It is proposed to take No. 7d., Motion to rescind Order of Referral of the Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1998, to the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and No. 17, Finance Bill, 1998 — Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. It is also proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that No. 7d. shall be taken without debate; the proceedings on the Report and Final Stages of No. 17, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion at 6.45 p.m. tonight by one question which shall be put from the Chair and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Finance; Private Members' business shall be No. 30 — Asylum Seekers (Regularisation of Status) (No. 2) Bill, 1998 — Second Stage (Resumed) and the proceedings on the Second Stage thereof shall be brought to a conclusion at 8.30 p.m. tonight; and the Dáil, on its rising on Thursday, 12 March 1998, shall adjourn until Tuesday, 24 March 1998.
Order of Business.
There are four proposals to put to the House. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 7d. agreed?
It is agreed. Will the Taoiseach indicate the timetable for taking that legislation and for the referendum?
It is finalised and will be taken as soon as we return after next week's break.
What will be the likely polling day?
At this stage the likely date will be 22 May.
Is the proposal for dealing with No. 7d. agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 17 agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with PrivateMembers' business agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with the Adjournment of the Dáil agreed? Agreed.
Will the Taoiseach indicate the present position on the family law Bill? That Bill is to facilitate pension adjustments in the case of separations that occur. They occur all the time and this legislation should come into effect quickly so that the same rules will apply to all cases. What is the timetable for the introduction of that Bill and will it have retrospective effect?
As Deputy Bruton said, the Bill is to make provision for pension adjustments in the context of separation agreements. It is at a fairly early stage of drafting. I do not have a precise date as to when it will be ready as it is only at a preliminary stage.
On the amendment to the 1921 Act in relation to tribunals of inquiry and so on, there is a report in one of today's newspapers that yesterday the Government agreed the terms of the amendment. Will the Taoiseach indicate to the House when that Bill is likely to be introduced?
It will be introduced the week after St. Patrick's Day and that report is correct.
Is it the Taoiseach's intention to publish the interim report of the Murphy investigation into abuse in the sport of swimming?
It is not my intention to do that. Mr. Murphy has spent 50 hours taking evidence from various people and has had various interviews. He now has 1,300 pages of print on this. He is dealing with all the matters concerned in a painstaking and comprehensive way and hopes to complete his final report by the end of the month. We should wait until that report is published. He will continue his work for a number of days because he wants to speak to a small number of people who wish to speak to him. Everyone is co-operating with him for which I am grateful.
Will the Taoiseach place a copy of the interim report in the Library?
It is only a progress report. It would not add anything very comprehensive and Mr. Murphy would prefer to complete the job.
Will the Taoiseach clarify the position on the choice of location for the Coca Cola Bottling Plant?
That matter is not appropriate to the Order of Business.
Will he confirm that was a political decision?
The Deputy should resume his seat as this matter is not appropriate to the Order of Business.
What will he say to the people of Wexford and his Deputy from Wexford who have expressed horror that the negotiations with Coca Cola were jettisoned in a political way?
There are other ways the Deputy can raise that matter, the Order of Business is not one of them.
I tabled this matter for the Adjournment Debate.
The Deputy knows he is out of order and should resume his seat.
The people of Wexford are furious at the abandonment by the Government of a choice of location that was the subject of intensive negotiations and infrastructural development. It was jettisoned by a political decision.
The Chair is on its feet and the Deputy should resume his seat.
The people of Wexford and one of the Taoiseach's backbenchers are outraged by that political decision. Will the Taoiseach give a commitment that the next industry of this size that wishes to locate here will be given to County Wexford because the people of Wexford deserve fair treatment and fair play? Does the Taoiseach have any answer on this issue?
The Deputy is aware he is out of order and should resume his seat. There are ways in which he can raise this matter; the Order of Business is not one of them.
The people of Wexford are merely looking for a commitment that they will be treated fairly.
The Deputy is completely out of order. The Chair is on his feet and the Deputy should resume his seat. He should raise the matter in an orderly manner in accordance with the rules of this House.
