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 Leo Varadkar — that the Minister for Education and Science report to the Dáil on her Department's response to the recent announcement by Fingal County Council that 13 sites will be acquired in Fingal for the provision of new schools under the accelerated school building programme to allow these schools to be up and running by September 2008; (2) Deputy Joe Costello — the case of a person who spent three days in an accident and emergency department waiting for a bed; (3) Deputy Thomas Broughan — to address the decision of the HSE to withdraw funding for new bed facilities at the Hamilton Park Nursing Home in Balrothery, Balbriggan, on 3 October last when citizens, including a senior constituent who is a stroke patient and currently in the National Rehabilitation Hospital, have been arbitrarily deprived of much needed care and treatment at the Balrothery nursing home and if the Minister will make a statement on this and other arbitrary health cuts by HSE senior management; (4) Deputy James Bannon — the need to make funding available under the dormant accounts fund for emergency repairs at a school in County Longford; (5) Deputy David Stanton — the need to provide second level school places in Midleton; (6) Deputy Martin Ferris — the decommissioning of coast guard stations in Valentia, Malin Head and Dublin; (7) Deputy Jimmy Deenihan — the delay in sending a technical team from the Department of Education and Science to commence planning for an eight-classroom school to replace an existing defective building (details supplied), which was approved in January 2006 and highlighted by the commission on school accommodation in November 2006; (8) Deputy Tom Sheahan — to ask the Minister when his Department began formal or informal discussions regarding the closure of Valentia coast guard station; and (9) Deputy John Perry — the HSE is proceeding with the planned removal of oncology services from Sligo hospital. Yesterday the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Jimmy Devins, stated that he condemns the HSE plan to downgrade Sligo hospital but later that day the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney, endorsed the HSE plan for centres of excellence. Will the Minister confirm that the HSE plans to transfer oncology services from Sligo hospital and make a statement on the matter?
The matters raised by Deputies Joe Costello, Martin Ferris, James Bannon and David Stanton have been selected for discussion.