Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 25 Nov 1997

Vol. 483 No. 3

Order of Business.

The Taoiseach

It is proposed to take No. 5, motion re Membership of Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs; No. 13a on the Supplementary Order Paper, Statement by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on the release of persons detained under the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996; No. 6, motion re Double Taxation Relief Order with the Republic of South Africa; No. 7, motion re Double Taxation Relief Order with the United States of America; No. 8, motion re Defence (Amendment) Act, 1993.

It is also proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that No. 5 shall be decided without debate; the statement by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform shall not exceed 20 minutes, following which the Minister shall take questions for a period not exceeding 45 minutes; Nos. 6 and 7 shall be taken today, shall be moved and debated together and the following arrangements shall apply — (i) the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion after 35 minutes or at 7 p.m., whichever is the earlier, by one question which shall be put from the Chair; (ii) speeches shall be confined to a Minister or Minister of State and to the main spokespersons for the Fine Gael Party and the Labour Party and shall not exceed ten minutes in each case and (iii) a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed five minutes; No. 8 shall be taken today and the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion after 35 minutes or at 7 p.m., whichever is the earlier, and the following arrangements shall apply — (i) speeches shall be confined to a Minister or Minister of State and to the main spokespersons for the Fine Gael Party and the Labour Party and shall not exceed ten minutes in each case and (ii) a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed five minutes.

Private Members' business shall be No. 4 — Protection of Workers (Shops) Bill, 1997: Order for Second Stage and Second Stage.

An Ceann Comhairle

Are the proposals for dealing with items 5, 6, 7 and 8 and statements agreed to?

Mr. J. Bruton

Yes.

Is the Taoiseach aware there are eight sitting days left before the Christmas recess and only half the Bills the Government said it would publish before the recess have been published? Will the Taoiseach indicate when he plans to publish the plant varieties Bill, the Education (No. 2) Bill, the travellers' accommodation Bill, the local Government Bill, the adoption Bill, the juvenile justice Bill, the child pornography Bill, the war crimes tribunal Bill, the commercial arbitration Bill and the enforcement of judgment Bill, all of which he or his Whip promised to publish within the next eight days?

The Taoiseach

There are 11 sitting days before Christmas if what the Whip told me is correct. Some 12 of the 21 Bills have been published and we hope the remaining ones will be published before Christmas. Approximately five or six Bills will be published in the next fortnight. Although we may not publish a few Bills, we will publish most of the 21 Bills.

Mr. J. Bruton

Which Bills will be published in the next fortnight?

The Taoiseach

Practically all the Bills the Deputy mentioned will be published, including the education Bill, the plant varieties Bill, the travellers' accommodation Bill, the war crimes Bill and that setting up the information technology fund. The Equality Bill will be published in the next few days and the Bill relating to local government funding is in the final stages of formulation and a comprehensive package will be published shortly.

Mr. Quinn

Will the Taoiseach clarify when the Government intends to publish the legislation to give effect to the constitutional referendum on the Amsterdam Treaty, to which he referred earlier at Question Time?

The Taoiseach

The legislation will be cleared at Christmas or early in the new year and the referendum will be held in the spring.

Mr. Quinn

Will that legislation, if necessary, contain the Government's decisions regarding its legal advice on the manner in which it may conduct the campaign? Will the Taoiseach engage in consultations with parties in the House on that matter?

The Taoiseach

I will do that. If we are to make changes, we will do so at that time if appropriate to the Bill.

Mr. Quinn

In view of the importance of this to future referenda and this treaty, I suggest the Taoiseach engage in discussions with parties in the House and that if necessary, two Bills could be taken in conjunction. Obviously, the referendum Bill would stand alone but amending legislation, if deemed necessary, could be taken and debated at the same time, a move we would facilitate.

The Taoiseach

We will engage in consultation. As soon as we get legal advice, we will know whether one or two Bills are required and I will communicate with the party leaders.

Mr. J. Bruton

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply as it is a matter we have pursued. I also thank the Taoiseach for his comprehensive answer to my earlier question about legislation to be published in the next few days. It is interesting that three Bills were omitted from the list he gave from memory, all of which concern children: the Adoption (No. 2) Bill, the Juvenile Justice Bill and the Child Pornography Bill. Will the Taoiseach ensure this legislation affecting children is not receiving a lower priority than other legislation?

The Taoiseach

The Child Pornography Bill will be ready shortly and the other two are in the final stages of completion, although the Adoption (No. 2) Bill may not be ready just yet. I will give the information to the Deputy.

Mr. Currie

That Bill was introduced before we left office.

Mr. J. Bruton

What is the delay with the Juvenile Justice Bill? The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform inherited the considerable work already done on it. There is much puzzlement on this side of the House at the delay in its introduction.

The Taoiseach

The Minister is framing amendments to the Bill and that is causing the delay.

Mr. J. Bruton

The House exists to accommodate amendments from Ministers. Surely there is no problem with publishing a Bill and the Minister indicating he intends tabling further amendments to it? Why should the House be denied the opportunity of discussing the Bill on Second Stage?

The Taoiseach

This Bill repeals the Children Act, 1908. The Minister is trying to complete as much of his work as possible before bringing the Bill to the House.

Mr. Rabbitte

When the Tánaiste was engaged in discussions on the proposed merger between Avonmore and the Waterford Group, was she made aware of the scale of the redundancies?

An Ceann Comhairle

I have already indicated to the House that this matter will be debated on the Adjournment and we cannot pre-empt any debate which may take place later.

