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 seek the adjournment of the House under Standing Order 31 to discuss a matter of urgent national importance, namely, in light of the fact that the trafficking of persons, mainly for sexual exploitation, is the third largest illegal trade in the EU, there is an immediate need for the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Ireland to sign the UN protocol on trafficking and the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings to ensure that this practice can become illegal and liable to criminal prosecution throughout the European Union.
I seek the adjournment of Dáil Éireann under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following matter of urgent public and national concern, namely, the sharp contradiction between the admission at last week's meeting of the Joint Committee on Health and Children by Mr. John Saunders, an author of the Teamwork report, that the withdrawal of any hospital service prior to its replacement by a better alternative was neither common sense nor appropriate and the Health Service Executive's stated aim to use the Teamwork report as an excuse to remove life-saving services from Monaghan General Hospital in advance of having superior services in place and to inflict a similar fate on the north-east region's remaining hospitals before the process is rolled out nationally.
In accordance with the terms of Standing Order 31, I seek the adjournment of the Dáil to discuss the following specific and important matter of public interest requiring urgent attention, namely, the need for Ireland to sign and ratify the 2000 United Nations protocol on trafficking and the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings as trafficking in people is now a global industry and Ireland is a target destination for trafficking gangs.
I request the adjournment of the Dáil under the terms of Standing Order 31 on the following matter of urgent national and local importance, namely, that 2,500 local authority houses not included in refurbishment schemes are lying vacant and that some local authorities take an unacceptably long time to relet or repair and relet vacant houses, choosing instead to fit steel shutters and allow long periods of vacancy resulting in the impression that there is an abundance of social housing available, ghettoising whole estates and hindering the establishment of a sense of community. As the taxpayer pays for rent assistance, shutters and extra repairs resulting from long periods of vacancy, it is unacceptable that the reletting of social housing is not dealt with as a matter of urgency.
I seek the adjournment of the business of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 on a matter of urgent national importance, namely, that the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform make a statement to the Dáil outlining current Government policy on the building of new prisons, whether a new prison will be constructed at Spike Island or if the Army camp at Kilworth has been identified for this purpose and plans to build at Thornton Hall will be replaced by new proposals.
I seek the adjournment of the House under the terms of Standing Order 31 to debate the following issue of urgent national importance, namely, the need for the Ministers for Transport and the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to review the situation and amend regulations or legislation if necessary regarding works being carried out on major national routes, be they emergency works or otherwise, to ensure that local authorities and businesses provide adequate notification to the public by whatever means necessary so that commuters must not face up to seven hours stuck in gridlock as a result of inadequate and tardy information being provided, particularly in light of the existing dreadful congestion suffered by people on a daily basis as a result of years of Government mismanagement.
Having considered the matters raised, they are not in order under Standing Order 31.