Answered on May 28, 2013
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the intended transfer in trust of Mount Congreve Gardens in County Waterford to the State will take place; the reason for the non completion in discussions between the Office of Public Works and the Congreve Foundation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Reply from Minister of State Brian Hayes: The house and gardens at Mount Congreve are currently under the care of the Mount Congreve Trust. The Mount Congreve Trust consists of three Trustees including the Commissioners of Public Works. The remaining two Trustees represent the Congreve Foundation and were appointed by Mr. Congreve. The Trust period for the gardens commenced upon the death of Mr Congreve in May 2011 and will expire in May 2032. The Mansion House will remain in the hands of the Trust until 2059. Only upon the expiration of these Trust periods will the properties revert to the ownership of the State. The Commissioners of Public Works, in their role as Trustee, have been in discussions with the other Trustees as to the future management of the Trust properties. While these discussions are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

May 22, 2013
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health in relation to the reconfiguration of Waterford Regional Hospital to university Hospital the number of specific academic posts to be allocated, as in Consultant posts and professorships, and the process being used to select the individuals to those posts.

Reply from Minister James Reilly: Following the publication of the report on hospital groups, UCC has confirmed its commitment to putting in place five academic clinical appointments including three at professional level; two at senior lecturer level and one at tutor level with associated administrative support. Discussions within the new hospital group's corporate governance structure and in turn with the Department of Health and the HSE will now commence to give effect to this. An exact time frame cannot be put on this but the appointments will be made as soon as possible. 

Tuesday, 7th May, 2013
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health if he is concerned at the decision of the Health Service Executive to refuse funding, on economic grounds, for the drug Pirfenidone, which is the only effective treatment for lung fibrosis, a rare and extremely debilitating disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Reply from Minister James Reilly: The HSE has received an application for the inclusion of pirfenidone in the GMS and community drugs schemes. 

The application is being considered in line with the procedures and timescales agreed last year by the Department of Health and the HSE with the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) for the assessment of new medicines. 

In accordance with these procedures, the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) conducted a pharmacoeconomic evaluation of pirfenidone and concluded that, at the submitted price, pirfenidone is not cost-effective for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. 

The NCPE report is an important input to assist decision making and informs further discussions between the HSE and the manufacturer of the drug. The HSE is currently in negotiations with the manufacturers of pirfenidone and therefore it would not be appropriate to comment further while these negotiations are ongoing. 

The HSE assessment process is intended to arrive at a decision on the funding of pirfenidone that is clinically appropriate, fair, consistent and sustainable. The HSE understands that patients and clinicians are very anxious that a decision be made as soon as possible.

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013
Deputy John Deasy ask the Minister for Education and Skills the criteria for reaching the fifth point on the pay scale for a primary teacher who entered at point three on the pay scale in 2010.

Reply received from Minister Ruairí Quinn: Primary Teachers appointed to permanent or fixed term positions progress up the incremental salary scale to the next incremental point having completed 365 days service. Primary Teachers appointed to casual positions progress up the incremental salary scale having completed 183 days service or 915 hours.

Tuesday, 23rd April, 2013
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when the 30Mbps minimum national broadband penetration plan will be rolled out to the rural area surrounding Dungarvan, County Waterford.
 
Reply from Minister Pat Rabbitte: Ireland’s telecommunications market has been fully liberalised since 1999 in accordance with the requirements of binding EU Directives. The market has since developed into a well-regulated market, supporting a multiplicity of commercial operators, providing services over a diverse range of technology platforms. 
Details of broadband services available in each County, including County Waterford, can be found on ComReg’s website at www.callcosts.ie.
The State can only intervene to ensure access to broadband services in areas where the competitive market has failed to deliver such services, as in the case of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS) and the Rural Broadband Scheme. NBS services are available within 31 of the 130 Electoral Divisions in County Waterford. See table (above) for a list of these Electoral Divisions.

Tuesday, 23rd April, 2013
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide a breakdown of those groups in County Waterford that have been granted Exchequer funding specifically set aside for The Gathering to date; and the amount that has been approved in each instance.

Minister Leo Varadkar passed PQ to Fáilte Ireland for answer (a listing of all ‘Gatherings’ in Waterford City and County that have been approved for funding - total €60,000 - provided as follows):

Tuesday, 23rd April, 2013
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department will assist contracted growers of miscanthus elephant grass to source alternative markets in view of the fact that that they been left with significant acreage of the crop to harvest due to the industry price becoming unviable.

Reply from Minister Simon Coveney: Since 2007, my Department’s Bioenergy Scheme has provided support for farmers who wished to establish the energy crops miscanthus and willow by offering grant-aid of 50% of the cost of establishing the crops.  The scheme was initially Exchequer funded under a pilot scheme from 2007-2009 and has been co-funded by the EU under the Rural Development Programme since 2010.

My Department has no role in relation to commercial arrangements between individual farmers and contractors for the end use of their energy crops. The pricing of product is also a commercial matter.
In February 2012, my colleague the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, T.D., introduced REFIT supports for bioenergy, including tariffs to support Biomass Combined Heat and Power and Biomass Combustion. These tariffs are designed to provide financial incentives for the end use of energy crops, including miscanthus.

In December 2011, I amended the terms and conditions of the Bioenergy Scheme so as to remove the obligation on growers to maintain the crop for seven years as a condition of retaining grant-aid. This afforded an opportunity for growers who wished to exit the scheme to do so without penalty and was available to all growers including those who had established crops since the commencement of the scheme in 2007.

Tuesday, 23rd April, 2013
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if the average cost per job created in Enterprise Ireland-supported companies, which increased almost three-fold in the previous decade, has decreased since the JobBridge National Internship Programme commenced in mid-2011.

Reply from Minister Richard Bruton: JobBridge is a National Internship Scheme that provides work experience placements for interns for a 6 or 9 month period.  The aim of the National Internship Scheme is to assist in breaking the cycle where jobseekers are unable to get a job without experience, either as new entrants to the labour market after education or training or as unemployed workers wishing to learn new skills...

Tuesday, 23rd April, 2013
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of Green Card applications that have been approved to date under the Special Assignee Relief Programme in each of the categories legislated for, that is jobs with annual remuneration of €60,000 or more, and jobs with annual salaries of €30,000 – €59,999.

Reply from Minister Richard Bruton: The ‘Green Card’ Employment Permit is designed to attract highly skilled people into the labour market with the aim of encouraging them to take up permanent residence in the State. Eligible occupations under this type of permit are deemed to be critically important to growing Ireland’s economy, are highly demanded and highly skilled, and in significant shortage of supply in our labour market...