It is proposed to take No. 18. Private Members' Business will be Nos. 40, 41 and 101.
Order of Business.
On the Order of Business, is the Taoiseach aware of the publication of the latest report of the Central Bank for 1985 in which the Central Bank solemnly state that there will be an overall fall in non-agricultural employment and that given a continuation of the long-running decline in numbers at work in the agricultural sector and a further increase in the labour force, a rise in unemployment rates to around 17½ per cent on average for the year as a whole is in prospect? In view of that statement by the Central Bank would the Taoiseach comment on his attempts to tell us on a number of occasions in the last three or four months that unemployment is on the way down and employment rising?
They are all illegally in America.
I am ruling that question out of order.
The fact that the Taoiseach misleads the House and the country is not——
It cannot be raised in this way. No doubt the Deputy will have other opportunities to raise this.
The Chair proposes to allow the Taoiseach away with grossly misleading the House and the people?
The Deputy should not argue or wrangle with the Chair and he knows that.
(Interruptions.)
These are extraordinary standards.
(Interruptions.)
On the Order of Business, on what grounds does the Chair refuse to allow me to make a personal statement to the House to contradict the despicable attempt of the Government Press Secretary——
I am not going to allow the Deputy to circumvent my will.
(Interruptions.)
If a specially appointed Government press agent abuses and misrepresents——
Deputy O'Kennedy is being disorderly.
——the position of the House, am I not allowed to clear the record here?
The Deputy is being disorderly. I conveyed to the Deputy in the clearest possible terms the reasons why I disallowed him because it certainly does not come within Standing Orders——
How would you describe the actions of Press Secretary Prendergast?
(Interruptions.)
I am calling item No. 18. If Deputy O'Kennedy comes to my room——
(Interruptions.)
Deputy O'Kennedy must resume his seat.
On a point of order——
I presume I am going to hear a proper statement here.
Deputy O'Kennedy knows perfectly well that the ruling of the Chair cannot be questioned in the House in this matter.
Would you tell the House whether you propose as well to invite Press Secretary Prendergast to your office?
No, I do not. I have no jurisdiction over that. Deputy Morley.
Congratulations on the flight from Knock Airport.
I would like to raise on the Adjournment the threatened closure of the Bacon Company of Ireland plant at Claremorris causing the loss of 120 jobs in the town and considerable anxiety and concern in the whole community.
I will communicate with Deputy Morley.
If you think that all is well on my front let me point out to you that you disallowed a question by me for what reason I cannot understand, but it also has to do with the same press secretary who in a newspaper report talked about this Government buying the consent of Catholics to be governed.
I also conveyed to Deputy Haughey in the clearest terms why I disallowed that question. Deputy Haughey knows that it is not in the interests of the House or the orderly conduct of business to go on day after day challenging the Chair and calling into question his decisions on order.
I am not challenging the Chair on this occasion. I am just saying that the reasons may be very clear to you. I want to point out that they were not clear to me. Is there any way in which we can deal with this irresponsible press secretary who keeps causing all this trouble at home and abroad?
What are his credentials for his high office?
(Interruptions.)
Since you conveyed to our Chief Whip that a Private Notice Question which I submitted was disallowed as it was not a matter of sufficient urgency, let me ask what could be more urgent than the injustice which may be perpetrated in relation to those serving sentences for the Birmingham bombings, or what is more urgent than the right of a Member to clear his name in this House on that issue?
I am not going to have an argument with the Deputy. I have given my ruling after mature consideration and I have conveyed the reasons for my decision to the Deputy.
On that issue the reason conveyed, very tersely, through the Government Chief Whip——
Deputy O'Kennedy cannot argue with the Chair.
I want to seek information as to criteria for urgency——
I am not going to give reasons in the House.
——then we will all know what the criteria are.
I am acting in accordance with procedures going back over 50 years.
In terms of urgency——
Deputy O'Kennedy must resume his seat.
I will resume my seat but——
Please resume your seat without qualification. If you have anything else to ask me, ask me. If you have not, resume your seat.
