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 Coveney – the action the Government is taking to deal with the increasing problem of homelessness in Cork city; (2) Deputy Stanton – the need to enable the Blood Transfusion Service Board in Cork to carry out autologous transfusions; (3) Deputy Theresa Ahearn – the urgency for additional staff to reduce the present two to three year waiting period for assessment for potential adoptive parents in south Tipperary; (4) Deputy Perry – the urgent need for the immediate appointment of a teacher in Achonry national school, County Sligo, due to the phenomenal increase in the numbers in the school catchment area; (5) Deputy Owen – the delays in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the issuing of work permits to non-EEA citizens and the consequent difficulties being caused to many businesses; (6) Deputy Seán Ryan – the need for additional staff in the work permit section of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; (7) Deputy Wall – the need to provide clarification about the long-term status of Magee Barracks; (8) Deputy Ulick Burke – the urgent need to sanction and approve a school transport service for girls attending Seamount College, Kinvara, County Galway from the surrounding catchment area prior to the end of the current school term; (9) Deputy Broughan – the urgent need to publish the inspector's report on the special amenity area order for Howth and to confirm the Howth special amenity area order; (10) Deputy Neville – the need for the Inspector of Mental Health Hospitals to investigate the placement of children in psychiatric hospitals because there are no suitable places available in residential centres for children; (11) Deputy Noonan – to ask the Minister for Finance if the Government intends proceeding with the appointment of Mr. Hugh O'Flaherty to a position as Vice-President of the European Investment Bank; if he will state the considerations which led the Government to believe that Mr. O'Flaherty is the most suitable candidate for the position; and if he will make a statement on the matter; (12) Deputy Connaughton – the proposals for a major overhaul in the sheep subsidy scheme and the position on the abolition of all headage payments on both mountain and lowland hogget ewes; (13) Deputy Power – the need for the Minister for Defence to outline his future plans for Magee Barracks in Kildare; (14) Deputy McGuinness – the need to introduce a plan of action to deal with the curtailment of anaesthetic services for elective surgery and epidurals due to the lack of manpower in this area caused by the introduction of a new assessment examination by the Medical Council and the decision not to recognise the UK assessment qualification in relation to non-EU doctors; (15) Deputy Bradford – the need for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development to initiate and pursue policies which will encourage young people to take up a career in farming; (16) Deputy Allen – the situation facing workers on phase 1 of the jobs initiative programme whose contracts will expire at the end of June 2000; and (17) Deputy Gerard Reynolds – the need to waive all charges on old age pensioners under the national car testing scheme.
The matters raised by Deputies Wall, Connaughton, Stanton and Gerard Reynolds have been selected for discussion.