Questions asked 35 total

• Social 9 questions

  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures taken to support persons with disabilities who are on low incomes and will be financially challenged by recent increases in the carbon tax; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32975/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will support calls for the wage subsidy scheme for persons with disabilities to be improved to boost employment opportunities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32978/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the reform of the child maintenance system; if she will address key issues such as calculation, facilitation and enforcement guided by international best practice and in view of the findings of the Murphy review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32987/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the actions she is taking to prioritise and protect supports for lone parents, having regard to the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection’s Report on the Position of Lone Parents in Ireland in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32988/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps she is taking to address food poverty in children and to ensure that no child goes hungry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32989/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department will continue to support the annual Social Inclusion Forum as an important means of promoting engagement between persons experiencing poverty and exclusion, the community and voluntary sector and Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32990/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has considered supporting the introduction of returnships in partnership with employers to support women that have taken time out of work to raise their families or care for loved ones to re-enter the labour market through new education, training, and personal development programmes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32991/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider equalising the income thresholds for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance for one and two parent households and introduce tapering for the allowance to provide greater access to support with school costs for working poor households and to reduce poverty traps; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32992/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider making child benefit payable to families with children over the age of 18 enrolled in secondary school in recognition of the higher cost of education in the senior cycle and as a measure to prevent early school leaving; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32993/20]
• Health 9 questions

  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health if he will consider extending the 5 km travel limit for persons who live in rural areas in view of the unreasonable restrictions this will place on persons who reside in isolated or low-population density areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32933/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health if additional funding has been assigned in budget 2021 to address the digital divide to ensure that persons with disabilities and other disadvantages are not left behind during the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32976/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health if additional support will be provided for specialist training providers for persons with disabilities such as National Learning Network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32977/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health if a commitment will be given to fully implementing the report on the role of voluntary organisations in the provision of public disability services and to providing sufficient funding to address pay inequality among section-39 workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32979/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health the reason there is only one dedicated nurse, focused on those aged 0 to 18 years that specialises in Down syndrome; if he will provide investment for a dedicated specialist nurse in each of the nine CHO areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32980/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health if personnel or section within his Department or the HSE have ever conducted an ethical review of the Groningen protocol which originated in the Netherlands and which permits the active euthanasia or physician assisted death of premature and severely ill newborns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32981/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health the status of and position regarding the use of do not resuscitate orders within the health care system here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32982/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health the specific evidentiary basis for the restrictions on public worship; if he will reconsider permitting physical attendance at religious services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33499/20]
  • 2020-11-04 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health if there is provision for healthcare workers that have had to temporarily leave employment to reclaim medical expenses incurred as a result of contracting Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33973/20]
• Education 5 questions

  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education if she will establish a properly resourced taskforce to identify and implement measures that will support children and young persons in DEIS and non-DEIS schools to prevent further educational disadvantage as a result of Covid-19; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32966/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education if she will expand on existing measures to address digital poverty, ensuring all low-income households have access to online teaching and pre-printed resources if required during the academic year as a result of Covid-19 safety measures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32967/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education if she will consider extending the free school books pilot scheme to all non-fee paying primary and secondary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32969/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education if she will conduct a review on the possibility of ending the voluntary contribution system in non-fee paying primary and secondary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32970/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education her plans to restore the capitation rates to 2010 levels; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32971/20]
• Further and Higher Education 5 questions

  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his attention has been drawn to the fact that less than 5% of adults with Down's syndrome secure meaningful employment due to barriers in accessing further education; the measures he is taking to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32965/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his Department is developing a strategy for re-engagement of learners unable to participate in further and higher education during the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32968/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will review the income thresholds and means test to qualify for the SUSI grant and increase the value of the maintenance grant levels to 2011 rates in recognition of the increase in the cost of living and loss of part-time work for students due to Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32972/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will consider increasing the student assistance fund allocation by 20% to address the needs of students affected by Covid-19 income loss; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32973/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will expand eligibility for the SUSI grant to part-time students studying in publicly funded further and higher education and training institutions to provide financial support to non-traditional, mature and part-time learners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32974/20]
• Agriculture 2 questions

  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the measures he is taking to prevent the direct loss of up to 3,000 jobs in the agricultural merchants sector following EU plans to introduce new regulations in January 2022 that will prohibit agricultural merchants from prescribing certain medications and animal products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33310/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32664/20]
• Housing 2 questions

  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will initiate a wide-ranging review of the current commercial rates regime and engage with stakeholders including an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32984/20]
  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has engaged with the calls of a charity (details supplied) for a €20 million rent arrears fund to be included in budget 2021 aimed at helping tenants facing a rent crisis as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32985/20]
• Finance 1 question

  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Finance his views on the reintroduction and extension of the home renovation incentive scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32986/20]
• Tourism 1 question

  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her views on the call of an organisation (details supplied) for a substantial increase in the business continuity fund for coach tourism to reflect the real and actual damage done to the sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32983/20]
• Children 1 question

  • 2020-11-03 Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide funding to support Down's syndrome language development for young children aged three to six years of age in preschool. [32964/20]