I have received notice from Senator Thomas Byrne that, on the motion for the Commencement of the House today, he proposes to raise the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to include provision for the Slane bypass in the Government's capital expenditure plans which are to be announced soon.
I have also received notice from Senator Cáit Keane of the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Health to state if he will consider introducing an information campaign on the contribution calcification testing could make to reducing the number of heart attacks in Ireland, whether research has been carried out by the HSE on the potential benefits for cardiac health and if there are plans to introduce free calcification screening.
I have also received notice from Senator Paul Bradford of the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Health to provide an update on the development of the promised universal health insurance scheme and if the timetable for its introduction has changed.
I have also received notice from Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh of the following matter:
The need for the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to outline how she intends to address the disparity in employment between supervisors on the rural social, Tús, community employment, Gateway and other job activation schemes within her Department.
I regard the matters raised by the Senators as suitable for discussion and they will be taken now. Senators Cáit Keane and Trevor Ó Clochartaigh have withdrawn the Commencement matters which I had selected for discussion.