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 Boylan — the need to discuss the low prices being offered by factories for reactor cattle; (2) Deputy Ulick Burke — the need to outline the Government's intentions to carry out work to alleviate flooding in south Galway following the presentation of the report and its recognition of the serious problems caused by past flooding and the fear of recurrence of flooding in these areas in the future; (3) Deputy McManus — the need to discuss the difficulties being created for asylum seekers by the refusal of the Department of the Environment and Local Government to issue them with provisional driving licences and the decision to revoke a number of those already issued; (4) Deputy Fleming — the need to discuss the recent closure of C & M Europe in Portlaoise with the loss of 50 jobs and the measures the Government proposes to take to find replacement for these jobs and to ensure a higher priority is given to promoting employment and investment opportunities in Portlaoise and County Laois; (5) Deputy Neville — the increase in suicide rates by 20 per cent for the first six months of 1998; (6) Deputy Flanagan — the loss of almost 50 jobs at C & M Europe at Portlaoise and the consequent plans if any the Minister has for securing a replacement industry; (7) Deputy Durkan — the disallowance of disability benefits in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; (8) Deputy Gerard Reynolds — the reason a 30 bed dementia unit in Carrick-on-Shannon, which cost £750,000 and was officially opened by the Minister for Health and Children in June 1998, still remains closed; (9) Deputy Upton — the need for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to develop alternatives to prison, based on the concept of restorative justice.
The matters raised by Deputies Flanagan, Fleming, Gerard Reynolds and McManus have been selected for discussion.