Vol. 550 No. 2
Before coming to the Order of Business, I propose to deal with a number of notices under Standing Order 31 dealing with two different topics. I propose to deal with these topics separately and will call on Deputies in the order in which they submitted their notices to my office.
In regard to the first topic, I have received notice from Deputies Flanagan, Rabbitte and Fitzgerald. I call firstly on Deputy Flanagan.
I wish to raise under Standing Order 31 the urgent and important matter of the adverse consequences, trauma and hardship inflicted on thousands of families throughout the State arising from the most recent round of job cuts and redundancies and the need for the Government to formulate an appropriate plan of action.
I wish to give notice of my intention to seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following specific and important matter of public interest requiring urgent attention, namely, the alarming growth in the rate of job losses which has seen the live register grow by more than 165 per day over the past four months; its likely increase at an even greater rate due to the announcement of job losses in the past week, including 375 at the former Irish Glass Bottle Company at Ringsend, 300 at Flextronics in Tullamore, 200 at Youghal Carpets, 160 at EMC, Ovens, and 80 at SMTC Electronics, and the urgent need for Government action to save these jobs or secure alternative employment.
I seek the adjournment of the House under Standing Order 31 to raise a matter of national importance, namely the proposed closure of the Ardagh glass bottle plant in Ringsend with the loss of up to 375 jobs, the serious consequences for the people employed there, the impact on the Ringsend community, the major repercussions for the recycling industry and the consequent impact on the environment due to loss of this major facility.
Having considered the matter fully, I do not consider it to be in accordance with Standing Order 31. However, in the event of Private Notice Questions, the matter will receive further consideration. In regard to the second topic, I received notice from Deputies Allen and Sargent.
I ask that the Dáil adjourn under Standing Order 31 to allow the Taoiseach to make a statement on awarding a contract to manage the 50 metre pool, which is part of the Abbotstown project, and to allow a subsequent debate on it.
I seek the adjournment of Dáil Éireann under Standing Order 31 to allow debate to take place to establish why the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation and the Tánaiste, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, appear to be in the dark as to the manner in which a contract was awarded to build an aquatic centre at Abbotstown in which the Government is reportedly investing more than €62 million, and to have the Taoiseach make a full statement on the matter.
Having considered the matter fully, I do not consider it to be in accordance with Standing Order 31.
