I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 21 and the name of the Member in each case: (1) Deputy Hayes — the need for an annual subvention to the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in light of the present financial crisis they are undergoing; (2) Deputy Deenihan — the restrictions on access for graduates to higher diploma in education courses in universities; (3) Deputy Healy-Rae — the need to give derogation from the licensing regulations to the small dumping sites at Killarney, Milltown, Kenmare and Cahirciveen; (4) Deputy McGennis — the progress being made on the implementation of the Control of Horses Act, 1996 and the need to put reporting procedures in place between the Department of Agriculture and Food and the local authorities on the implementation of the Act; (5) Deputy Allen — the decision to sanction the construction of a sewage treatment plant at Little Island, County Cork, despite the inspection report which indicated that the site was not the optimum one on environmental grounds; (6) Deputy Brendan Smith — the subject matter of Parliamentary Question No. 91 of Thursday, 20 November 1997; (7) Deputy Neville — the need for an action plan for homeless children in the Eastern Health Board area; (8) Deputy Broughan — the need for a Garda inquiry into the report by European Union auditors of the fraudulent use of the name of a non-existent Lucan Chamber of Commerce to validate beef exports for the purpose of European Union subsidies; (9) Deputy Stagg — the threatened court action by British Nuclear Fuels Limited to have the case being brought against it by four Dundalk residents struck out on the grounds that they have not submitted a statement of claim which arises from the refusal of the Government to fully fund the case as promised; (10) Deputy Durkan — the ongoing human rights abuses in Algeria as outlined by Amnesty International and the need to initiate measures at European Union level with the objective of facilitating a United Nations Commission of Investigation; (11) Deputy Finucane — the need to expedite construction on Gaelscoil Uí Dhúbhair, Caisleán Nua, Chontae Luimnigh, and the date on which construction will commence; (12) Deputy Timmins — the increase in funding of £5 million granted by the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation to Bord Fáilte; (13) Deputy Connaughton — the continuing hostilities in Sri Lanka and the importance of the Irish Government volunteering to mediate in order to prevent further human rights violations and unwanted death of innocent civilians; (14) Deputy O'Shea — the need to remove examination fees for all second level students following the recent decision for medical card holders; (15) Deputy Rabbitte — the need to extend schemes such as "early start" and "breaking the cycle" to help address the problem of absenteesism among children attending schools in parts of Clondalkin, County Dublin arising from the research of the Clondalkin Partnership; (16) Deputy McDowell — the consequences for Ireland arising from the collapse of Yamaichi Securities in Japan and the general economic crisis in south-east Asia; (17) Deputy Richard Bruton — the need for urgent action to overhaul and resource policies for educational disadvantage in light of recent reports on school dropout in Clondalkin, County Dublin and on literacy problems in Ireland; (18) Deputy Lawlor — the need to provide a co-ordinated multi-disciplined programme in national schools in north Clondalkin where high levels of absenteeism, remedial assistance, emotional problems and low levels of academic achievement have been recorded; (19) Deputy Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny) — the placing of an advertisement for a college/industry technician initiative course in a local newspaper dated 14 November 1997 giving the closing date as 14 November 1997, resulting in unemployed people being late and the refusal of the CAO to accept these entries; (20) Deputy Michael Kitt — the entitlement to a Christmas bonus and a fuel allowance for people who have just completed a community employment scheme; (21) Deputy Boylan — discrimination against the Border region in relation to recent job announcements by the Government.
The matters raised by Deputies Broughan, Deenihan, Finucane and Richard Bruton have been selected for discussion.