Before coming to the Order of Business I propose to deal with a number of notices dealing with several different topics under Standing Orders. I propose to deal with these topics separately and I will call on the Deputies in the order in which they submitted their notices to my office.
Requests to move Adjournment of Dáil under Standing Order 31.
I seek the Adjournment of the House under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following matter of national importance: the increase in the number of deaths by suicide to epidemic proportions, where more people die by suicide than by road accident; the need to research why so many people, especially young people, choose to take their own lives; the need to introduce comprehensive suicide prevention programmes; the fact that suicide is the greatest cause of deaths among young people; and the need for the Minister for Health and Children to address suicide clusters which are traumatising many families and communities.
Having considered the matter fully, I do not consider it to be in accordance with Standing Order 31.
I seek the Adjournment of the House under Standing Order 31 to discuss a matter of urgent importance, namely, in light of the allegation in a Sunday newspaper that a serving Minister in the early 1990s had an outstanding bill for £5,000 with Aer Rianta, the urgent need for the Minister for Transport to make a statement to the House outlining the current information available to his Department and the board of Aer Rianta on this matter.
In accordance with Standing Order 31, I seek to move the Adjournment of the Dáil to discuss the following specific and important matter of public interest requiring urgent attention: the need for the Taoiseach to take immediate charge of the investigation into allegations that a senior politician left unpaid a bill for more than €5,000 in respect of spirits and cigars supplied to him by Aer Rianta, and to report back to the Dáil with its findings at the earliest possible date.
In accordance with Standing Order 31, I seek to move the Adjournment of the Dáil to discuss the following specific and important matter of public interest requiring urgent attention, namely, the fresh allegations of corruption involving a Minister in the last Government receiving thousands of euro worth of alcohol and tobacco from Aer Rianta in the early 1990s.
I seek the Adjournment of Dáil Éireann under Standing Order 31 to allow a full debate following the statement of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Brennan, on the allegations that a Minister in his Department in the early 1990s sought gifts of whiskey, brandy and cigars from Aer Rianta for which the bill of more than €5,000 was not paid.
Having considered the matter fully, I do not consider it to be in accordance with Standing Order 31.
I seek the Adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following specific and important matter of public interest requiring urgent attention: the need for the Taoiseach to give a firm commitment that the promised inquiry into the involvement of international drug companies into the infection of Irish haemophiliacs with HIV and hepatitis C will proceed, especially having regard to the comments of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform questioning the value of such an inquiry and the distress these comments have caused to haemophiliacs, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I seek the Adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following matter of urgent national importance, namely, the recent statement by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that the Government intends to renege on its commitment to this House and to the Haemophilia Society to pursue the investigation of the multinational pharmaceutical companies which are implicated in the supply of blood products which led to the deaths of scores of Irish people.
Having considered the matter fully, I do not consider it to be in accordance with Standing Order 31.
I seek the Adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss a matter of urgent importance, namely, in light of yesterday's court decision which found school bus operators liable for injuries caused on buses without seat belts, the urgent need for the Minister for Transport to implement the recommendations of the report of the Joint Committee on Education and Science on school transport in Ireland.
Having considered the matter fully, I do not consider it to be in accordance with Standing Order 31.
I seek the Adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss a matter of national importance, namely, the need for the Minister for Finance to address the delay by the Office of Public Works in implementing a flood relief programme for the residents of Clonmel, in particular the Old Bridge area which has been subjected to horrific flooding in recent years.
Having considered the matter fully, I do not consider it to be in accordance with Standing Order 31.
I seek the Adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss an urgent matter, namely, the crisis facing first-time home buyers with the average price of a house in Ireland now exceeding €200,000, and the series of tax breaks which the Government has given to favour property investors over home buyers and renting tenants.
Having considered the matter fully, I do not consider it to be in accordance with Standing Order 31.
I seek the Adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following matter of public importance, namely, the report of the Environmental Protection Agency on the effects of climate change, given that Irish greenhouse gas emissions are 175% of European Union levels and far in excess of commitments given by the Government in relation to the agreements under the Kyoto Protocol.
Having considered the matter fully, I do not consider it to be in accordance with Standing Order 31.