John 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 James Bannon — the need for the Minister for Health and Children to ensure that after a wait of 12 years a full complement of appropriate services for secondary care facilities is provided under Phase 2B of Longford-Westmeath Hospital, Mullingar, County Westmeath, to ensure patient safety and best possible outcomes; (2) Deputy Alan Shatter — the unjust and discriminatory impact of the new Health Act 2008 on the medical card rights of widows and widowers whose spouses died during 2006, 2007 and 2008; (3) Deputy Joe Carey — the consequences of the €10 travel tax for Shannon Airport in light of the recent announcement by Ryanair that it will remove two aircraft from its fleet of six based in Shannon, resulting in the reduction in flight numbers from 136 to 116 this summer and the further removal of two other aircraft from its fleet in November; and in the interest of Shannon Airport and the well-being of the mid-west economy in terms of jobs, business and passenger choice I am asking that the €10 travel tax is not imposed; (4) Deputy Pat Breen — the need to sanction an extension in respect of Barefield national school, County Clare; (5) Deputy Shane McEntee — the refusal by An Bord Pleanála to award costs to a local action group regarding the following invalid application — Ref: 17.PA005 Biomass Combined Heat & Power ( CHP) Plant and Associated Ash Landfill at College Road Nobber, County Meath; (6) Deputy Mattie McGrath — the provision of hospital services in the south east, and particularly the situation at South Tipperary General Hospital; (7) Deputy Seán Barrett — to discuss the impact of the smarter travel action plan on the south County Dublin area; (8) Deputy Noel J. Coonan — to ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when an application for funding for a new fire station facility in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, first made by North Tipperary County Council in May 2005, will be provided by the Department, taking into account the extreme deteriorating conditions at the establishment and subsequent health and safety concerns; (9) Deputy Ciarán Lynch — to ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will lay before the House the details, including financial implications, of his plans to enable local authorities to lease estates from developers as outlined by the Minister of State in recent days, and if he will lay out his programme to spend €20 million in leasing currently idle properties from developers; (10) Deputy Brian O'Shea — the need to prevent the closure of St. Brigid's ward at St. Patrick's geriatric hospital, Waterford, with the loss of 19 public beds; (11) Deputy Jan O'Sullivan — the need for the Minister for Health and Children to clarify the future role of St. John's Hospital, Limerick, including its accident and emergency department, surgery, its proposed extension and the re-opening of beds that are currently closed; (12) Deputy Kathleen Lynch — the reduction of special teacher support to children with special needs; (13) Deputy Catherine Byrne — the living conditions of persons in receipt of rent supplement; (14) Deputy John Perry — the need to introduce a visa waiver system for nationals of Taiwan; (15) Deputy Tom Hayes — in light of the huge number of job losses nationwide, can the Minister outline what she plans to do to strengthen the role of the county enterprise boards, how they can expand their services to foster job creation and entrepreneurship, and what is necessary to make them a key player in Ireland's economic recovery?; (16) Deputy Joe Costello — the need for the Department of Education and Science to set a deadline for the construction of a permanent school for Gaelscoil Bharra, Cabra, Dublin 7, considering that the application file was missing for four years in the Department of Education and Science; and (17) Deputy Tom Sheahan — the many serious issues affecting fishermen in west Kerry, leading to the decline of the fishing industry in the area, just two of which are mackerel quotas and the "days at sea" rule.

The matters raised by Deputies Mattie McGrath, John Perry, Catherine Byrne and Kathleen Lynch have been selected for discussion.