It is proposed to take Nos. 1 and 6. It is also proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that: (1) No. 1 shall be decided without debate and (2) the Dáil on its rising today shall adjourn until 11 October 1994.
Order of Business.
Is the proposal that No. 1 shall be decided without debate satisfactory? Agreed. Is the proposal that the Dáil on its rising today shall adjourn until 11 October 1994 agreed?
No, Sir. There is a major industrial crisis in TEAM Aer Lingus, in which the Government is the shareholder, and a major crisis in Irish Steel, in which the Government is also the shareholder, and there is a clear responsibility on the Government to report to Dáil Éireann in both cases. It is not appropriate that the Dáil would not be available to discuss these matters. Furthermore the beef tribunal report, which deals with a major matter concerning public administration, is due to be published and the House should be in a position to debate it.
I have to dissuade the Deputy from making a speech at this time.
In addition to the points made by Deputy Bruton, the proposal at (2) should be amended so that the Dáil can be recalled when the report of the beef tribunal has been submitted to the Government and subsequently published. It is not good enough that the Dáil should adjourn today for three months when this report is about to be submitted to the Government which will, I presume, publish it shortly thereafter. The Dáil should be recalled during the summer to discuss that important report. The Dáil should also be reconvened sometime in September — I am not playing politics on this matter — as adjourning for three months until 11 October is excessive.
The Taoiseach has repeatedly refused in the House to give an undertaking that the Dáil will be recalled either in the event of the beef tribunal reporting or a worsening of the crisis in TEAM Aer Lingus and Irish Steel. In addition, the matter I raised yesterday — which I propose to pursue on the Order of Business — may also reach crisis point. It would be in order for the Taoiseach to give us an undertaking here that he will recall the Dáil in the event of any of the four matters I mentioned reaching crisis point.
It is important to inform the House — so that nobody will be under any illusions — of the amount of work that will be carried on throughout the summer. As all Members know, the committee system will operate throughout July and September, the only time the House will not be active will be during August. In relation to the two very serious industrial relations problems, the Labour Relations Commission is calling in the relevant parties and it should be the aim of the House to avail of this opportunity, albeit at the last minute, to have the decisions to save TEAM Aer Lingus and Irish Steel informed by commercial reality, not by political pressure.
Hear, hear.
Everybody in this House knows that and there is no point in playing politics with 2,500 jobs. The reality is that decisions have to be founded on commercial reality. The Government will support both operations but can do so only when commercial reality has been recognised; those are the conditions laid down by the European Commission.
We remained quiet for months.
In relation to Irish Steel——
It is outrageous for the Taoiseach to say we are playing politics with jobs.
Perhaps Deputy Allen is not interested; perhaps he would prefer to see Irish Steel closed. The report of the executive chairman, Mr. Pat Dineen, is not yet available to the Government. The Minister for Enterprise and Employment has informed the executive chairman that time is available if, in his view, a viable resolution can be found. Again in that respect, we want to send a request to both sides to construct their whole debate on the basis of commercial reality. We cannot live in a world of fantasy in relation to this. Everybody knows the problems; we must find solutions to them. That is what should be the concern of this House instead of playing politics with 2,500 jobs. Indeed, the sooner we stop that nonsense the better.
(Interruptions.)
The recall of the Dáil will be a matter for me and the Government to decide. I have always said that this House will have ample opportunity to debate the report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the Beef Processing Industry when available.
(Interruptions.)
We in Government will decide that. I have no idea when it will become available. If Deputy Rabbitte has an inside track on this, will he please let the House know because I do not know?
Before we proceed, I wish to extend a welcome to a very distinguished visitor.