Before coming to the Order of Business I propose to deal with a number of notices under Standing Order 31 and I will call Members in the order in which they submitted their notices to my office.
Requests to move Adjournment of Dáil under Standing Order 31.
I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following matter of urgent national concern, namely, the proposal to abolish all health boards with effect from June 2004 in contravention of the originally agreed date of 1 January 2005, thus removing the contribution of locally elected public representatives and the representatives of health professionals, together with all elements of local democracy, from the health administration system and breaching the essential conduit between the public and health service providers six months in advance of the original appointed date.
I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following matter of urgent national importance, namely, that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government should address the loss of public confidence in the planning system, as shown by the recent decision of An Bord Pleanála on a national toxic waste incinerator whereby reasons for rejection of this project as recommended by a senior inspector of the board, who presided over the longest continuous planning oral hearing in the history of the State, were completely ignored by the board solely because incineration as a waste disposal method is stated Government policy and incinerators must be constructed on foot of this policy, and that further the Minister has helped bring about such a situation where decisions of this type are made by the proposed national infrastructure board.
I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following matter of urgent national importance, namely, the horrific and vicious assault of a man and the gang rape of a woman in the early hours of the morning in Cratloe woods, County Clare, last weekend. I ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to take into consideration the rape in County Clare, the rape of a 13 year old girl in Cork city last weekend and the three year suspended sentence handed down to a 17 year old who had confessed to raping a 50 year old man and to comment on sentencing for crimes of this nature and whether a system should be put in place whereby the punishment fits the crime and is a deterrent to sex offenders.
I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following matter of urgent national importance, namely, the shocking lack of enforcement by local authorities in regard to planning breaches; the cause of this lack of enforcement; the excessive powers and lack of accountability enjoyed by county managers; and the combined effect of these two major problems, which perpetuate, among other things, the ongoing risk of corruption among officials and public representatives and a lack of faith among the public in the planning process and politicians in general.
I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following specific and important matter of public interest requiring urgent attention, namely, the failure of the Government to honour the commitment made to workers in An Post to establish an employee share ownership trust in return for new work practices agreed and implemented by the workers in the transformation agreement and the urgent need for the enactment of the Postal (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2001.
I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following matter of urgent national importance, namely, the need for a review of heritage policy given the refusal of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to take planning appeals on heritage issues, as recommended by his officials, and his lack of interest in protecting the historic remains of Carrickmines Castle, which could easily have been achieved by altering the relevant road design.
I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following matter of urgent national importance, namely, to allow the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to explain how his Department expects to restrict the dramatic growth in CO2 emissions from the transport sector given the Government's massive investment in the national and local roads programme and its refusal to finance alternative public transport projects.
I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following matter of urgent national importance, namely, in light of historic and recent patterns of Garda misconduct and abuse and the demonstrated failure of the internal complaints investigation mechanisms, including the Garda Complaints Board, the need to introduce, as a matter of urgency, a fully independent Garda ombudsman whose powers of investigation would be retrospective and whose remit would be distinct from that of an independent civilian oversight body and local community accountability mechanisms, both of which are also needed to establish a fully transparent and accountable police force in this jurisdiction, and to re-establish public confidence in the Garda.
Having considered the matters raised, they are not in order under Standing Order 31.