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 Jimmy Deenihan — The proposed closure of beds at Tralee General Hospital in July and August, which is the peak of the tourism season; (2) Deputy Michael Ferris — If the Minister for Health will take steps to intervene in the dispute which has led to a stoppage of work by nurses in Ardkeen Hospital to ensure that the dispute is not allowed to worsen with a consequent threat to patient care; (3) Deputy Bill Cotter — The closure of laundries at Monaghan General Hospital and at St. Davnett's Hospital, Monaghan, and the consequent job losses; (4) Deputy Mervyn Taylor — The shortage of second level school places in the Tallaght area of County Dublin; (5) Deputy Austin Deasy — Whether the Minister for Social Welfare will confirm the continued operation of a social welfare office in Lismore, County Waterford; (6) Deputy Pat Lee — The recent decision by the Minister for Justice to remove 100 uniformed gardaí from their temporary plain clothes postings which has effectively resulted in the abolition of all plain clothes Garda crime prevention units in the Dublin metropolitan area; (7) Deputy Bernard Durkan — The measures, if any, he intends to take to control the breeding, sale and keeping of pit bull terriers in view of recent reports relating to the safety of children where such animals are concerned; (8) Deputy Sean Ryan — The crisis in Holy Family junior national school, River Valley, Swords, where up to 140 children may have to be refused entry in September 1991 due to the lack of accommodation; (9) Deputy Nuala Fennell — The case of the mother who was forcibly committed to St. Patrick's Mental Hospital on Tuesday, 14 May by her husband and two doctors, one week after she had issued barring order proceedings, but was released after two nights when the hospital doctor deemed the committal order inappropriate; (10) Deputy Dick Spring — If the Minister for Health will issue a directive to the Southern Health Board that hospital beds in Tralee General Hospital remain in service during July and August, which beds are proposed to be closed under present arrangements; (11) Deputy Eric Byrne — The need for more stringent controls over the importation and ownership of dangerous dogs, such as pit bull terriers, especially in view of the incident in Britain over the weekend when a young girl was seriously injured in an attack by a pit bull terrier; (12) Deputy Alan Shatter — The need for action to be taken by the Minister for the Environment to ensure that the general public are protected from attack by dogs such as pit bull terriers and Rottweilers in particular to ensure the protection of children and the need to consider making it unlawful to possess such a dog; (13) Deputy Jim O'Keeffe — The failure of the Government to propose for nomination by the President a new chairman of the Irish Red Cross Society and the damage being thereby caused to the society by the continuing delay following the adoption of a motion of no confidence in the former chairman on 17 April last; (14) Deputy Ivan Yates — The alleged ticket revenue fraud of £300,000 in Irish Rail; (15) Deputy Michael Moynihan — The serious position facing the Irish tourist industry consequent to the serious fall off in American tourists coming to Ireland; (16) Deputy Jim Higgins — The need for the Taoiseach to approve a grant for the restoration of No. 33 Synge Street, Dublin 8, the birthplace of George Bernard Shaw; (17) Deputy Tony Gregory — The increasing public concern at the menace posed by pit bull terriers and other dangerous dogs and the restrictions the Minister for the Environment could introduce to deal with this serious issue; (18) Deputy Brendan Howlin — The urgent action the Minister for the Environment is taking to control dangerous breeds of dogs and (19) Deputy Emmet Stagg — If the Minister for Social Welfare will make a statement about the latest report from the Combat Poverty Agency, which indicates that Ireland has a more serious problem of urban poverty than most of the rest of Europe, and the action he proposes to take to address the issues raised in their report.
I have selected for discussion the matters raised by the following Deputies: (1) Deputy Nuala Fennell, (2) Deputy Bill Cotter and (3) Deputy Michael Ferris.