Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I have received notice from Senator Terry Brennan that, on the motion for the Commencement of the House today, he proposes to raise the following matter:

The need for the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works to outline progress on the outstanding works at King John’s Castle, Carlingford, County Louth.

I have also received notice from Senator Katherine Zappone of the following matter:

The need for the Minister for Social Protection to re-evaluate the eligibility rules with regard to the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, maintenance grant in view of the fact that parents in full-time education who are no longer eligible to receive the one-parent family payment and who need to transfer to the back to education allowance are not currently eligible to retain the grant, which assists these students in paying the costs of child care and commuting.

I have also received notice from Senator Denis Landy of the following matter:

The need for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to maintain or increase the level of public service obligation funding provided to Bus Éireann so that it can continue to provide services on essential routes, such as route 7 from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, to Dublin during the period of transition to competitive tendering.

I have also received notice from Senator James Heffernan of the following matter:

The need for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to establish an environment ombudsman's office that will deal with complaints made against the Environmental Protection Agency.

I have also received notice from Senator Colm Burke of the following matter:

The need for the Minister for Justice and Equality to clarify the current position on the introduction of legislation which will allow the courts to grant periodic payments to those who have suffered injury as a result of medical negligence.

I have also received notice from Senator Kathryn Reilly of the following matter:

The need for the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to discuss the recently launched Action Plan for Jobs - Regional, with specific focus on the Border region and on how investment and jobs can be created there.

I have also received notice from Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh of the following matter:

The need for the Minister for Health to outline the number of people on the waiting list for orthodontic treatment in the public health service in Galway and Mayo, to detail the length of time people have been obliged to wait, by year, for the past five years and the age range of those individuals in deciles, and to clarify what plan the HSE has in place to address the backlog.

I have also received notice from Senator Rónán Mullen of the following matter:

The need for the Minister for Health to give details of the number of nursing home places in County Galway, including both public and private facilities, the number of people in the county who are awaiting nursing home places, the number there who have availed of the fair deal nursing home scheme and the number of who have applied for that same scheme who are awaiting approval.

I have also received notice from Senator Fidelma Healy Eames of the following matter:

The need for the Minister for Education and Skills to recognise that it makes good educational, financial and domestic sense to provide resource support hours for children with Down's syndrome with a mild learning difficulty and the need to change policy to reflect this.

I regard the matters raised by the Senators as suitable for discussion. I have selected the matters submitted by Senators Brennan, Zappone, Landy and Heffernan and they will be taken now. Senators Burke, Reilly, Ó Clochartaigh, Mullen and Healy Eames may give notice on another day of the matters they wish to raise.