Before coming to the Order of Business, I propose to deal with a number of notices under Standing Order 31.
Requests to move Adjournment of Dáil under Standing Order 31.
I wish to seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to debate an urgent matter, namely, the fact that the planning process in County Kerry is being interfered with and hampered by a small number of serial objectors who use the appeals system to hurt people against whom they have a personal vendetta; the need for anyone objecting or appealing a planning decision to prove that the proposed development would have a detrimental affect on themselves or property they own; the need to balance the rights of everybody as part of the debate on this very complicated matter; the fact that objectors often live 70 or 80 miles from the location in respect of which the planning permission has been applied for — in some instances, objections have been made by people living as far away as the United States of America; and the need for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to take some action to put a stop to this practice, for example by increasing the fee for making appeals to at least €1,000 to bring an end to this unwanted blackguarding.
Hear, hear.
That request has to be granted.
I wish to seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to raise a specific and important matter of public interest that requires urgent attention, namely, the need for the Taoiseach and the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism to explain why fixtures and fittings have been removed from the Great Southern Hotels, to state who authorised their removal and to outline what will happen to them subsequently; and the need for the Taoiseach to intervene to ensure that all fixtures and fittings remain in place while the hotels operate as Great Southern Hotels in the name of this State and that no further asset stripping takes place to maintain the current appearance and continued operation of these prestige hotels.
If the Taoiseach is consistent he should deal with that matter vigorously.
I wish to seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss a specific matter that requires urgent consideration, namely, the need for the location of an emergency ambulance station at St. Bridget's Hospital in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, to ensure realistic and lifesaving response times, particularly for heart patients and road traffic accident patients, as the existing emergency ambulance services operating from Clonmel and Waterford cannot meet acceptable response times; and the need for the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children to make a statement on the matter.
I wish to seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to raise a matter of national importance, namely, the failure of the ambulance services to respond to the request of a terminally ill woman, a mother of eight young children aged between seven and 18, who was being treated for cancer. The woman in question took ill 11 days after the sudden death of her husband and urgently needed to be taken from her home in Cahirciveen, County Kerry, to Cork University Hospital. As a result of the urgency of the situation and the unavailability of an ambulance to take the woman from Tralee to Cork, her family were left with no option but to transfer her in the back of a van for approximately 55 miles over substandard roads until an ambulance travelling from Macroom eventually took her to Cork. The woman died last week, leaving eight children orphaned. This House needs to discuss the failure of the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children to provide medical services for people in need.
I wish to seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to raise a specific and important matter of public interest that requires urgent consideration, namely, the constitutional or legislative changes which are required in the wake of yesterday's Supreme Court judgment to ensure the rights of children receive adequate protection in the State.
I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to debate the following urgent matter, namely, the continued failure of the Government to deal with the issue of alcohol abuse in our society, particularly in respect of young people, whereby children as young as 12 or less now drink themselves into a stupor regularly, with all the personal and social problems thus caused; the lack of a role model among senior Government figures, as shown by the number of off-licences and pubs opened by politicians, not to mention drink driving charges; the lack of investment in community facilities, whereby more than one third of the sports budget is spent on the dog and horse racing industries; the need to provide such facilities as well as education and personal development opportunities; and the need to seriously tackle issues such as alcohol availability, ineffective fines and power of advertising for the commercial entities, before the situation becomes worse — the Dáil bar sets a bad example in this regard.
Having considered the matters raised, they are not in order under Standing Order 31.