The following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 21 were received by the Ceann Comhairle, and this is a list of the name of the Member in each case: (1) Deputy Fitzgerald — the need to discuss the threatened strike by Eastern Health Board nursery schools on 27 May 1998; (2) Deputy Coughlan — the need to ensure an increased redundancy package for 40 employees in the Herdsman plant in Ballybofey and to provide support structures to maintain the existing 60 jobs; (3) Deputy Sargent — the need to impose a maximum retail area resource base limit in the light of very large multinational retailers moving to Ireland and the effect their out of town operations have on indigenous small retailers and the quality of village life; (4) Deputy Rabbitte — the reasons given by a member of the Insurance Ombudsman Council for his resignation from the council and the need for the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to outline the steps she has taken to satisfy herself as to the veracity of these reasons; (5) Deputy Brian Lenihan — the need to discuss the issue of special educational needs for autistic children, in particular the future of Beechpark special school, Stillorgan, County Dublin; (6) Deputy Perry — the need to discuss the safety measures in place to prevent the recurrence of the tragic accident that occurred in Strandhill, County Sligo, on Sunday, 17 May when three young teenagers lost their lives; (7) Deputy Ring — the reason a Garda station — details supplied — in County Mayo has been closed in view of the fact that it is a new building; when it will reopen, particularly in view of the ever increasing number of tourists in the area; and to confirm how much money was spent in building the new station; (8) Deputy Wall — the urgent need for the Minister for Defence to clarify the position regarding proposals to recruit FCA personnel into the regular Army on short-term contracts to serve overseas; (9) Deputy Michael Moynihan — the issue of the reduction of the workforce announced yesterday at ALPS Electrical, Millstreet; (10) Deputy McGinley — the urgent need to make adequate redundancy payments to the 41 workers being made redundant by the Herdsman plant in Ballybofey; (11) Deputy Stagg — the need for the Minister for Public Enterprise to outline the course of action the Government intends to take following the decision by a majority of TEAM Aer Lingus workers to reject a buy-out of their letters of guarantee from Aer Lingus and its implications for the future of TEAM Aer Lingus; (12) Deputy Owen — the serious problems being faced by potato growers in north County Dublin following the destruction by frost of hundreds of acres of potatoes; (13) Deputy Timmins — the provision of an ambulance service for Arklow, County Wicklow; (14) Deputy Deenihan — the need to establish a local employment service in Tralee, County Kerry; (15) Deputy O'Sullivan — the urgent need for legislation to provide for post-adoption information and services; (16) Deputy Jim Higgins — the failure of the Government to meet the EU deadline of 3 June next for the implementation of the EU directive on parental leave; (17) Deputy Lawlor — the possibilities for increasing the pressure on the new regime in Indonesia in relation to vindicating the basic human rights of the people of East Timor, now that President Suharto has departed; (18) Deputy Seán Ryan — the crisis in the potato industry, particularly in north County Dublin and to ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food to direct Teagasc to carry out a survey of the extent of the problem with regard to the early potato crops; (19) Deputy Creed — to ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in view of the loss of 120 jobs at ALPS in Millstreet, what steps she proposes to take to attract additional inward investment and employment opportunities in the Millstreet and Duhallow region.
The matters raised by Deputies Wall, Fitzgerald, Sargent and Perry have been selected for discussion.