Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 5 Dec 1984

Vol. 354 No. 8

Order of Business.

The Taoiseach

It is proposed to take Nos. 10, 3, 4 and 11. Private Members' Business shall be No. 22. By agreement and notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, the following arrangements shall apply today:

(1) Business shall be interrupted at 5.30 p.m. to enable statements to be made on bank interest rates subject to:

(a) With the exception of the Minister for Finance, no Member shall make more than one statement,

(b) The statements of the speakers for the Government and each of the Opposition parties shall not exceed 20 minutes,

(c) The concluding speaker, who shall be a member of the Government, shall be called not later than 6.50 p.m.

(2) Business shall be interrupted at 8.30 p.m. to take items 3, 4 and 11 and the order shall not be resumed thereafter. The remaining Stages of the Registration of Potato Growers and Potato Packers Bill, 1984 shall be brought to a conclusion not later than 10.30 p.m. by one question which shall be put from the Chair and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only amendments set down by the Minister for Agriculture.

(3) The Dáil shall sit later than 9 p.m. today and not later than 11 p.m. and business shall be interrupted at 10.30 p.m.

Mr. Lenihan

Do I take it that we will have a statement on the summit meeting tomorrow?

The Taoiseach

Yes, that is the intention.

Mr. Lenihan

Will there be included in it a statement on the Taoiseach's discussion with the British Prime Minister concerning Northern Ireland?

The Taoiseach

Any reference that may be appropriate to that will be included in the statement.

Mr. R. Burke

Yesterday on the Order of Business I asked the Tánaiste if he would confirm or deny the fact that the Government have taken a decision to increase the income from local authority rents.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy is out of order.

Mr. R. Burke

I want to make a point. I attempted to raise the point that the Government have decided to increase the income of local authority rents for 1985 by 20 per cent.

The Tánaiste

The Deputy just wants publicity.

An Ceann Comhairle

May I intervene?

Mr. R. Burke

Yes.

Mr. P. Barry

Decent man.

An Ceann Comhairle

I ruled that matter out of order yesterday. It is undesirable — I do not want to use stronger language — that the matter should be raised in this way. I ruled it out of order and did not give an opportunity to anyone to reply. That is not the way it appears in certain reports this morning.

Mr. R. Burke

That is the problem from my point of view. In certain reports this morning it is reported that the Minister for the Public Service suggested I was misleading the House. I am entitled to have myself cleared on that.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Burke would not have run into that difficulty or put other people into it if he had been guided by the Chair when he was ruled out of order.

Mr. R. Burke

In view of the fact that, not through your fault or my fault, the statement by the Minister for the Public Service was reported I ask the Taoiseach, to clear my name, if he will make a statement today or issue a statement through the Government press secretary some time this morning either denying or confirming that the Government have taken a decision to increase the income from local authority rents by 20 per cent for 1985. I just want a statement.

An Ceann Comhairle

I am ruling that matter out of order.

Mr. R. Burke

I am asking if he will make a statement today.

An Ceann Comhairle

Order, please. I am ruling this matter out of order. There is no question of a person making a statement or not making a statement.

Mr. R. Burke

Not in the House but outside it. I am asking that the Taoiseach take the opportunity outside the House to issue a statement through the press secretary either confirming or denying it. It is as simple as that. The Chair regrets the report the same as I do. I would like to have the matter clarified by the Taoiseach. He should either deny or confirm that it is a 20 per cent increase in local authority rents with overtime and bonuses taken into account for the first time ever.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Burke has a very good voice, God bless him, but he should not shout down the Chair.

Mr. R. Burke

I am just asking for assistance.

An Ceann Comhairle

The matter is not in order.

Mr. Molloy

In view of the answers given to me on 13 November by the Minister for the Environment I ask the Taoiseach if it is still the Government's intention, as indicated to me on that occasion, to increase local authority rents on 1 January?

An Ceann Comhairle

I have just ruled that out of order. Deputy Molloy is invariably a very orderly Deputy. I have ruled that matter out of order.

Mr. Molloy

The Chair ruled something that Deputy Burke raised out of order.

An Ceann Comhairle

That does not arise on the Order of Business.

Mr. Molloy

It does.

An Ceann Comhairle

No.

