The Taoiseach and Tánaiste will be aware of the sectarian discrimination case involving the Minister, Baroness Denton, in Northern Ireland. Will they make strong representations through the Anglo-Irish Conference to ensure that this horrendous case is fully and independently investigated with a view to ascertaining the facts——
Order of Business (Resumed).
I am sorry to interrupt the Deputy but could he relate the matter to promised legislation?
——and ensuring that Minister Denton takes the necessary action which is the honourable thing to do in a case like this?
I hesitate to rule against the Deputy but the matter is not in order now.
There has not been a response.
I would be happy to respond but I am guided by the Chair.
The Taoiseach responds when it suits him.
I invite the Government for once in its lifetime to criticise the British Government.
Deputy Burke should raise this matter at a more appropriate time, and he knows that.
As the person responsible for protecting the privileges of the Members of this House, I want to bring to your attention that the report of the hepatitis C tribunal was given to the Minister for Health by the tribunal chairman last Thursday or Friday, yet no Member apart from the Opposition spokespersons has received a copy of the report, as we are entitled to since we set up the tribunal. I want to bring to the attention of the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and others who claim to have an interest in this matter the fact that one copy of the report was sent to the Positive Action group — one copy for the 1,200 victims awaiting the outcome of the tribunal for some time.
That should be adequate.
It is not adequate.
It will be adequate for now.
Apart from the disrespect shown to Members of this House who were not provided with copies of the report, disrespect has been shown to the victims of this tragedy some of whom are currently in an office making 1,200 copies of this report so that they can find out what the Chairman has to say about the matter. That is a disgrace and the Government should be ashamed.
The provision of important documents is relevant.
I understand arrangements are being made to ensure every Deputy will have a copy of the report quickly.
Thank God for that.
I understand also that all the people affected by the tragic events in the Blood Transfusion Service Board will receive individual copies. Anybody with experience of printing will understand it is not possible to ensure all the copies are made available to everybody at precisely the same time.
It is possible.
Out of respect for the principal Opposition parties, copies were provided early to the Deputy and to the Progressive Democrats.
One copy was provided at 3.45 p.m.
This report was available at Cabinet only this morning and publication was approved immediately on receipt of copies by the Cabinet.
The spin doctoring has started already.
There has been no delay in the distribution of the report, and I understand arrangements are in train for agreement with the Opposition on the timing of a debate on the subject. Obviously, there will be many opportunities for further discussion on the important conclusions reached in this tragic matter.
On a point of order, a Cheann Comhairle, as you are the defender of the rights of the Members of this House——
Deputy Cowen, you may not circumvent my ruling by that kind of tactic. I am on my feet and I am calling Deputy Coughlan.
Will the Chair call me later on a point of order, arising out of what the Taoiseach has said about a serious matter?
Provided it is a point of order and not a point of disorder.
This is a serious matter. May I make the point to you, a Cheann Comhairle?
The Deputy may do so now.
This is a matter that may be taken up by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.
That is the Deputy's prerogative.
The Taoiseach talked about the difficulty with the logistics of printing. There was no problem providing copies of the report to the media at a media briefing at 3 p.m.——
The Deputy is embarking upon a speech.
——even though the Members of this House still await those copies. I remind the Taoiseach that we have rights in this House with regard to the tribunal and, not for the first time, he has disregarded those rights.
Is this the point of order?
I recall what was said by Members on the opposite side of the House about selective leaking——
If the Deputy persists with this kind of tactic, I will not entertain a spurious point of order.
It is not spurious.
Withdraw that remark.
I have given the Deputies an opportunity of hearing a reply.
On a point of order, I do not want to enter into controversy with the Chair, but it is not a spurious point of order that the rights of the Members of this House——
The point has been adequately made. I am calling Deputy Coughlan.
Resume your seat, a Cheann Comhairle.
The media have copies of the report but the Members of this House do not. That was orchestrated by this Government of openness and transparency. That is the type of openness we have in this House.
They have been playing with it since last weekend.
I am putting you on notice, a Cheann Comhairle, that the Committee on Procedure and Privileges will bring this matter formally to your attention——
That is your privilege, Deputy.
——because the Members of this House will stand up for their entitlements.
That should be enough, Deputy.
The Government has done its spin doctoring with the media. Thousands of people have been affected by this tragedy, yet the Government is only concerned with the best way to present this report to the media to cover its own ass.
The Government of disgrace.
The Opposition is a disgrace.
Is it the Government's intention to immediately introduce legislation to legalise the deflector systems? If not, will the Taoiseach intervene to ensure the deflector systems are not turned off until such time as this legislation is before the House, as promised by the Taoiseach recently as well as a number of years ago?
The Deputy might get some assistance on that matter from the then Minister, Deputy Ray Burke, who I understand was involved in agreements on the matter.
——and from the Taoiseach's own well publicised view.
The Taoiseach is the star of south Cork.
I have already answered the question by indicating to other Deputies in the Deputy's party that the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications is currently considering this matter. The problem is that exclusive licences were given by the then Minister, a member of the Deputy's own party.
Correctly so.
Replies from the Taoiseach ought not to give rise to constant disorder.
The Taoiseach should be well aware of the consequences.
On the publication of the report of the tribunal of inquiry into the hepatitis C scandal, does the Taoiseach not think Deputy Cowen's point is worthy of a response, given that it was a motion of this House, not of the Minister, which established the tribunal? Surely it is improper, in terms of parliamentary procedures, for the report to be given to the media prior to it being given to any Member of this House, including Opposition Deputies.
The point has been made adequately. I am calling Deputy Séamus Brennan. If the Deputy wishes to raise the matter in another way, she may do so.
