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 Durkan — the circumstances alleged in a Sunday newspaper (details supplied) article that a special deal was offered to a particular telecommunications service provider; (2) Deputy O'Dowd — to ask the Minister to discuss the findings of the Health Research Board on the health effects of incineration and landfill in the report commissioned by his Department; (3) Deputy Pat Breen — calling on the Minister to provide extra funding from the local government fund in 2005 to Clare County Council given that Clare County Council has now taken over responsibility from Shannon Development for Shannon town since 6 September 2004 resulting in a huge drain on the council resources; (4) Deputy Finneran — calling on the Minister to extend the rural renewal scheme to coincide with the period of Objective One status in that region; (5) Deputy Andrews — the reason capital funding was withdrawn from the Spinal Injuries Association of Ireland; (6) Deputy Connolly — to discuss the provision of 90% grant-aid funding for farmers in Counties Monaghan and Cavan to enable them to comply with the EU nitrates directive; (7) Deputy Ring — to ask the Minister to indicate when arrears of blind welfare allowance that are due to people for a number of years will be paid; (8) Deputy McCormack — the provision of funding to the Western Health Board to enable the community resource for mental health patients to be opened without further delay; (9) Deputy Connaughton — to ask the Government to address the issues highlighted in the task force report, Ireland and The Irish Abroad, published in August 2002 and if the Government is aware of the grave circumstances faced by many elderly Irish citizens who emigrated to the UK and the USA in the 1950s and 1960s and what extra financial help the Government proposes to make available to the many and varied groups that are struggling to help our citizens; (10) Deputy Breeda Moynihan-Cronin — the need to expedite the provision of a new hospital in Dingle, County Kerry; (11) Deputy Cowley — to ask the Minister if he will consider reform of An Bord Pleanála in view of the overwhelming opinion that it is incapable of operating as an independent board since it is apparently bound by Government policy in making its decisions; (12) Deputy Gormley — confirmation of a case of variant CJD in an Irish patient, the implications of this case for the Irish health service and the beef industry, and the need now for the Minister to take all necessary steps to ensure that there are no further cases of variant CJD; (13) Deputy Morgan — the necessity for the Minister to address the findings of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report on global warming; the consequential necessity to review the national climate change strategy and the necessity for the State to make a greater commitment to tackle global warming and bring about reductions in emissions; (14) Deputy Sargent — calling on the Minister to ensure that resources are made available for a full criminal investigation into the killing of seals on the Blasket Islands in Kerry; (15) Deputy Naughten — calling on the Minister to take decisive action to label Irish beef in light of the diagnosis of a person with variant CJD; and (16) Deputy Crawford — to ask if the Minister is aware that five junior doctors will not be replaced or have their time extended in Monaghan General Hospital after 1 January.
The matters raised by Deputies McCormack, Moynihan-Cronin, Crawford and Sargent have been selected for discussion.