I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 20 and the name of the Member in each case: (1) Deputy Crawford — the action the Minister for Health intends to take in relation to the waiting lists for orthodontic treatment in view of the case of a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan; (2) Deputy Sheehan — the need to progress Caheragh group water scheme, County Cork, (3) Deputy Brendan Smith — the inconvenience caused to two elderly ladies (details supplied) in County Cavan which resulted in these people being denied access to their home on Friday evening and Saturday morning, 11 and 12 June 1993, as a result of the British Army placing a barrier on the cul-de-sac road leading to their home on the Cavan-Fermanagh Border; (4) Deputy Sargent — the resources available to the wildlife service and whether the Minister for Finance has any plans to upgrade the service in the Dublin area which at present is covered by one officer who is often called to surrounding counties as well; (5) Deputy de Valera — the difficulties faced by many disabled people in obtaining employment due to the fact that the 3 per cent quota has not been reached in the public service; (6) Deputy Theresa Ahearn — the cessation of numerous social employment schemes as a result of the failure to provide sufficient funding; (7) Deputy Connaughton — the lack of progress on the Clontuskert group water scheme, Ballinasloe, County Galway, where over 200 families are waiting several years for a proper water supply; (8) Deputy Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny)— the flooding of Carlow town for the second time in three years and the need to either dredging of the River Barrow or the building of a riverside wall to contain the floods; (9) Deputy Harte — statements in a British newspaper by a former member of the Provisional IRA who claimed that he was on the payroll of the British security forces and who claimed that he was responsible for the death of Constable Samuel McClean among others in County Donegal and that he took part in subversive activities in County Donegal with persons unknown; and the action, if any, the Minister for Justice proposes to take in the matter; (10) Deputy Owen — the need to make compensation funds available for horticultural growers in north County Dublin and other areas in view of the devastation caused to thousands of pounds worth of vegetables by the recent unprecedented rainfall; (11) An Teachta Ó Maoildhia — an líon mór timpistí a tharlaíonn ag an mbealach deisceartach amach ó Bhaile Uarán Mór chuig an bpríomhbhóthar náisiúnta Gaillimh-Luimneach; agus an gá atá ann géilleadh d'iarrathas ón bpobal áitiúil compal a chur ann gan mhoill; (12) Deputy Ray Burke — the widespread damage to potato and vegetable crops in north County Dublin caused by the continuous bad weather of the past six weeks and the need for compensation to be paid to the growers involved; (13) Deputy Deenihan — the threatened closure by Kerry County Council of Ballinagher Bridge, County Kerry, resulting in major inconvenience to 30 families in the Lixnaw-Ballyduff areas and to tourists who use this route during the summer; (14) Deputy Jim O'Keeffe — the need to include in the terms of reference of the telephone users advisory group a provision to enable it to investigate and report on the discrimination that exists in that Dublin city, county and adjacent areas is all being classified as one local call area whereas Cork city and county is not similarly classified; (15) Deputy Jim Higgins — the curtailment of numbers being admitted to universities for the higher diploma in education to 750 with the result that hundreds of graduates who undertook degree courses for teaching purposes are being denied the necessary training for same; (16) Deputy Seán Ryan — the widespread damage caused to thousands of acres of potato and vegetable crops by the continuous bad weather in recent weeks, particularly in the north County Dublin area; and the need for an assessment of the damage to be carried out and for the situation to be continuously monitored during the growing season with a view to alleviating any hardship which may result from the damage; (17) Deputy Creed — the failure of the Minister for Health and of all health boards to maintain pay parity for clinical psychologists in the health service with their counterparts employed in the Departments of Education and Justice as agreed by the Labour Court and (18) Deputy Gallagher (Laoighis-Offaly— the urgent need to sanction the group water scheme for Tinnycross, Tullamore, County Offaly, given the serious pollution of the local ground water which is causing distress to residents of the local area.
I have selected for discussion the matters raised by Deputies Harte, Ó Maoildhia, Owen and de Valera.