asked the Minister for Health the reasons for rejecting the nominees of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to the National Rehabilitation Organisation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Nominees to National Rehabilitation Organisation.
5.
Under the Organisation's Articles of Association only the Minister is authorised to nominate persons to the National Organisation for Rehabilitation. In appointing members in March, 1959, the Minister indicated, however, to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions that he desired that the trade union movement should continue to be represented on the Organisation. Accordingly, he requested the Congress to submit a panel of names of six persons, willing to act, from which he would nominate two. The Congress declined to submit such a panel and the Minister could not accordingly nominate for membership representatives of the trade union movement, chosen in the manner proposed by him.
Is it not clear that the Minister decided that he should have some nominee from the trade union movement to represent the organised workers both on the National Rehabilitation Organisation and on the National Health Council? In accordance with that decision of his, he wrote the Irish Congress of Trade Unions asking them to make the nomination and, because of the fact that the people who were nominated by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions were not acceptable, for some reason or another, to the Minister for Health, he declined to accept the nominations and asked the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to nominate a panel from which he would select the member most acceptable to himself. May I submit——
The Deputy may ask a question.
May I ask the Minister does he not think it reasonable that, if he feels the trade union movement should be represented on these organisations, he should leave it to the trade union movement to select the people they consider best fitted——
The Deputy is making an argument now.
——to represent that movement and that he should not, as he appears to have done, nominate his own nominees from the trade union movement?
The Deputy is making an argument. He is not asking a question.
I am simply inquiring, Sir.
The Deputy is making an argument. The Deputy is asking: "Does he not think?" The Deputy is making an argument.
With respect. Sir, I am simply submitting that if the Minister feels the trade union movement should be represented on these organisations he should leave it to the organisation catering for the trade union movement to decide who best would represent them on these councils.
The fact that emerges all the way through is that the Minister for Health carried out his statutory function as laid down by this House.
With your permission, Sir, I propose to raise this matter on the adjournment.