It is proposed to take No. 2, Social Welfare Bill, 1998, Order for Second Stage and Second Stage. It is also proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that Second Stage of No. 2 shall be taken today and the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion at 6.45 p.m. today. Private Members' Business shall be No. 33, Trade Union Recognition Bill, 1998, Second Stage, resumed.
Order of Business.
Is the proposal for dealing with item No. 2 agreed? Agreed.
In light of the comments made yesterday by the Minister for Public Enterprise, does the Government propose to introduce legislation to give the Minister power to take from Aer Rianta discretion in regard to landing charges and vest them in the Minister?
There is no proposal to introduce legislation in this area, but the Minister for Public Enterprise will follow through on the statements she made in the House yesterday, including that on the meeting with the chairman.
Does the Minister remember the Air Navigation Bill?
On the private investigation into allegations of sexual abuse in swimming, are all parties co-operating with the investigation? When will the report be available?
I am glad all parties are fully co-operating with the investigation and I appreciate that. I am not sure when the report will be available, but I will try to find out. Work started last Monday week and it is progressing.
Given that there are thousands of people in psychiatric hospitals who should not be there, will the Taoiseach introduce legislation to prohibit the referral of people with a mental handicap to psychiatric hospitals?
A mental health Bill is in preparation and should be published before the end of the year. The Deputy will have seen statements by the Minister and officials of the Department on that legislation in recent days.
Is the Taoiseach aware he has changed his promise on the mental health Bill on two occasions? Last year he said the Bill would be ready in spring of this year and in January he said it would be ready in mid-year. In response to Deputy De Rossa this morning he said it will not be ready until the end of the year. Will the Taoiseach explain this slippage in his commitment regarding this legislation?
Two legislative measures are proposed in this area, a criminal law insanity Bill, which will be ready in the autumn, and the mental health Bill, which will be ready by the middle of the year. I hope there is not much slippage in that regard. Both Bills should be before the House for the autumn session.
The Taoiseach said in November that the mental health Bill would be ready in spring of this year and in January he said it would be ready in the middle of the year. Will he confirm it will definitely be ready in the middle of the year, which I consider to be June or July, not November?
In November I said the Bill would be ready in the spring and in January I said it would be ready by mid-year. I have been informed that both Bills will be ready for the autumn session. The mental health Bill, which has more than 100 heads, will update the Mental Treatment Act, particularly the provisions for detention for treatment of mentally disordered persons. It is major legislation which, I hope, will be passed this year.
When will we have an opportunity to debate the EMU Bill? Is it the Government's intention to bring it before the House during the referendum campaign on the Amsterdam Treaty?
The Central Bank Bill, which will deal with setting up the European Central Bank, will be debated long before the summer. The Minister for Finance recently gave a commitment, which I repeated, that there would be a debate shortly in the House on EMU.
The Taoiseach was incorrect yesterday in saying there was a debate on Dáil reform last autumn. There was a debate two to three years ago on Dáil reform and the matter was referred to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. Will the report of that committee be sent back to the Dáil so that we can debate the matter and update procedures such as Question Time? There was no debate on this matter for some years and the system is out of date.
I stand corrected if that matter was not debated in the House, but it was certainly debated in committee. It was that report that led to changes in the committee structure. The sub-committee of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges has been working on Dáil reform. I would have no difficulty in that committee reporting back to the House so that we could debate the matter here. That is the way we have always dealt with Dáil reform.
Will the committee report to this House before the end of the present session?
I will ask the Whip to make that suggestion to the sub-committee.
Given the widespread concern about the effects of non-ionising radiation from telecommunications infrastructure, when will the telecommunications infrastructure Bill be published?
It will be published towards the end of this year.
Two weeks ago the Taoiseach said the housing, traveller accommodation, Bill was imminent. Is it any more imminent today?
The Bill will be published in the near future.
When will the Gaeltacht Housing (Amendment) Bill to place payments made since 1982 on a proper footing be published? Following the work carried out by the group established by the Minister of State at the Department of Environment and Local Government, Deputy Molloy, will legislation be introduced in respect of the control of the cost of building land?
I hope the first legislation to which the Deputy referred will be published this year. With regard to building land, the Bacon report will be published in the coming weeks and the Government will decide what action to take on foot of its recommendations.
Will it be necessary to refer the report to the Constitution Review Committee or is it anticipated that preliminary work will be carried out in respect of such legislation vis-a -vis planning? I raise this point because many local authorities are at an advanced stage of consultation in respect of their plans. If legislation is to be introduced, it will have to be done in the near future.
The Government is anxious to wait to see the report which focuses on house prices and other relevant issues. I have no doubt that it will include information on many of the issues about which local authorities are concerned. The Department of the Environment and Local Government will also put forward suggestions and ideas about how we should pursue this issue. However, we want to consider the report's recommendations before specifying the action we intend to take.
We were promised a debate on the rights of children. Is it guaranteed that this debate will take place before the end of the current session, particularly in view of serious reports about homelessness among children and young people and their exploitation in terms of prostitution? Will the debate proceed before the Easter recess?
Yes, if possible. Such debates are a matter for the Whips to arrange. A debate will take place on Iraq tomorrow. It is easy to refer a matter to the Whips but they must rearrange schedules to make time available for debates. In this session, debates on the Social Welfare and Finance Bills will take up much Dáil time. However, I will refer the matter to the whips.
Is the Taoiseach aware this matter is before the UN committee?
Yes.
When will the Bill to regulate contracts for marine emergency helicopter search and rescue services be published? Will it include an evaluation of the effectiveness of the current helicopter search and rescue services and the costing thereof, particularly in light of the requirement to request assistance from two British helicopters to support the Shannon based helicopter in the early hours of this morning?
It is expected that the general scheme of the marine emergency services Bill will be submitted to Government in mid-1998 and the legislation will be published some time thereafter.
Will it include an evaluation of the effectiveness of the current search and rescue services available in coastal areas?
I do not want to anticipate the debate on the Bill. However, it is generally aimed at developing emergency capabilities and marine accident investigations. That will cover the point raised by the Deputy.
The Government has included in its programme a Bill to amend the laws in respect of defamation. When does the Taoiseach expect it will be introduced?
The Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy O'Dea, asked me about it yesterday while I was visiting Limerick.
The Bill is at a very early stage of preparation.
Has there been any progress on the Bill to provide for the restructuring of the Eastern Health Board? When will it come before the House?
If not during this session, the Bill will be introduced in the next session.
Will the Taoiseach confirm recent claims that written agreements exist between himself and Independent Members of the House? If such agreements exist, will the Taoiseach arrange to have copies placed in the Oireachtas Library?
Matters raised with me by Deputies, whether Independents or otherwise, by means of letters which have been referred to in the House are already in the public domain.