I have received notice from the following Senators that they propose to raise the following matters: Senator Maria Byrne - The need for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to make a statement on a review of the eligibility criteria and the maximum allowable drawdowns for housing adaptation grants in light of increased costs. Senator Robbie Gallagher - The need for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to make a statement on the taking-in-charge of housing estates process. Senator Fiona O'Loughlin - The need for the Minister for Transport to make a statement on the works undertaken to improve the public transport network, including the extension of short hop zones, in light of the suggested congestion charges. Senator Tim Lombard - The need for the Minister for Finance to make a statement on personal transport schemes for disabled drivers.
Senator Lynn Boylan - The need for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to amend the Animal Health and Welfare Act to provide that horses seized on welfare grounds can be rehomed.
Senator Sharon Keogan - The need for the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to make a statement on the process of selection of recipients of funding for projects from unspent moneys from schemes for the Traveller and Roma communities, migrant integration and Magdalen laundry redress fund. Senator Garret Ahearn - The need for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to make a statement on the maintaining of Poulavanogue as a water supply servicing Clonmel Town. Senator Martin Conway - The need for the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to make a statement on the percentage of television programmes currently subtitled, plans to increase this amount and the mechanisms available to assess the quality of subtitling. Of the matters raised by the Senators suitable for discussion, I have selected Senators Byrne, Gallagher, O'Loughlin and Lombard and they will be taken now.
Senators Boylan and Keogan have withdrawn their Commencement matters, which I had originally selected.
I regret that I had to rule out of order the matters raised by Senators Ahearn and Conway on the ground that the relevant Ministers have no official responsibility in the matters raised.