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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 3 Feb 2009

Vol. 673 No. 2

Adjournment Debate Matters.

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 Joe McHugh — the future of the Lough Foyle and the Lough Swilly ferry services; (2) Deputy Frank Feighan — to ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her Department will make necessary changes in the qualifying criteria for community employment schemes, based on the fact that there are many vacancies on these schemes, in particular in County Roscommon, while FÁS does not have eligible candidates to fill these vacancies, despite the high rate of unemployment in the county. This is due to extremely strict eligibility requirements, namely, the requirement to be unemployed and receiving social welfare payment for 12 months. Will the Minister amend the regulation whereby a person, unemployed for 11 months, is offered temporary employment for two to six weeks, for example, but that person automatically rules himself or herself out of qualifying for a community scheme and is forced to commence again the 12 months unemployment status? Is the Minister aware that there are people due to "come off" community employment schemes in County Roscommon shortly, but there are no candidates available to replace them due to the strict guidelines? In the current climate will the Minister reduce the unemployment criteria and the 12 months clause for being in receipt of social welfare payment and ensure that, if persons get temporary employment during that time, they are not automatically disqualified?; (3) Deputy Deirdre Clune — the need to ensure that funding continues to be provided for Opera 2005; (4) Deputy Finian McGrath — funding for the new centre for St. Joseph's Centre for the Visually Impaired, Drumcondra, Dublin 9; (5) Deputy Timmy Dooley — the psychological assessment of children with suspected autism in Clare; (6) Deputy Charles Flanagan — the availability of the PULSE system in Garda stations; (7) Deputy Ciarán Lynch — to ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will lay before the House the details, including financial implications, of his plans to enable local authorities to lease estates from developers as outlined by the Minister of State in recent days, and lay out his programme to spend €20 million in leasing currently idle properties from developers; (8) Deputy Tom Hayes — to ask the Minister for Finance, in light of recurring and serious problems with flooding in Clonmel town, which have been ongoing now for years, to fast-track the Clonmel flood relief works. The level of disruption and damage is considerable, and the flood relief works urgently require prioritisation immediately; (9) Deputy James Bannon — the need for the Minister for Health and Children to ensure that after a wait of 12 years a full complement of appropriate services for secondary care facilities is provided under phase 2B of Longford-Westmeath Hospital, Mullingar, County Westmeath, to ensure patient safety and best possible outcomes; (10) Deputy Paul Kehoe — the problems caused to businesses by the strict enforcement of employment regulation orders; (11) Deputy Seán Sherlock — to ask the Minister for Health and Children to reverse the decision to close Heatherside Hospital in north Cork in light of the inadequate facilities into which it is proposed to house patients and staff who are to be transferred in the event of its closure; (12) Deputy Margaret Conlon — the development of Castleblayney courthouse, County Monaghan as a civic facility; (13) Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin — the need for the Minister for Health and Children to instruct the HSE to respond positively to the call of general practitioners in Counties Cavan and Monaghan for a full independent risk assessment of the safety implications for patients affected by the planned closure of 56 acute medical beds in Monaghan General Hospital and of the general practitioners' capacity to provide a safe service in such circumstances, concerns which have led general practitioners in Cavan-Monaghan to withdraw from HSE planning groups; (14) Deputy Noel J. Coonan — the concern about when an application for funding for a new fire station facility in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, an application first made by North Tipperary County Council in May 2005, will be provided by the Department, taking into account the extreme deteriorating conditions at the establishment and subsequent health and safety concerns; (15) Deputy Brian O'Shea — the continuation of Waterford Crystal as a complete entity; (16) Deputy Kieran O'Donnell — to call on the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to release the committed funding for the Limerick regeneration project to enable housing, infrastructural and other programmes to commence immediately in order to restore public trust in the project; (17) Deputy Jimmy Deenihan — the implications of the proposed closure of the Fastrack service by Iarnród Éireann, especially for the transport of blood samples on a daily basis from hospitals and doctors which may be critical for the survival of individuals with certain illnesses; and (18) Deputy Joe Costello — the need for the Minister for Enterprise and Employment to ensure the FÁS training, employment and community facilities in Jervis Street, Dublin 1, are not closed down.

The matters raised by Deputies Paul Kehoe, Brian O'Shea, Charles Flanagan and Margaret Conlon have been selected for discussion.

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