My understanding is that copies of the tribunal report will be available to all Members this evening. There is no wish to deny full access to all the information in the report——
That is what is happening.
——as early as possible to all Members of the House and to all those who have been victims in this tragic matter. I assure the House that all the people concerned will have their copies as early as possible. The Government only received copies of the report this morning——
We have had leaked variations of it all weekend.
——and we immediately approved it for publication. We made it available to the media. It is important to make the point that the media is the means whereby the contents of the report may be disseminated to the public.
The Taoiseach is really changing his tune.
The effrontery of it.
The parties of the Deputies who are complaining received advance copies of the report this morning.
We had one copy at 3.40 p.m.
The Taoiseach is treating this House with disdain.
I understand all Members of the House will receive their copies this evening. There is no question but that all Members will have adequate opportunity to study the report and contribute on the matter contained in it.
This Government likes to conceal reports. In that regard will the Taoiseach now release the report made by consultants on the MMDS which was given to the community group in Cork? This report was commissioned and then concealed by the Government, but given to a community group in Cork. Will the Taoiseach now make it available to the Members of this House?
This is more appropriate to Question Time.
There has not been any concealment.
Where is it?
The report in question contains certain information that is confidential to a particular commercial operator.
Every parish in Cork has it.
It is amazing the Deputy does not have it.
Obviously, it would not be appropriate for the Government to disseminate publicly that aspect of the report. As the Deputy knows, the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications is considering all the matters involved, including the question of the publication of an appropriate version of the report that does not contain information that would be commercially compromising for any individual company.
Members of the House are entitled to the full report.
It is ironic that we will be discussing the Freedom of Information Bill later, when one sees what goes on here in regard to getting information on the report of the hepatitis C tribunal and how the Education Bill is being addressed by the Government. A number of weeks ago the Government voted down a Fianna Fáil Bill on offences relating to syringes. The Government promised to bring forward legislation immediately to address the issue. In the intervening period there have been many syringe attacks. When does the Government propose to bring forward legislation?
That Bill has been published.
When is it being taken in the House?
The Deputy is obviously better placed than most, being the Whip for the main Opposition party, to make any representations he wishes about business. That Bill will be taken as quickly as possible. I will make inquiries for the Deputy as to when exactly it will be taken, but the Deputy's party must understand that it is not possible to take the Second Stage of three or four different Bills on the same day at the same time. The Deputy's party, for example, has been objecting to a foreshortening of the Second Stage debates on certain other legislation.
Quite rightly.
If one were to accept the Deputy's party's advice on that it would postpone the taking of the Offences Against the Person Bill.
When is it intended to take the Bill?
It is not possible to take three pieces of legislation at Second Stage at the same time in the House. It is necessary to seek the cooperation of Deputies opposite to allow the Second Stages of various Bills to be passed so that we can get them into committee. Deputy Ahern, who is concerned that the Offences Against the Person Bill should be taken soon, might use his influence with Deputies in his own party to allow the Education Bill to be passed to committee so that there will be time for debate on Second Stage of other Bills.
Why? I want to speak on Second Stage.
Can the Taoiseach explain to the House how a consultant's report can be made available to South Coast Community Television which contains sensitive commercial information but it cannot be made available to Members of this House?
The Deputy should put down a question on the matter.
It is sensitive commercial information concerning South Coast Television. Making such information available to the company in question is not a problem, whereas making it available to others would be a problem.
This is the first time a Minister has had to report to a pirate.
I understand there is a question tabled on the matter for tomorrow. The Chair should be listened to in this House.
I do not want to let the occasion pass without putting on the record that it is an insult to the women and their families who have suffered through the hepatitis C scandal that they have not received copies of the report and that they will hear details of the report when they turn on their radios and televisions.
Public warning, "tainted with a Government spin".
With regard to the commitment in A Government of Renewal to eliminate waiting lists in respect of people with a mental handicap, is the Taoiseach satisfied that it is being met?
That is more appropriately a subject for Question Time. I am satisfied that the Government is making progress on that matter.
Is the Government doing anything to limit waiting lists? It is not providing funding.
Paragraph 111 of the Programme for Government states "we will prepare a youth service Act to provide a statutory basis for developing youth work in Ireland". When will that plank of Government policy be introduced?
It was published last week.
When will it be taken in the House?
The same problem arises here as before. The Deputy wants to have Second Stage taken. Deputy Dermot Ahern wants to have the Second Stage of the Offences Against the Person Act taken, yet the Deputy's party insists on discussing other matters at Second Stage for a very long time.
It is tiresome that we should discuss legislation.
We could, of course, sit longer if the Deputy wants that. I do not know whether the Deputy wants to sit here on Fridays. We will be quite happy to sit here on Fridays to process some of this legislation if that is what the Deputy wishes. The Government is anxious to have the legislation taken and enacted as quickly as possible.
When will the women and their families get a copy of the report of the tribunal? There is no reply.
The Taoiseach referred to the discussion of legislation in the House. This party has provided most speakers on Government Bills. They are not putting in Members to discuss their own legislation. It is not our fault if we adhere to our duty to discuss legislation in this House.
When will legislation on conservation of the built environment be brought before the House?
The legislation in question is likely to be introduced in May or June.
This year?
This year.
Given that there are approximately 1,100 families from the travelling community living in appalling conditions on the side of the road, when is it intended to bring forward legislation to require local authorities to draw up a five year accommodation plan for their respective areas?
I hope that legislation will be introduced next month.
I fail to understand why the Taoiseach cannot make the consultant's report on deflector systems, commissioned by his Minister, Deputy Lowry, available to the House. That report is the property of this House because it was commissioned by the Government. The Taoiseach's promise has not been honoured, and there is no use in hiding behind a consultant's report.