Vol. 448 No. 3
4 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach if the Government is committed to the further implementation of the Fianna Fáil-Labour Programme for a Partnership Government outside of commitments taken up in the programme, A Government of Renewal or the Programme for Competitiveness and Work, 1993 to 1997. [1463/95]
The Government is clearly fully committed to the provisions of the programme, A Government of Renewal. The Government is also committed to the implementation of the provisions of the Programme for Competitiveness and Work. The Government has no function in the further implementation of the Fianna Fáil-Labour Programme for a Partnership Government.
Would the Taoiseach accept that there is a great deal of regret among different groups, particularly women's groups at the non-inclusion of sections of the old programme in this Government's programme? Would he further accept that the programme A Government of Renewal was put together hastily and without the same care and deliberation as the previous programme? Would he acknowledge also that even though he was in Opposition for several years no Fine Gael policy is included in this programme and most of it is taken straight from the Fianna Fáil-Labour document?
The Government is fully committed to a programme of equality legislation and action to promote equality in society. The Minister for Equality and Law Reform outlined this to the National Economic and Social Forum on 25 January where he dealt inter alia with the follow up to the Commission on the Status of Women report, the enactment of the Employment Equality and the Equal Status Bills and the implementation of gender balance on State boards, funding for family counselling and mediation services, the implementation of measures of childcare, and support and resources for the implementation of the task force report on the travelling community, among a number of other matters. There is no doubt about this Government's commitment to equality in society. This Government's programme, A Government of Renewal includes a large number of important matters which were not included in the programme of the previous Government, including more detailed fiscal policy parameters than existed then, a commitment to a White Paper on training and reform of the Ministers and Secretaries Act.
You will do that all right.
It also includes a commitment to a Referendum on Cabinet confidentiality, the publication of a revised Government procedure instructions, the review of the Official Secrets Act, votes for emigrants, the enactment of an administrative procedures Bill and the enactment of legislation to establish a national bureau for fraud investigation and also a youth service Bill. All of these were not deemed worthy of inclusion in the programme of the Fianna Fáil-Labour Government but are deemed worthy for inclusion in the programme of the Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left Government.
In his reply the Taoiseach stated the Government was committed to the Programme for Competitiveness and Work. You may recall that the Taoiseach when in Opposition said that this programme was thoroughly discredited, “was as exciting as a reheated TV dinner” and that “it was a triumph of bureaucracy over enterprise”. Is he now saying he regrets these and many other comments he made at the Fine Gael Convention two years ago or has he simply changed his mind?
I will be dealing with that question in detail when I come to reply to the next question.
The Taoiseach said he is supporting the programme now but will he give us a feel of the more detailed reply he will make later.
If the Deputy would read the Order Paper he would see I am coming to that question.
The Taoiseach already answered part of it.
There is a question relating to the matter and we should await the reply to that question.
Was the failure to include references to equality in the programme an oversight on the part of the three parties negotiating the programme or could the reason for excluding the equality related provisions contained in the previous programme be that three male leaders negotiated the programme?
It was an oversight.