Has the Taoiseach intervened in the situation which arose in which a major development at Little Island has been put in jeopardy by the political antics by Fianna Fáil councillors in Cork?
That matter is not appropriate to the Order of Business. Deputies should confine themselves to matters appropriate to the Order of Business.
Will the Taoiseach do something about the matter?
The Deputy is out of order.
The Taoiseach should consult Fianna Fáil councillors in Cork.
What is the current position on the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Bill? When can we anticipate the implementation of the Government strategies announced, and the measures proposed, in the legislation?
The Bill will be published in one week's time.
I want to confirm something the Taoiseach said in reply to a question posed by Deputy Bruton. I understand from the Taoiseach that the Government intends to hold the referendum on the ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty on 22 May. Do I take it that it is also the Government's intention to combine that with a referendum to give effect to any settlement which may emerge in respect of the talks in Northern Ireland?
It is too early to speculate on that.
I realise I may be out of order, but 300 people met in Cork last night to discuss the antics of Fianna Fáil county councillors——
The Deputy is certainly out of order and, if he persists in raising this matter, I will have to ask him to leave the House. He should resume his seat.
Deputy Allen was not very helpful in regard to the Horgan's Quay development.
The Deputy would do well not to say too much about Horgan's Quay.
The Roads Bill will I hope alleviate the traffic problem on the northside. What is the Taoiseach's opinion of the growing conviction in expert circles that the Luas project has collapsed due to the procrastination——
That is not true.
The matter does not arise on the Order of Business. I appeal to Deputies to confine their questions to appropriate matters. The Deputy's question should be asked at another time.
The entire west of Dublin is dependent on this major infrastructural project. The view among experts is that the project will not meet the specified deadlines.
Who are these experts? Is the Deputy one?
This matter cannot be dealt with on the Order of Business. The Deputy should resume his seat.
Can I take the Taoiseach's silence to mean I am correct in what I am saying?
No.
I want to ask an important question which has a major impact for the entire country. In view of the reformulated proposals from EU Commissioner Mr. Santer, which are considerably worse than the original ones, when will the Taoiseach provide time for a full scale debate on the impact of the proposals which, as formulated, would have a devastating effect on rural Ireland?
That is a matter for the Whips. Does the Taoiseach wish to comment?
The next stage of the Agenda 2000 report, in which the proposals referred to by the Deputy are included, is due to be published on 18 March.
The report on Luas, by independent consultants, will be available at the end of April.
On two occasions last year, the Taoiseach informed the Dáil that the School Attendance Bill would be ready early this year. This is an important Bill. Anyone can see that children, who should be at school, are begging on O'Connell Bridge every day. What has delayed this legislation and why will the Bill not be ready until the second half of this year? Is this legislation not a priority for the Government?
The legislation to update the law on compulsory school attendance is due to be published later this year. The Minister for Education and Science made a very comprehensive statement on the Bill recently.
We want legislation, not statements.
The Minister questioned the wisdom of penalising parents in socially disadvantaged areas as being the way forward and has stated that a more caring philosophy should be adopted. There are multiple causes of disadvantage in such areas and using the force of the law against unfortunate children and their parents is not the only factor which should be considered. The Minister will reflect that in any legislation which is published. I am sure he has the support of many Members in the House in his caring approach.
Can I take it then that this legislation is not proceeding as originally drafted and is being redrafted?
The legislation is proceeding but the Minister wishes it to reflect a more caring attitude.
An eloquent excuse.
The legislation will be greatly improved.
Has the Government been consulted by the national lottery about its sponsorship of Paul McGrath's testimonial match?
The matter does not arise on the Order of Business.
The Taoiseach stated that the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Bill will be published next week. That is approximately the fourth commitment he has made on the Bill's publication. When will the Bill be brought before the House for consideration as the matter is becoming increasingly urgent and the legislation is very necessary to deal with the settlement of travellers?
The Bill will be considered in the Seanad as soon as possible.