(Interruptions.)
Deputy O'Kennedy, you must resume your seat.
Your notions of urgency and ours are very different.
The Deputy can consult his Whip or he can consult Standing Orders.
And call and have a cosy chat in your office and the public will not know what happened. That is a disgrace.
The press secretary is corrupting the Department of Foreign Affairs if that is possible.
Deputies are bringing the institution of the Chair into ridicule by attacking the Chair day after day, and they should stop.
On the Order of Business, would the Taoiseach ask the OPW to provide him with a muzzle for the Minister for Communications to stop him from attacking a trade union involved in the B & I restructuring at the most delicate stage of that restructuring?
On the Order of Business, you called item No. 40 in Private Members' Business. That is the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1985, First Stage. I would like to ask you to rule whether a breach of privilege has been committed by members of the Labour Party in holding a press conference announcing details of a Bill before it is circulated to Deputies, as previously ruled by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. If a breach of privilege has taken place what action do you propose to take?
It does not arise here. The Deputy will have to raise it elsewhere if he wishes. There is a procedure for raising it.
Surely if you have called on the Order of Business a Bill which should not have been announced publicly until it had been circulated——
The Deputy can have it raised with the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.
I intend to raise it and to seek their ruling on it.
I would like to ask the Taoiseach if the House will have an opportunity to discuss the section of his statement of 23 October which refers to the transfer of the function of debt collection from the office of the county registrars to the sheriffs.
Deputy Hyland——
Surely it is not unreasonable to ask the Taoiseach to give this House an opportunity to discuss a change as radical as that proposed in the Taoiseach's statement. He is talking about transferring——
Is the Deputy talking about promised legislation?
Yes, it was promised.
Then he may ask when it is proposed to introduce the legislation but he cannot make a speech.
That is not my question. Will an opportunity be provided for Members of this House to discuss the implications of the Taoiseach's statement in which he said that he is going to transfer that function from the county registrars to the proposed sheriffs all over the country?
The Deputy should perhaps get in closer touch with his party and then he will be aware that we offered the Opposition a debate on our proposals including this, but the Opposition turned down the opportunity of such a debate. I cannot take the matter any further. He will have to talk to his Whip.
Deputy Vincent Brady will be able to tell him.
(Interruptions.)
If you would let me know what you would like me to raise then I will try to accord with your wishes. If you would like to listen to what I propose to raise——
Raise where and when?
On the Adjournment.
Now you are getting at something.
I refer to the subject matter of the question that was disallowed and the statement that you refused to allow me to make. In view of the fact that this information can be conveyed outside this House by a paid agent of the Government and that I have not been allowed to raise it here, I propose to raise that matter on the Adjournment.
I will communicate with Deputy O'Kennedy.
I hope the response of the Chair will be positive.
Will the Chair say whether or not that contribution was a waste of time?
Or was in accordance with his wishes?
I am surprised at Deputy Collins. What I said was that I hoped Deputy O'Kennedy was not going to raise that matter again.
The Chair said he hoped he was not going to waste any time.
If the Chair lets me know the matter he would like me to raise I will raise it for him but in the meantime I will raise the issues I think are relevant.
With the permission of the Chair, I should like to raise on the Adjournment the continuing problem at Woodfad (Irl.) Limited, Fermoy, due to the scarcity of timber for processing with the result that jobs are at risk. I want also to draw attention to the fact that there could be an increase in the number of jobs there if the Department of Forestry produced a proper policy for the disposal of forest products.
I will communicate with the Deputy.
(Limerick West): With the permission of the Chair, I should like to raise on the Adjournment the question of the implementation of the EC young farmer establishment aid scheme and to have it included in the farm improvement scheme to be announced by the Minister shortly.
I will communicate with the Deputy.
With the permission of the Chair, I should like to raise on the Adjournment the serious problem that has arisen, because of the takeover of Dundalk Milk Products Limited by Tír Laighean, for the milk suppliers and the 70 strong workforce.
I will communicate with the Deputy.