Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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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 Burke - the works that will take place in south County Galway to prevent a reoccurrence of flooding; (2) Deputy Creighton - the reductions in PRSI benefits in respect of dental, optical and aural treatment; (3) Deputy Stagg - the site on which the Waterways housing estate in Sallins, County Kildare was developed; (4) Deputy Breen - the future of special needs assistants employed in schools in County Clare; (5) Deputy Michael McGrath - the remuneration paid to chief executives in the commercial semi-State sector; (6) Deputy Perry - the closure, after a 40-year presence, of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food offices in Sligo, which constitutes a huge blow to the local farming community and leaves Sligo as the only county in Connacht without such an office and means that many farmers in Sligo must now travel an extra 40-mile journey to Drumshanbo in County Leitrim to avail of services which heretofore were provided in Sligo and the need of the Minister to reverse with immediate effect the decision to close this vital service to Sligo's agricultural community, which also will cause the upheaval and redeployment of many long-serving staff; (7) Deputy Ó Caoláin - the need for the Minister of State for Children as a matter of urgency to reform the regulations regarding age qualification for the free preschool year in early childhood care and education since the regulations as currently framed create an age gap that discriminates against some children who will not be able to avail of this scheme in advance of commencing primary school education; (8) Deputy Ring - to ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when consent and advice will be given by his Department to the Office of Public Works in order that proposed flood mitigation works in the Roundfort-Hollymount area of County Mayo will proceed and if he will make a statement on the matter; (9) Deputy Mattie McGrath - the proposed transfer of acute services from St. Michael's Psychiatric Hospital, Clonmel to Kilkenny; (10) Deputy Deenihan - the effect on carpentry and joinery courses in Tralee, County Kerry of the decision to centralise centres of apprenticeship education; (11) Deputy Clune - the need to provide funding to implement the recommendations of the Lee catchment flood risk assessment and management study; (12) Deputy O'Dowd - to ask the Minister for Transport to discuss his recent reduction in the annual allocation for roads; (13) Deputy Upton - that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government initiates an urgent investigation into the failure of Dublin City Council to progress the addition of the chapel at St. James Hospital, Dublin 8, onto the record of protected structures, as instructed by the relevant area committee, as this site is now subject to the development of a private hospital; (14) Deputy Doyle - the sudden proposal to close the National Horticulture Centre at Kinsealy, the implications for its multiannual research programme, its training programme, its integrated advisory service, and the future of the horticulture industry in Ireland, and the serious lack of consultation or discussion of alternatives by the Department of Agriculture and Teagasc; (15) Deputy Neville - the increase in rates of suicide in the first half of 2009; (16) Deputy Bannon - the implementation of the River Shannon basin management plan and (17) Deputy Sherlock - the need for a review of the FÁS work placement programme, particularly in some instances where it appears that some unscrupulous employers seek to abuse the scheme to avail of cheap labour at the taxpayers expense.

The matters raised by Deputies Michael McGrath, Neville, Creighton and Deenihan have been selected for discussion.