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 Stanton – the reason for the five-year delay in sanctioning the building of a public swimming pool in Cobh, County Cork; (2) Deputy Michael D. Higgins – the urgent need for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to apologise on behalf of the State to Carolyn Swift for the disgraceful action of the police against the Pike Theatre on the occasion of its production of "The Rose Tattoo" in May 1957, to acknowledge the impact this action had on the members of this small and courageous theatre and to ask if he will, as a gesture of goodwill, make such reparation as is appropriate to the surviving member of the company, the lives of whose members were irrevocably damaged by the actions taken in the name of the State; (3) Deputy Gregory – the need for flood alleviation measures to be put in place at high risk locations along the River Tolka particularly at Botanic Avenue and Ballybough in Dublin city, the need for funding from central government for this emergency work, to prevent the recurrence of recent flooding causing damage to hundreds of homes; along with appropriate compensation for the many victims of last week's flooding; (4) Deputy Hogan – the need for the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to accept responsibility for the alarming deterioration in the competitiveness of the Irish economy as outlined in the recent report of the World Economic Forum; (5) Deputy O'Dowd – to ask that the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources contributes to the cost of the Ballymakenny Cross route in Drogheda, County Louth; (6) Deputy Allen – to raise the situation whereby old age pensioners are being told by health boards that they have to wait years to have essential repairs carried out to their homes because the Department of Health and Children has not allocated sufficient funds to meet the requirements of the elderly; (7) Deputy Deenihan – the urgent need to find a resolution to the strike by psychiatric nurses at Tralee General Hospital, County Kerry; (8) Deputy Gilmore – the delay by the Department of Education and Science in progressing the building project for St. Anne's national school, Shankill, County Dublin.
The matters raised by Deputies Gilmore, Deenihan, Michael D. Higgins and Allen have been selected for discussion.