Mr. Rabbitte

I welcome the Ceann Comhairle's decision. I would have been more grateful had he permitted private notice questions on the matter because this is the largest number of redundancies in the history of Irish corporate restructuring.

An Ceann Comhairle

The issue will be debated later this evening and it is not appropriate to discuss it at this stage.

Mr. Rabbitte

I accept the Chair's ruling. Will the Taoiseach comment on the Tánaiste's responsibility in respect of the merger of these two groups and the scale of the job losses?

An Ceann Comhairle

The matter does not arise now. It will be discussed later.

Mr. Rabbitte

I thought I saw the Tánaiste rising.

An Ceann Comhairle

The matter will be discussed later.

Mr. Yates

Will the Taoiseach clarify the remarks he made on Friday concerning the Luxembourg summit and the abolition of duty free?

An Ceann Comhairle

This matter would be better dealt with in Question Time.

Mr. Yates

Is it the case that, for the second time, he has raised the white feather on this issue? The Minister for Public Enterprise has been travelling all over Europe on this issue and her efforts are now revealed as a hoax.

An Ceann Comhairle

If the Deputy were here earlier, he would know the matter was exhaustively dealt with at Question Time.

Mrs. O'Rourke

He is never here when he is wanted.

Mr. D. Ahern

He should stay out of the pubs.

Mr. Yates

The Minister is being sold down the river.

Mrs. O'Rourke

The Deputy is never here at the appropriate time.

An Ceann Comhairle

Order, please.

Mr. Howlin

Arising from the information given during Question Time by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government that the Electoral (Amendment) Bill will not be published, much less enacted, by 1 January 1998, has the Government provided funding in the Estimates which will become payable from that date under existing legislation?

An Ceann Comhairle

Is this promised legislation?

Mr. Howlin

It is enacted legislation.

An Ceann Comhairle

I call Deputy Connaughton.

Mr. Howlin

I shall rephrase the question if the Taoiseach has difficulty with it.

An Ceann Comhairle

That matter is more appropriate to Question Time.

Mr. Howlin

Yes. The electoral Bill, 1997, promised by the Government, will not be enacted by January 1 when the existing Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1997, becomes law. Has the Government made provision to fund political parties in accordance with its legal obligation from January 1?

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy is only entitled to ask if or when the Bill will be published.

Mr. Dukes

There is no Bill. It is a kite flown by the Minister.

Mr. G. Mitchell

In view of the growing and potentially serious problem caused by the lack of preparation for the integration of immigrants into local communities, and the comments by some Members of this House which could have disastrous consequences, particularly in parts of Dublin, when will the Refugee Act, 1996, be implemented as promised in the Programme for Government?

The Taoiseach

I have replied to this question on a number of occasions. A court case is holding up the implementation of the Act. We will proceed with the legislation as soon as that case is finished.

Mr. Gormley

In a previous reply, the Taoiseach said a decision on the local elections would be reached before Christmas. Is the Taoiseach aware that, on a recent "Prime Time" programme, Deputy Molloy said the elections would be held in 1999? Will the Taoiseach introduce legislation to defer the elections until 1999?

The Taoiseach

A decision will be made before Christmas.

Mr. Dukes

The Taoiseach should tell Deputy Molloy.

Mr. Connaughton

Does the Minister for Agriculture and Food attend Cabinet meetings? He appears to have no friends——

An Ceann Comhairle

That is not a matter for the Order of Business. Has the Deputy a question on promised legislation?

Mr. Connaughton

The Fianna Fáil manifesto promised that every farmer would be paid under the charter of rights. Does the Taoiseach know a fuse was lit under the tails of every one of his rural Deputies last night?

An Ceann Comhairle

This does not arise on the Order of Business.

Mr. McDowell

The Dáil is due to debate Estimates and expenditure tomorrow. The Government intends to indicate its best estimate of revenue on Friday. Does the Taoiseach agree we could have a more intelligent debate if, at least, indicative figures were given in advance of tomorrow's debate and will he make arrangements to give them?

The Taoiseach

That is not possible procedurally. The receipts and expenditure figures have always been published on the Friday night before the budget. I am not sure if that is stipulated in law but it has been the practice.

Mr. McDowell

I am aware of this but it would make for a more intelligent debate on expenditure if we had some indication of the Government's capacity to pay.

Mr. Neville

It is two years since the National Task Force on Suicide was established. Its report was completed at Easter in the Department of Health and Children. When will this report be brought into the public domain? I have asked this on Question Time and on the Adjournment but have been unable to elicit any information.

An Ceann Comhairle

This matter is not in order.

Mr. Neville

I have tried to ask this in other ways but have not been successful in receiving an answer.

Mr. Rabbitte

Does the Tánaiste intend to intervene with the Avonmore Group about the total closure of its Dungarvan plant?

An Ceann Comhairle

I have already pointed out this matter is down for discussion later today. It would be out of order and unfair to the Deputy given the opportunity to raise the matter, if it was discussed at this stage.

Mr. Rabbitte

This House should be given an opportunity to question the Tánaiste tomorrow on the scale of the closure and the reduction of the Rathfarnham plant to a distribution centre.

An Ceann Comhairle

That matter is out of order at this stage but will be discussed later.

Mr. J. Bruton

Has the Government approved the heads of the Bill to establish an ethics commission which the Government has promised to introduce? Will the Taoiseach indicate when the Bill will be introduced?

The Taoiseach

The Government has not yet approved the heads of the Bill and it will not be completed by Christmas. I am not sure when the Bill will be introduced, but it will be as soon as possible in 1998.