It is proposed to take Nos. 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 16. It is also proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that (1) No. 1 shall be decided without debate; and (2) Nos. 5 to 9, inclusive, shall be moved together and decided without debate by one question.
Order of Business.
Is the proposal that No. 1 be decided without debate satisfactory? Agreed. Is the proposal that Nos. 5 to 9, inclusive, be moved together and decided without debate by one question satisfactory?
What is the position regarding the conditions of the people who will hold chairmanships of these committees? Has the Government decided who will hold these positions?
The Government has decided who will hold these positions and a statement in that regard will be made in due course. The conditions are as they have been in the past.
These are new committees and the position cannot be the same as in the past. Does the Taoiseach mean the conditions will be similar to those of other committees?
They will be similar to other committees. If the Deputy wants details of the arrangements I will provide them.
Is the Government proposing to hold the Chairs of all these committees?
No.
Which ones will it hold?
I take it the proposal is agreed.
On the Order——
Sorry Deputy, I am asking if the proposal is agreed that Nos. 5 to 9, inclusive, be moved together and decided without debate by one question.
No, it is not agreed.
This matter was agreed between the Whips at a meeting last night. We are simply proposing to move motions to allow these committees to be established.
The Progressive Democrats opposes Nos. 7, 8 and 9 on the basis that these new committees are being established only for the purpose of providing paid chairmanships. They have not been justified on policy grounds.
That is not the case.
Does Deputy Molloy support the Deputy on this matter?
Question: "That Nos. 5 to 9, inclusive, be moved together and decided without debate by one question", put and declared carried.
The cost of these chairmanships would save the jobs in Sunbeam ten times over.
Let us hear Deputy Bertie Ahern.
This is a disgrace.
Deputy Quill should please desist.
The Government has been in office for only a few weeks and power is corrupting it already.
It is a downright disgrace. The people in Sunbeam are being put out of their jobs.
The Deputy has made her point and she may not continue to create disorder. It will not be tolerated.
It is a few weeks since I asked the Taoiseach about the transfer of sentenced persons Bill and at that stage he said it would be brought forward shortly. What is the latest position?
As the Minister for Justice stated, this Bill is a priority for the Government. It is at an advanced stage and I expect the text will be submitted to the Government this month.
When will the Finance Bill be published?
In the month of April.
On 1 April.
Arising from Deputy Bertie Ahern's question on legislation dealing with the transfer of prisoners, have steps been taken to evaluate how many prisoners will be transferred to this jurisdiction under this Bill? What space will be made available for them, by whom and where? In what jail will these prisoners be held, and who will be let out of jail to accommodate them? Is anyone over there in touch with the real world and the revolving doors of our prisons which let prisoners out?
Will the Taoiseach say why the Minister for Justice regarded it as necessary to specify when section 32 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, dealing with the duties of financial institutions in relation to the suspected proceeds of crime, would come into force? It would appear to me——
To what legislation is the Deputy referring?
——that this merely puts depositors of such moneys on notice that they should withdraw the money prior to the published date.
I do not know to which legislation the Deputy refers.
Is there a reply from the Taoiseach? If the Taoiseach is unable to assist me, may I suggest——
I respectfully suggest that the Deputy should raise that matter in another way.
A Deputy
The money will be gone.
The legislation to which Deputy O'Donoghue refers has been passed but its implementation is a matter for the Oireachtas.
I have ruled on the matter.
When will the Health (Amendment) Bill be introduced?
The Bill is at an advanced stage and I expect that the text will be submitted to the Government during this session. Would the Deputy like to know when it was first promised?
At this rate it would qualify for the 2.5 per cent.
This Bill was promised when Deputy Rory O'Hanlon was Minister for Health and that is a long time ago.
What happened in between?
Will the Taoiseach advise the House when the national parks and heritage areas Bill will come to the House? Does he not agree that such legislation should at least be published before consultation on the designated national heritage areas takes place?
This Bill will be coming before the House in the latter part of this year.
I was in favour of a consultation.
The Ceann Comhairle facilitated the Cork Deputies on the Sunbeam issue and I thank him for that, but let me make a strong plea to the Minister for Enterprise and Employment. Tomorrow 110 jobs will be lost in the Sunbeam factory, the company will go into liquidation and the silence from the Government benches is deafening. We lost Ford, Dunlops and so on during the term of the last Coalition Government. Will the Minister for Enterprise and Employment make a statement on the loss of these jobs? This may not be a national issue but it is of great concern locally. Will the Minister tell us what he proposes to do about this imminent closure?
I know the Taoiseach wants to be helpful, but we are trying to find out the Government's priority for legislation. Will the Taoiseach list the legislation in order of priority? To date, the only new Bills this Government has brought to the House are the Bill before us and the Bill to appoint two junior Ministers. In the context of promised legislation, when will the Bill on domestic violence, extending barring orders to include not only family situations, be before the House?
I do not intend to publish in any more detail than has already been made available to the Opposition parties a list of all legislation promised by this Government. Questions on what stage a Bill is at are being answered fully to the best of my knowledge. I can go no further than that and I do not propose to publish the order of priority of legislation as I believe that is not helpful. The legislation on domestic violence is at an advanced stage and will be available within the next two months for the Government to approve.
We have a list of 49 Bills and obviously the Government knows the priority of certain Bills on this list. It is only fair to the Opposition that we be given an indication of the Government's priorities.
I think questions to the Minister bring out a great deal of information of that kind.
On the question of promised legislation on the transfer of prisoners from Britain, does the Taoiseach envisage that this legislation will enable the transfer to this jurisdiction of prisoners serving long sentences in Britain for murder, carnage and destruction in British cities? If such prisoners are transferred, will they be eligible for consideration for early release under the programme for the release of so-called political prisoners?
If the Deputy's party wants to oppose this legislation, when it is introduced, it will have adequate opportunity and debating time to do so. It does not arise on the Order of Business.
The Government announced its intention recently to appoint a regulator for the telecommunications industry. When will that legislation come before the House?
I believe it is at an early stage of preparation. No date has been set as to when it is likely to be submitted to Government but I expect it is more likely to be ready in the second half of the year. To date, it has not been promised in this House.
Will the Taoiseach ensure that the legislation is before the House before licences are awarded to the private sector for competition in the industry?
Sir, I apologise to you and the House for not being in attendance yesterday morning when called upon due to an omission on my part. I was in the building but not in the Chamber.
The Deputy is in credit now.