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 Cuffe — in the light of the discovery of a 1,200 year old Viking fortress at Woodstown near Waterford City on the route of the Waterford bypass, the need for the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government to state what steps he intends taking to minimise the road's impact on the site; (2) Deputy Burton — the ongoing crisis at James Connolly Memorial Hospital, Blanchardstown, and the failure of the Government to commission the new building fully, including the accident and emergency unit, theatres and the intensive care unit; (3) Deputy Boyle — the need to discuss the failure of the Government's so-called decentralisation programme which proposes that offices and specialised laboratories of the Department of Agriculture and Food in Cork city to be moved to Macroom; (4) Deputy Michael D. Higgins — the urgent need for the Department of Education and Science to give priority to the request for a new school (details supplied); (5) Deputy Finneran — the need for the Minister for Social and Family Affairs to explain the extraordinary circumstances in which unemployment assistance was withdrawn from a person (details supplied) and how her Department arrived at such a decision; (6) Deputy Cowley — the reason a pupil (details supplied) has not been assessed by the education physiologist when he is apparently dyslexic; (7) Deputy Morgan — the need for the Minister for Health and Children to address the serious situation which has arisen as a result of the decision by the North Eastern Health Board to downgrade Louth County Hospital; (8) Deputy Upton — the need for the Minister for Transport to agree to re-examine the design of the Rialto Bridge as part of the Luas works; (9) Deputy Neville — the need to debate funding for mental health services; (10) Deputy Ó Caoláin — the need for the Minister for Foreign Affairs to raise urgently with the British authorities the recent spate of sectarian and racist attacks against Nationalists and immigrants; (11) Deputy O'Dowd — the decision of Patient Focus, which represents former patients of Dr. Neary, to withdraw from the Government inquiry into his actions over its failure to compel Dr. Neary to attend; and (12) Deputy Sargent — the need for the Minister for Education and Science to report on his visit to a school (details supplied) and indicate how he proposes to address the inadequate opportunities for physical education and sport at this school.
The matters raised by Deputies Michael D. Higgins, Morgan, O'Dowd and Finneran have been selected for discussion and they will be taken at the conclusion of business.