Mr. Molloy

My next point will. I wish to ask the Taoiseach — I would ask the Minister for the Environment if he was here this morning, we have a good array but we do not have the Minister who is required.

Mr. Barrett

(Dún Laoghaire): He is in Brussels.

Mr. Molloy

I should like to ask the Taoiseach to ensure that the Minister for the Environment complies with a promise he made during the course of Question Time on 13 November——

An Ceann Comhairle

That does not arise on the Order of Business. I am sorry.

Mr. Molloy

If a Minister indicates in the House that he will do something, that he will make some information available to a Deputy——

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy will have an opportunity of commenting on that when the matter is in order but it is not in order now.

Mr. Molloy

If a Minister indicated in the House on 13 November that he would make some information available to me and has not made that information available to me yet, surely this is the only place I can voice my complaint?

An Ceann Comhairle

This is not in order.

Mr. Molloy

Is the Taoiseach aware that the Minister concerned did make a promise?

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy may put down a question to the Taoiseach and I will consider it.

Mr. Molloy

Is the Taoiseach aware that the Minister promised that the proposals put before the national tenants organisation would be made available to me? He made that promise to me on 13 November and the Minister has not made these proposals available to me yet.

An Ceann Comhairle

I am ruling that out of order.

Mr. Cooney

The Deputy should show some courtesy to the Chair.

An Ceann Comhairle

The matter is not in order.

Mr. Molloy

If a Minister makes a promise in the House and does not fulfil it how can a Member raise the matter?

An Ceann Comhairle

If the Deputy wishes to come to me to have a chat about the matter we will try to find some way out for him.

Mr. Molloy

If I felt for one minute that the Chair was sincere in that and that he would be able to advise me as to how I could get this Minister to respond and make the information available——

An Ceann Comhairle

I sincerely hope that the Deputy's remarks do not carry an implication that he thinks the Chair is not sincere.

Mr. Molloy

No, the Chair has been sincere on all occasions when I approached him in the past and has explained in great detail how he cannot help in these matters.

Dr. Ormonde

I should like to ask the Taoiseach, or the Minister for Agriculture, to make a statement on the plight of more than 500 farmers in the southeast who are owed more than £1½ million following the appointment of a receiver to Clover Meats.

An Ceann Comhairle

That is not in order.

Dr. Ormonde

My motion on the Adjournment was refused last night on the basis that neither the Minister for Finance nor the Minister for Agriculture had a role to play in this matter. Is that a fact?

An Ceann Comhairle

This is not in order.

Mr. G. Mitchell

I should like permission to raise on the Adjournment, in view of the continuing drugs problem in Dublin and the recommendation of the Ministerial task force, the letter from the President of the District Court to the Attorney General and the select committee on crime regarding the non-appointment of a Justice to the District Court and a Judge to the Circuit Court to deal with drug-related offences.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Chair will communicate with the Deputy.

Mr. Leyden

I should like to ask the Minister for Communications to make a statement regarding the possible strike in RTE which will black out all Christmas television programmes.

An Ceann Comhairle

I should like to say something that goes for all Deputies. Any sort of new format of asking that a statement be made on something is not in order.

Mr. Leyden

I realise the difficulties in asking that but I should like to ask the permission of the Chair to raise the subject matter of Question No. 704 on yesterday's Order Paper on the Adjournment. It refers to a possible blackout of RTE programmes at Christmas.

An Ceann Comhairle

I will communicate with the Deputy.

Mr. Kirk

I should like the permission of the Chair to raise on the Adjournment the serious unemployment problem in Dundalk where we have had lay-offs in Clarkes and ECCO in recent times.

An Ceann Comhairle

I will communicate with the Deputy.

Mr. Dowling

Yesterday I sought to raise the question of the dishonoured cheques of Clover Meats and the Chair ruled that out of order.

An Ceann Comhairle

And I gave the Deputy the reason why.

Mr. Dowling

I am anxious to know if I am in order in seeking a statement from the Minister for Finance on the legality of the situation.

An Ceann Comhairle

That is not in order.

Mr. Leyden

Why is it that the Deputy does not go to see the Minister for Finance?

Mr. Molloy

The Deputy should go to the Minister's office to see him.

An Ceann Comhairle

I have ruled that out of order.

(Interruptions.)