It is proposed to take No. 21, statements on the Special Council on Economic and Monetary Union and No. 3, Civil Liability (Assessment of Hearing Injury) Bill, 1998 — Order for Second Stage and Second Stage. It is also proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the Dáil shall sit later than 8.30 p.m. tonight and business shall be interrupted not later than 10 p.m.; No. 21, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion after 80 minutes, shall be confined to the following speakers who shall be called upon in that sequence and the statements in each case shall not exceed the times indicated — Taoiseach and main spokespersons for the Fine Gael Party and the Labour Party, 15 minutes, main spokespersons for the Democratic Left Party and the Green Party, ten minutes, and the Minister for Finance, 15 minutes; the Second Stage of No. 3 shall be taken today and the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion at 10 p.m. tonight; and Private Members' Business shall also take place tomorrow. Private Members' Business shall be No. 36, Sexual Offenders Registration Bill, 1998 — Second Stage.
Order of Business.
There are four proposals before the House. Is the proposal for the late sitting agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 21 agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 3 agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for taking Private Members' Business tomorrow agreed? Agreed.
Following probably the most shameless display by a Minister, during which we were unable to get answers to our questions — questions to which any other Minister would have had the answers in the case of such a large project as Luas — will the Taoiseach agree to a full debate when the Minister might be better prepared with more information——
And the Deputy might listen to it.
——and might treat the Government's decision yesterday with more seriousness, in view of the gridlock that exists in Dublin and the fact that the Government has, essentially, written off this project for the lifetime of every Member? Can we have a debate to give the Minister a chance to redeem her shameless behaviour today?
Will the Deputy listen?
This is not in order. The House discussed this matter for three quarters of an hour.
Only a limited number of Members could intervene. I ask the Taoiseach——
A debate was promised last week.
I ask the Taoiseach to confirm it and to tell his Minister to come to the House properly prepared with answers to questions.
The Deputy is not in order. A debate on this issue was promised last week.
Perhaps the Taoiseach will indicate when that debate will take place.
Can the Taoiseach indicate if the Government intends to introduce a Supplementary Estimate for over £400 million to fund the project approved yesterday by Cabinet, in view of the loss of £114 million in Structural Funds?
Will the Taoiseach arrange a debate on this issue tomorrow which will offer an opportunity for questions and answers——
It will be all questions and no answers.
We have already had questions.
The problem is that there have been plenty of questions but virtually no answers of substance from the Minister. Instead of having a debate in which Members offer their arguments on one side or the other, the Minister should be obliged to answer the questions put to her.
The Deputy is not in order.
Is the Taoiseach prepared to present this decision, particularly the funding aspect, before the Committee of Public Accounts so that it can tease out what the £400 million plus means?
Can the Taoiseach say if current legislation is adequate to cope with the extra changes to implement the Luas proposals in the short or long-term or does he envisage the introduction of new legislation? Will this add further to the delay of the project?
I will be glad to arrange a debate on the Government's decision. There will be a debate on it in the Seanad tomorrow so it cannot take place in the Dáil. However, it can be held on another date. Any questions which were asked of the Minister today were answered, when the Minister was allowed to do so.
She did not.
With regard to the questions she was not allowed to answer, the Minister will be glad to answer them on a future occasion. The Government is pleased with this decision. It has been grappling with the issue for the past ten months. It made no sense to us that light rail was not integrated in a proper way into the transport network in an expanding modern city. It will take some years to do this.
Through the black hole.
As the Minister stated, there is due process. As Minister for Finance in l993, I announced that work on the port tunnel would start within three years but it has been held up for a long time by a small number of objectors.
With the support of Fianna Fáil councillors.
The project was cleared by the Government, the European Commission and Dublin Corporation. I hope this integrated plan — most of the system will be above ground — will be developed. While it is a major project in terms of capital investment, we are committed to spending £555 million to complete the M50 ring road as well as the Balbriggan and airport bypasses.
It is European funding.
This is a reasonable proposal which will be planned and ordered properly. This will be done as speedily as possible.
I was informed by the Taoiseach two weeks ago that the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation was about to publish the report of the inquiry into alleged sex abuse in swimming. When will the report be published?
It is not appropriate to ask about reports on the Order of Business.
The matter was raised previously on the Order of Business.
I do not know if the Deputy is aware of this but an injunction against publication of the report has been sought by a certain individual from one of the clubs. The case will be heard in the courts next Monday.
(Dublin West): An bhfuil cinneadh déanta ag an Rialtas ag an bpointe seo dul go dtí an Chúirt Uachtarach chun athchomhairc a dhéanamh ar chinneadh na hArd-Chúirte maidir leis an Acht um Páirc Náisiúnta Stairiúil an Bhlascaoid Mhóir. Nó an bhfuil siad chun reachtaíocht nua nó reachtaíocht leasaithe a thabhairt os comhair na Dála?
Has the Government decided whether it is necessary to amend the l989 An Blascaod Mor National Historic Park Act? Has it decided to appeal to the Supreme Court the judgment of the High Court which struck down part of the Act? It is extremely important that this part of our natural heritage is protected.
The Blaskets project is an important one. I will communicate with the Deputy once a decision has been made.
In view of the concerns expressed by me and others in the House about racism which is growing, particularly in our capital city, when is it intended to introduce legislation to establish a human rights commission as provided for in the Good Friday Agreement?
As I stated earlier during Question Time, there are a number of legislative measures arising from the Good Friday Agreement which the Government is required to implement. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and I will produce a schedule and a projected time span as soon as we can.
Will the Taoiseach clarify what he said about the legislation governing An Blascaod Mor? It has been reported in the newspapers that the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands has issued a statement indicating that the decision to strike down the legislation is to be appealed to the Supreme Court. This raises the question as to whether alternative legislation is being planned?
It would be more appropriate to table a question about the matter.
It has been reported in the newspapers that it is likely the Minister will appeal the decision. A question has been tabled for answer tomorrow. The Minister would prefer to answer in the House. I do not want to say whether the newspaper report is correct.
I am grateful to the Taoiseach and agree with him that it would be more appropriate to make such an important announcement in the House. The Gaeltacht Housing (Amendment) Bill, the purpose of which was to put right a number of decisions taken since 1989 without legislative basis was a short Bill and was ready for publication about two years ago. The issue that arises is whether housing decisions taken by the Department are ultra vires following a successful court case.
As I informed the Deputy some time ago, the drafting of the heads of the Bill has commenced for submission to the Government next month.
I asked the Taoiseach two weeks ago about the status of the Copyright (No. 2) Bill. I understand the Minister for Public Enterprise has announced that there will be a Copyright (No. 1) Bill.
The Deputy should not go into detail.
The Tánaiste is anxious to introduce the legislation which has 500 heads as quickly as possible but the target date is still July.
The Tánaiste has published a small Bill dealing with copyright. What is the purpose of that legislation given that the other legislation will be ready in July?
The short Bill deals with the American situation which has been highlighted in recent months. The purpose of the comprehensive Bill is to implement the three directives on copyright and related rights.
Are we still under threat from the Americans?
No. The short Bill deals with that matter. It will remove any problems for this year but comprehensive legislation will have to be introduced.