asked the Minister for Finance if he would make a statement on the position with regard to the appointment of the members of the proposed National Economic Council.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - National Economic Council.
34.
While all the interested parties have indicated their views on the terms of reference and constitution of the proposed new council, confirmation of the views of one party—the Irish Congress of Trade Unions—has been received as recently as yesterday. Pending final consideration of these views, I do not propose to make a statement on the position.
Is that the first comunication the Minister has received from the congress in this matter?
No, it is not the first.
Then it would not be true to say that he only yesterday got——
I said it was only yesterday that we received confirmation of the views of one party.
Had the Minister not already got the confirmation and——
No. That is not so.
Is it not a fact that his Department are not prepared to accept the nomination of a body who have a right to nominate?
I have indicated that I do not propose at this stage to make a statement on the position. It will be appreciated, I am sure, that there are other parties involved in this besides the Government and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The very least that is owed to them is that they should now be informed as to what the position is and they are being so informed.
Of what?
Is the Minister trying to tell us that before a nomination is accepted from any body all the other bodies have to approve of that nomination?
I am not saying that.
I am glad the Minister is not.
May I ask the Minister whether he is prepared to recommend, and the Cabinet prepared to reconsider, this rejection of the right of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to nominate those of their own choice from the Congress Executive Council with no dictation whatever from the Government?
This is enlarging the scope of the question.
I do not accept at all the implications of the Deputy's question but I am not prepared to comment further on it pending final consideration of these views.
Which organisations' views have not come in? The reason the Minister gave for the delay was that the views of certain organisations had not come in.
That is not so.
He said Congress had only replied yesterday.
That was an explanation of something he said earlier.
No, I did not. The Deputy did not listen to what I said.
(Interruptions.)
We have already had five supplementary questions.
It is my question.
The Deputy could have asked a question earlier.
I could not get in.
He tried, Sir.
All right. Deputy FitzGerald with a final supplementary.
May I ask whether the Minister will come clean and confirm that the Government, some time ago, decided that they would not permit bodies such as the ICTU to nominate people they wished to nominate, should those people happen to be Members of the Oireachtas? The Government confirmed this decision and by so doing they have sabotaged this council. Are the Government now prepared to reverse that decision and allow this council to get on with its work and end their campaign against Members of the Oireachtas?
All I can say is that that is nonsense.
Question No. 35.
What part of it is not true?
Think about it.
The Minister might bear in mind that a member of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Senator Norman Kennedy, is a member of the Northern Ireland Economic Council. He is a trade union official of the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union. The Northern Ireland Government have fully accepted, notwithstanding his membership of the Northern Ireland Senate, that he is fully eligible to sit on their National Economic Council and no such restriction should exist in the Republic. They can at least take some good example from Brian Faulkner now and again.
I have indicated, and I repeat, that I am not prepared at this stage to comment on what is involved in this. I repeat also that there are other bodies involved who have certain views on this matter. They are entitled to be informed of what the present situation is before the Government make a public statement on the matter and they are being so informed.
(Interruptions.)
Has any other body objected to Members of the Oireachtas being on the council?
There are bodies with a particular point of view on this question.
I know of no other organisation which specifically objected to the right of any body to nominate its own members. I think the Minister is under a misapprehension.
I am not under a misapprehension.
He is trying to be.
The other bodies concerned have indicated a definite view on this question.
Were they asked for that view and if so why?
It formed part of the original discussions on the constitution.
No.
Of course it did. The conditions were part of the discussion on the constitution.
It was not included in the conditions and the Minister knows that.
Are we to spend the whole evening on this one question?
It was not included.
It was discussed with the conditions.
(Interruptions.)