Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I have received notice from Senator Catherine Noone that, on the motion for the Commencement of the House today, she proposes to raise the following matter:

The need for the Minister for Defence to outline the policy now being implemented by his Department in regard to security matters in the Middle East.

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

The need for the Minister for Justice and Equality to extend an invitation to the Latvian law enforcement authorities to this jurisdiction to be briefed on the case of a missing person (details supplied).

I have also received notice from Senator Mary Moran of the following matter:

The need for the Minister for Health to explain the reason an individual (details supplied) diagnosed with cancer has been refused a medical card.

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

The need for the Minister for Education and Skills to discuss the need to reduce the gap between teacher appointment and retention figures for primary schools and to revise the teacher appointment guidelines so that a new primary teacher can be appointed immediately after the 30 September pupil numbers are confirmed by the Department of Education and Skills.

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

The need for the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to provide an update on the North-South interconnector and to discuss the issues surrounding the feasibility of undergrounding cables in light of the development of new technologies.

I have also received notice from Senator Paul Bradford of the following matter:

The need for the Minister for Social Protection to review the level of automated machine response systems in her Department’s offices throughout the country.

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

The need for the Minister for Health to update the House on the progress of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, NCPE, in regard to the national funding model for Xolair, omalizumab, which is an approved treatment for severe allergic asthma and which is currently being resourced from individual hospital's budgets.

I regard the matters raised by the Senators as suitable for discussion. I have selected the matters of Senators Noone and Heffernan and they will be taken now. Senators Moran and Healy Eames have withdrawn their Commencement matters, which had been selected for discussion today. Senators Reilly, Bradford and Colm Burke may give notice on another day of the matters they wish to raise.