Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 21 and the name of the Member in each case: (1) Deputy Catherine Murphy — the need for a study of Irish attitudes to rape victims to be carried out, considering the shocking statistics revealed by Amnesty International's UK section on 21 November regarding such a study conducted on its behalf whereby, among other figures, one in three people in the UK believe that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she has behaved in a flirtatious manner; equally, in light of these shocking statistics the need for a public education campaign in Ireland to inform the public on rape in its context as a violent assault with a sexual element as opposed to a sexually motivated crime, considering the high level of British media influence in Ireland; (2) Deputy Burton — the situation whereby children with severe disabilities from Scoil Mochua in Clondalkin are unable to access the facilities of the National Aquatic Centre; (3) Deputy Healy — the need for the location of an emergency ambulance service in the town of Carrick-on-Suir; (4) Deputy Cowley — to ask the Minister if he will call a halt to the Corrib Gas pipeline until a safe means of bringing the gas ashore can be agreed; (5) Deputy Eamon Ryan — the role of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in gaining assurances that a planning application would be completed within the statutory period; (6) Deputy Fiona O'Malley — the recent report on gender-based violence which was published by the Department of Foreign Affairs; and (7) Deputy Gregory — the loss of special needs teachers in small disadvantaged schools, including inner city schools.

The matters raised by Deputies Cowley, Fiona O'Malley, Burton and Eamon Ryan have been selected for discussion.