asked the Minister for Communications if he intends to sanction any additional payments, or provide any other financial assistance to the former employees of Irish Shipping; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
4.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Shipping Issues.
3.
asked the Minister for Communications if he intends to establish a national shipping company to replace Irish Shipping; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together.
The establishment of a new Department of the Marine is evidence of this Government's commitment to a policy of development of all aspects of our marine resources. The questions tabled by the two Deputies raise issues of considerable complexity which will require very careful consideration. These issues are being examined. I expect that it will be possible to indicate the outcome of this examination to the House within a reasonable time.
The Minister's predecessor said there were legal and other constraints preventing him from granting justice to the former employees of Irish Shipping Limited. Has the present Minister examined that position? Can he tell us whether there is some way in which those legal and other constraints can be overcome? Could he also inform us what were those legal and other constraints?
The legal and other constraints problem will be dealt with in the examination to which I referred in my reply. All aspects of the problem, with regard to the workers and the shipping company to replace Irish Shipping Limited are under consideration. As I have said, we will be reporting on them to the House within a reasonable time.
Am I to understand from the Minister's reply that he continues to have the concern he expressed when in Opposition and that he intends to overcome these legal and other constraints, if necessary, by way of legislation in order to grant justice to the former employees of Irish Shipping Limited?
The Deputy can be assured that, in so far as the welfare of the former workers and the development of the fleet are concerned. I am in there fighting in his corner.
I am glad to note that the Minister is investigating the whole position in particular with regard to Question No. 4. Could he advise us whether the Committee on Strategic Shipping Requirements, established by the previous Government and which were due to report in 1985, have reported? If they have, would he say whether he would be in a position to make known to us their conclusions at the earliest possible date?
I can say that the committee did report, that certain recommendations have already been revealed to the House and elsewhere, and that their report will form a strong plank in our study of the situation.
In view of the number of Private Notice questions, Private Members' motions and questions on the Adjournment which the Minister when in Opposition put before the House, is he now telling us that he has no policy at this stage to help the people about whom he was so concerned when in Opposition? Is he saying he had no idea that the letter of redundancy which he was proposing at the time was not available then but that this will now be put somewhere into the future?
A Cheann Comhairle——
I am delighted the Deputy recognises the deep interest I showed and I can assure the House that this interest continues. I know that the Deputy, having been concerned with a redundancy payment in his own constituency, has a particular interest in the reply to that question. I assure the Deputy that the Government are examining the situation along the lines indicated by me in the official answer and they will come to the House with their conclusions in due course.
How long?
I would answer Deputy Kavanagh in this way; "in due course" has escaped definition in this House for a long time but as far as I am concerned it will be in as short a time as possible.
You should use the Latin version.
As I understand it, the report in respect of the committee on strategic shipping requirements has not in its entirety been made available to the House. Will the Minister undertake to release it for the consideration of Deputies at the earliest possible opportunity?
From the other side of the House I made some efforts to get a copy of that report. As I have already indicated, it will come up for study now by us in the context of the two questions that are down on the Order Paper and we will report to the House in due course.
I accept that but as the Minister was anxious in Opposition to have a copy of the report will he now make it available to the House so that all of us can consider it in the manner which he wished when he was in Opposition?
The Deputy is not asking a new question.
Will the Minister make the report available to us to consider in conjunction with his own investigation of the matter?
That question has already been asked.
That will be considered.
Will the Minister assure the House that the position of the Irish Shipping workers has already been considered at length both in his Department, the Department of Finance and the Department of Labour and that he will make every effort to live up to the promises he made in Opposition to look after the workers of Irish Shipping? Will the Minister also assure the House that the extensive shipping package announced by the previous Government some months ago will be continued by the Government so as to ensure the resurgence of the Irish fleet?
The former Minister is quite right in saying that in his former Department and in the Department of Labour the subject matter of the question attracted a great deal of attention and study. The proposals put forward in January 1987 are ones I find very interesting and I will take them fully into consideration in developing and announcing new policy.
A final question.
I hope the Minister's final reply does not mean the will give the same consideration as the preovious Minister to the Irish Shipping workers. Is the Minister now prepared to tell us about the legal and other constraints which prevent justice being granted to the Irish Shipping workers? As the Minister will recall, the previous Minister refused to give us this information.
We had that question earlier. Question No. 5.
May I have a reply to the question? Why the secrecy in regard to the legal and other constraints? Can the Minister tell us what they are?
The Minister would certainly be constrained by legalities.
Question No. 5.
May I have some explanation from the Minister as to why he refuses to answer this question? There possibly is some constraint on him but I do not know what it is.
I have called the next question.
This is not fair to Deputies. Not alone are we not being answered, but we are not being given an explanation as to why we are not being answered. I am entitled to an explanation.
The Chair has no control over the Ministers' replies.
You have control over Ministers not replying at all — sitting dumb. May we have some explanation?
Nobody ever accused me of that one. The legal constraints, if any, mentioned by the Deputy will be considered when we are doing our study of those two problems, workers and the development of Irish Shipping. I can assure the House that a full report on that will be made available without any undue delay.