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 Deenihan – the need to prevent the loss of a teacher at St. Teresa's national school, Killflynn, Tralee, County Kerry; (2) Deputy Sargent – that the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, noting the evidence that decisions to amend proposed SAC designated areas have been based on economic rather than scientific considerations, investigate fully the complaints being made against Dúchas by several environmental NGOs and ensure that scientific criteria only are considered in SAC designations and appeals; (3) Deputy Donal Moynihan – the possibility of decentralisation of Government offices to Macroom and other north west Cork towns; (4) Deputy Keaveney – the steady decline of IDA-supported companies from 1995 in the north west Donegal region as outlined in the IDA Annual Report, 1999; (5) Deputy Jim Higgins – the death of a prisoner who was found hanging in his cell at Wheatfield Prison; (6) Deputy Ring – the need for the Minister for Health and Children to confirm if the finalised published report on Development of Services for Symptomatic Breast Disease Report by the National Cancer Forum has become available; to confirm if he has read it; to confirm if it has been circulated to the chief executive officers of the health boards; to confirm if he has made any recommendations, either of refusal or acceptance of the report, and to make a full and detailed statement on this matter; (7) Deputy Ulick Burke – the need for the Minister to concentrate efforts for the provision of resources and jobs to the mid-west region given the latest indication of job losses in the region and the need for a greater share to be directed to this region as a matter of urgency; (8) Deputy Connaughton – the subject matter of the issue of an export licence and subsequent staffing arrangements for a meat processing factory (details supplied); (9) Deputy Rabbitte – the serious bed shortage in Tallaght Hospital which has resulted in long delays for admissions, including in the case of a person (details supplied), a potential delay of up to five years for admission for a goitre operation; (10) Deputy McDowell – the industrial dispute at the Ordnance Survey Office; (11) Deputy Breeda Moynihan-Cronin – the need to outline the progress on the implementation of the recommendations of the Moran report on orthodontic services; (12) Deputy Seán Ryan – the crisis in the orthodontic service in the greater Dublin area where more than 10,000 children are on a waiting list; and (13) Deputy Finucane – the need to proceed as a matter of urgency with Gaelscoil Ó Dhogair in Caislean Nua, Contae Luimnighí.
The matters raised by Deputies Deenihan, McDowell, Breeda Moynihan-Cronin and Jim Higgins have been selected for discussion.