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 Batt O'Keeffe — the need to provide funding for the replacement of the heating and electrical system at St. Mary's special school, Rochestown, Cork given that the school has been closed on a number of occasions due to sheer cold in the classrooms; (2) Deputy Shortall — the need to put the home help service on a proper footing in order to ensure standardisation of service and rates of pay; (3) Deputy Lynch — the need to devise a system whereby all exclusions from school are notified immediately to the Department of Education; (4) Deputy Ring — the need to instruct the Western Health Board to appoint a dentist for the Belmullet area, County Mayo, either in a temporary or permanent capacity, in view of the delays in dental treatment for young people in the area; (5) Deputy Seán Ryan — the effects of the phasing out of duty free in 1999 and the need for the Government to reactivate this issue within the EU; (6) Deputy Hugh Byrne — the urgent need for remedial action in view of the coastal erosion at Cullenstown, County Wexford; (7) Deputy Ó Cuív — the need to ensure that alternative training and employment is obtained for the workers laid off recently from the Farah plant in Galway and that a special task force be set up to oversee this work; (8) Deputy Nealon — the effect on the rural renewal pilot scheme being run by the Department of the Taoiseach in the Geevagh area of County Sligo by the decision of An Post to close Geevagh sub-post office on Monday, 3 March 1997; (9) Deputy Martin — the need to intervene in the situation at the Advanced College of Technology on Merrion Square with a view to providing State assistance to ensure the 500 students currently attending the college can complete their courses; (10) Deputy Joe Walsh — the alarming increase in the incidence of brucellosis; (11) Deputy Davern — the possible loss of the produce stakes which may lead to the closure of Clonmel Greyhound Stadium; (12) Deputy Leonard — the allocation of the biomass waste contract on Thursday, 27 February 1997; (13) Deputy Dermot Ahern — the recent layoffs at Keytronic Ireland Limited, Dundalk, County Louth; (14) Deputy Power — the cost to the Army of hearing injuries caused to soldiers; (15) Deputy Quill — the need for a special package of incentives to be put in place, parallel with the package recently announced, to tackle the jobs crisis in unemployment blackspots in Cork; (16) Deputy Cowen — the circumstances surrounding the infection of persons in 1970 and 1971 with hepatitis C and the position of these people before the compensation tribunal; (17) Deputy Sargent — the need to meet Fingal County Council, and various representatives, with a view to establishing a properly resourced harbour authority for Skerries and Balbriggan prior to the vesting of the two harbours in the council.
The matters raised by Deputies Cowen, Dermot Ahern, Quill and Joe Walsh have been selected for discussion.