I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given to me under Standing Order 20 (3) (a) and the name of the Member in each case:
(1) Deputy Patrick J. Sheehan—if the Minister for Agriculture and Food will explain the reason for the long delay in finalising a decision on Ireland's application to the EC for the extension of the disadvantaged areas and if the Minister will state when a decision will be made on the matter; (2) Deputy Ivor Callely — the repossession of motor vehicles by financial institutions even when the vehicle is not registered in the institutions name by the local authority motor registration office and the fact that repossession takes place with the co-operation of the local gardaí; (3) Deputy John Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny)— the medical standards required by the Civil Service Commission, particularly in relation to eye sight, and if these same standards apply to semi-State companies; (4) Deputy Joe Doyle — the inability of parents (details supplied) to obtain a residential school placement for their mentally handicapped daughter who also suffers from a severe form of epilepsy; (5) Deputy Andrew Boylan — the reason the detailed and valid submission made by Cavan County Council requesting a cash injection of £40 million over five years was not taken into account when the Minister for the Environment was making his road allocations this year; whether in the light of the above he can justify the allocation made and if the Minister will consider making a supplementary allocation to rectify the situation; (6) Deputy Ted Nealon — the unfit condition of accommodation in St. Edward's national school, Sligo, and the threat by parents to withdraw pupils from the school in protest against the delay on starting work on a new school; (7) Deputy Tony Gregory — the commitment of the Minister for Education regarding the rebuilding of the Central Model School, Marlborough Street, Dublin 1 and the conditions where 250 children have been educated in pre-fabricated buildings for the past nine years; (8) Deputy Nuala Fennell — the dire situation of the AIM Group family law information centre, now facing closure because applications for lottery funding have been turned down; (9) Deputy Mary Flaherty — the situation regarding persons on unemployment benefit or assistance being informed that they will have their benefit disallowed if they are even nominated to run for elections and whether he will ensure that this discrimination is ended; (10) Deputy Bernard Allen — the 5 per cent increase in the number of people in receipt of unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance in February 1991 over the figures for February 1990 in the Cork city area and the Government's failure to deal with the problem; (11) Deputy Michael P. Kitt — if the Minister for Energy has had discussions with Bord na Móna on the setting up of a task force to secure employment at the Bord na Móna Derryfadda plant, Ballyforan, Ballinasloe and in particular the engineering works and the industrial site; (12) Deputy Therese Ahearn — the matter of Cashel Resource Centre, which has been sanctioned by the Department of Industry and Commerce but is not yet operational; (13) Deputy Jim Higgins — whether the Department of Education owe an amount in the region of £4 million to Bus Éireann for the school transport system and if the arrears in question are likely to have adverse effects on the quality of service; (14) Deputy Brendan Howlin — the urgent need for the sanction by the Minister for Education of the new school for the town of Wexford VEC, in view of the totally unacceptable conditions in the existing school and the threat by the Teachers Union of Ireland to withdraw teachers from substandard classrooms; (15) Deputy Proinsias De Rossa — the remarks made yesterday on the prospects of a “two speed” approach to economic and monetary union by Karl Otto Pohl the President of the Bundesbank, and its implications for Ireland; (16) Deputy Pat McCartan — the case for the improvement of the railway stations at Kilbarrack and Howth Junction in Dublin and the need for the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications to provide funding for a major reconstruction of those inadequate facilities; (17) Deputy Eamon Gilmore — the inadequacy of the recently announced local authority road grant allocations, to alleviate the pothole state of the country's roads; (18) Deputy Eric Byrne — the failure to roster public service vehicle inspectors for duty at weekends and the effects of this in hampering gardaí actions in improving road safety standards; (19) Deputy Joe Sherlock — the reduction in the hours of the care attendance scheme operated by the Irish Wheelchair Association for handicapped and disabled people and their families due to funding cutbacks by the Southern Health Board; (20) Deputy Enda Kenny — if the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications will clarify the Government's position regarding the future of passenger rail services to the west of Ireland; (21) Deputy Dick Spring — if the Minister for Finance will make a statement in response to the reported suggestion of the President of the Bundesbank of a two-speed approach to economic and monetary union; (22) Deputy Michael Joe Cosgrave — the serious situation which has arisen at St. Benedict's School, Grange Park, Raheny, Dublin 5, due to rising damp, the break-up of playgrounds, the deterioration of timber windows, and the serious incidences of vandalism and the fact that the school is now in urgent need of protective railings and security lighting and (23) Deputy Roger Garland — the serious situation concerning the appalling conditions in Mountjoy Prison which led to further rooftop demonstrations over the weekend.
I have selected for discussion the matters raised by the following Deputies: (1) Deputy Dick Spring; (2) Deputy Patrick J. Sheehan and (3) Deputy Ted Nealon.