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 Gay Mitchell – to raise on the Adjournment the reply to Question No. 171 of 22 May 2003 in relation to a 16 year old who is seeking a visa to join her parents and their other two children in Ireland, especially given the unacceptable tone and nature of the reply received; (2) Deputy Michael Higgins – the imposition from 1 July 2003 of a passenger levy on passengers travelling to islands off the coast, including the Aran Islands; (3) Deputy Connaughton – the matter of the ten week old strike at the Department of Agriculture and Food offices in Galway, Mayo, Kerry, Limerick and Cork in order to highlight the enormous hardship being encountered by farmers as a result of the strike and to seek reasons why this dispute has been allowed to go on for so long; (4) Deputy Crowe – the effect of continuing community employment cutbacks on disadvantaged areas and groups; (5) Deputy Timmins – to ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food to outline his position on the Fischler proposals; (6) Deputy McCormack – the order to impose a levy on all passengers travelling from Rossaveale Harbour, Connemara, County Galway, to the Aran Islands; (7) Deputy Burton – the investigation which has been held into the circumstances of a serious acid spillage in west Dublin on 10 June 2003; (8) Deputy Eamon Ryan – the licensing arrangements that were made to facilitate the inclusion of the fishing vessel the Atlantic Dawn in the Irish fishing register; (9) Deputy Cowley – the steps which can be taken to prevent the closure of Fitzpack Ballindine Limited, Ballindine, County Mayo; (10) Deputy Sargent – that the Department of Education and Science undertake to ensure that schools such as Swords Educate Together national school, which has operated for two years, is equipped with safe and appropriate furniture for the five classrooms in light of no funding for furniture ever being provided by the Department to date; (11) Deputy Wall – the funding available for the immediate refurbishment of St. Patrick's national school, Athy, County Kildare, and the status of the school in relation to disadvantage; (12) Deputy Gogarty – the need for the Minister to police non-compliance with the Universities Act or amend the Act so that non-compliance can be monitored and policed by an independent body; (13) Deputy Upton – the need to investigate the long delay faced by young adults with autism in obtaining assistance through their area health board such as a case (details supplied) in Dublin 12; (14) Deputy Morgan – the urgent need to ensure that a recycling centre-civic amenity centre is developed in Drogheda, one of the fastest growing towns in Ireland; (15) Deputy McGinley – Cailliúint 48 post i monarcha B.M.R. (Gaoth Dobhair) ag an deireadh seachtaine agus an ghéarchéim dífhostaíochta ar Eastát Tionscail Ghaoth Dobhair mar ar cailleadh 290 post le trí bliana anuas; (16) Deputy Killeen – the need to ensure that the position of Shannon Airport as the key driver of economic growth and regional development in the west of Ireland is assured under any EU-US agreement on transatlantic aviation; (17) Deputy Joe Higgins – concern over the spillage of a dangerous chemical from a truck in Mulhuddart, County Dublin, and the need for direct implementation of safety guidelines for the transport of such materials.
The matters raised by Deputies Cowley, Michael Higgins, McCormack and Killeen have been selected for discussion.