Dáil debates

Tuesday, 12 February 2008

3:00 pm

Photo of John O'DonoghueJohn O'Donoghue (Kerry South, 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 Kieran O'Donnell — to give a commitment that the accident and emergency services at St. John's Hospital, Limerick will not be downgraded, but will be retained and enhanced; that the Minister will provide a date as to when the Teamwork consultants' report on the review of acute hospital services in the mid-west will be published and that she make a detailed statement on this matter; (2) Deputy James Bannon — the need to provide funding for the continuation and expansion of osteoporosis services; (3) Deputy Mattie McGrath — the issue of job losses in Clonmel, County Tipperary following the closure of a business resulting in the loss of over 90 jobs; (4) Deputy Ulick Burke — the provision of a new community school in Glenamaddy, County Galway in view of the fact that the a site has been acquired, planning obtained, a contractor appointed and bearing in mind the condition of the existing school in the area; (5) Deputy Paul Connaughton — the proposed new sewerage scheme for Mountbellew, County Galway which is urgently required as the present treatment system is hindering the development of the town and is also polluting the nearby Shiven river; (6) Deputy Deirdre Clune — the difficulties schools are experiencing in accessing educational psychologists under the SCPA, scheme for commissioning psychological assessments; (7) Deputy Jack Wall — if the Minister is aware of the problems tenants of local authorities or tenants of local authorities under the newly established RAS tenancy agreement must overcome due to the demands from the ESB and Bord Gais for deposit payments of €300 and €400 respectively before supply will be installed in such houses or apartments and what mechanisms are available to the Minister to ensure that such tenants can overcome such major problems; (8) Deputy Brendan Howlin — the economic consequences of the proposed special protection area order for Wexford harbour and slobs; (9) Deputy Michael McGrath — that a new school building be provided for Passage West, County Cork, without further delay; (10) Deputies Dan Neville, John Cregan, Andrew Doyle and Martin Ferris- the early payment of REPS 2 and 3; (11) Deputy Arthur Morgan — the decision of the State last week to concede in the High Court case taken by the Irish Hotels Federation challenging the fixing by the Labour Court of minimum wage levels for certain industries and the implications of this case for workers in the hotel sector and in the 16 other sectors covered by joint labour committees and the necessity for the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to outline what actions he will take to ensure that existing procedures for the setting of wages are not open to legal challenges which undermine the pay and conditions of vulnerable low paid workers; (12) Deputy Joe Costello — to clarify the new provisions by the Road Safety Authority in respect of examination of driving instructors and especially the validity of examinations already passed by driving instructors under the auspices of the Department of Transport; and (13) Deputy Chris Andrews — in light of a recent fire in a local authority housing scheme in Donnybrook, that the Minister outline how fire regulations were complied with in this case and that the Minister also indicate what measures are being taken to ensure that existing buildings adhere to the building regulations on fire safety and are kept in line with European standards.

The matters raised by Deputies James Bannon, Dan Neville, John Cregan, Andrew Doyle, Martin Ferris and Brendan Howlin have been selected for discussion.