refugees have been admitted to the State and a further 14 are scheduled to arrive today. Sufficient cases were selected during a mission to Lebanon earlier this year to ensure that the full quota of 520 will be taken in during 2016, ahead of schedule. In addition, the Government recently announced that it is extending the resettlement programme to take in a further 260 refugees from Lebanon in 2017. Under relocation, Ireland has to date taken in 69 Syrians from Greece, mostly families and a further 40 people are scheduled to arrive this month. A further 63 people have been assessed and cleared for arrival and arrangements for their travel to the State are currently being made. Last week, IRPP officials interviewed a group of 71 people in Athens who, once cleared for travel, are expected to arrive in November. Further missions are scheduled for November and December and by the end of 2016 it is expected that Ireland will have accepted up to 400 people through the relocation pledge system. The intention is to sustain the pace of intakes throughout 2017 at the levels required to allow Ireland to meets its commitments within the timeframe envisaged by the Programme. The figures are summarised in a table below as requested by the Deputy. In announcing the Programme, the Government recognised the importance of addressing the position of unaccompanied children. The relocation of unaccompanied minors is a complex and sensitive process, involving various aspects of European and domestic law, and any actions taken in relation to this vulnerable group must have the principle of the best interests of the child and the prospect of family reunification at their centre. Ireland is committed to relocating unaccompanied minors and is actively working to overcome the barriers that have presented themselves in this regard. Ireland has thus far been able to transfer one unaccompanied minor from Greece. Further efforts were made to identify unaccompanied minors for relocation by Tusla officials who took part in a mission to Greece last week and these efforts will continue. Table - Arrivals to Date IRPP Programme Numbers admitted (as of 11 Oct 2016) Unaccompanied Minors admitted (as of 11 Oct 2016) Resettlement 500* 0 Relocation 69 1 * subject to scheduled arrival of 14 persons today QUESTION NO: 173
DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN ANSWER on 04/10/2016 To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new secondary school for the Malahide and Portmarnock areas of County Dublin, as announced in November 2015; if he has identified locations for these proposed schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. REPLY. The school to which the Deputy refers is due to open in 2017 and the patronage process for this school is ongoing at present. As the Deputy may be aware, the building project for the permanent school building for the new post-primary school to serve the Malahide/Portmarnock school planning areas is included in my Department's current six-year construction programme announced last November and is listed to go to tender and construction in 2019/2021. My Department is liaising with Fingal County Council in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the identification and acquisition of a suitable location for the school. The technical feasibility of an identified site option is currently being comprehensively assessed by my Department in liaison with officials from the Council. Due to commercial sensitivities relating to site acquisitions generally I am not in a position to provide further details at this time. I can, however, assure you that the site acquisition process for this school is underway and the details of the permanent site location will be made available as soon as it is possible to do so. QUESTION NO: 174 DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton) by Deputy Darragh O'Brien for WRITTEN ANSWER on 04/10/2016 To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new secondary school for the Swords area of County Dublin, as announced in November 2015; if he has identified locations for these proposed schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. REPLY. The school to which the Deputy refers is due to open in 2017 and the patronage process for this school is ongoing at present. As the Deputy may be aware, the building project for the new post primary school to serve Swords is included in the 6 year construction programme that was announced last November. The project for this school is listed to go to construction in 2019-21. Officials in my Department have worked closely with officials in Fingal County Council in respect of this and conveyancing is currently underway in respect of a site for the permanent school accommodation. Due to commercial sensitivities relating to site acquisitions generally I am unfortunately not in a position to provide further details regarding the permanent location at this time. I can, however, assure you that the site acquisition process for this school is being advanced by my Department as a priority. |
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January 2020
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