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 Stanton – the urgent need for the Minister for Public Enterprise to mediate immediately in the dispute between the ESB and the communities of Cobh, Aghada and Raffeen in County Cork over the ESB plans to erect further pylons in the area; (2) Deputy Gay Mitchell – the need for a tax or duty concession on a car to be given to a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12; (3) Deputy Ring – the response by EUROSTAT to the Government's application for Objective One status for the 15 western, midland and Border counties and the further action planned in this regard; (4) Deputy McGinley – the inconvenience caused to the people of west Donegal since the abolition of District Court sittings in Dunfanaghy, Falcarragh, Bunbeg and Dungloe; (5) Deputy Fitzgerald – the urgent need to improve services for the adult homeless in Dublin; (6) Deputy Enright – the need to express concern over the future of Avon Arlington in Portarlington and for the Tánaiste and her Department to make every possible effort together with all state agencies to safeguard the future of this factory; (7) Deputy Briscoe – that pensioners be entitled to their free television licence from the date of their 66th birthday and not from the next licence renewal date, as at present; (8) Deputy Michael Kitt – that a television licence would not be required for schools who use televisions for educational purposes; (9) Deputy Rabbitte – the need to discuss the loss of 400 jobs at the Avon Arlington plant in Portarlington, County Laois; (10) Deputy O'Sullivan – the urgent need for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to detail the measures he intends to take to counter the widespread discrimination and marginalisation that exists in Ireland as evidenced by the recent survey conducted by the Sisters of Mercy, Western Province; (11) Deputy Howlin – the urgent need for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to clarify the Government's position regarding granting asylum seekers the right to work while their applications are being processed; (12) Deputy Flanagan – the steps the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment proposes to take to deal with the closure of the Avon Arlington plant at Portarlington, County Laois; (13) Deputy Jim Higgins – the urgent need for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to implement the recommendations of the review group on the probation and welfare service in relation to an increase in the number of probation officers.
The matters raised by Deputies Rabbitte, Flanagan, Gay Mitchell and Jim Higgins have been selected for discussion.
We have had a request to move the Adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31; as Deputy Rabbitte is not in the House we will now move on to the Order of Business.