I have received notice from Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill that, on the motion for the Commencement of the House today, he proposes to raise the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to recognise a newly-released audio file of Ayatollah Montazeri, successor to Ayatollah Khomeini, 1988, which reveals new evidence about the massacre of more than 30,000 political prisoners, including women and children, in Iran's prisons in the summer of 1988 and, accordingly, to condemn this brutal massacre as a crime against humanity and act internationally to support the global campaign seeking justice for the victims.
I have also received notice from Senator Jennifer Murnane O'Connor of the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Health to provide urgently the €350,000 funding needed to reopen the Tír na nÓg respite centre in Carlow which was closed in December 2015.
I have also received notice from Senator Máire Devine of the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Health to provide an update on the recruitment of a specialist oncologist based at St. Vincent’s hospital in Dublin, as committed to in July 2016.
I have also received notice from Senator Ivana Bacik of the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Health, in light of the concerns expressed by the Irish Cancer Society and others about significantly falling rates of take-up of the HPV vaccine by parents of teenage girls, to state how he proposes to increase take-up rates to help prevent the incidence of cervical cancer, whether he proposes to launch a public awareness campaign to inform parents of the proven safety and efficacy of the vaccination programme, and what plans are in place to extend the roll-out of the HPV vaccination programme to boys.
I have also received notice from Senator Robbie Gallagher of the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Education and Skills to introduce a scheme to enable permanent primary school teachers who have been participating in a temporary teacher exchange scheme for five consecutive years to continue to exchange their posts on a permanent basis, subject to the agreement and written approval of the boards of management of their respective schools.
I have also received notice from Senator Paul Gavan of the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to update the Seanad on the status of the Office of Government Procurement's report into the use of social clauses in public contracts, with particular reference to the issuing of guidelines to local authorities in this regard.
I have also received notice from Senator Martin Conway of the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to state when he plans to commence work on opening the railway station in Crusheen, County Clare.
I have also received notice from Senator Tim Lombard of the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to make a statement on the future of live calf exports for 2017 in light of the decision by Cork Marts to exit the calf export industry.
I have also received notice from Senator Aidan Davitt of the following matter:
The need for the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to clarify whether all development levies from the proposed new fast-track planning procedure, under which applications for developments of more than 100 units will be made directly to An Bord Pleanála, will be rebated back to each relevant county council, and to advise the timeframe and system of development levy collection to be implemented under this new system.
I regard the matters raised by Senators Ó Domhnaill, Murnane O'Connor, Devine, Bacik, Gallagher, Gavan, Conway and Lombard as suitable for discussion. I have selected the matters raised by Senators Ó Domhnaill, Murnane O'Connor, Devine and Bacik and they will be taken now. Senators Gallagher, Gavan, Conway and Lombard may give notice on another day of the matters they wish to raise. I regret I have had to rule out of order the matter raised by Senator Davitt because it anticipates the Committee Stage debate on the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016, which is due to take place in this Chamber tomorrow, 23 November 2016.