Order of Business.

The Taoiseach

The Order of Business today shall be as follows: No. 1, Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Bill, 1999 – Amendments from the Seanad; No. a15, Financial Motion by the Minister for Finance to be taken at 12.30 p.m. and to conclude after 60 minutes and the order shall resume thereafter; No. 35, the Planning and Development Bill, 1999 [Seanad] – Report and Final Stages (resumed); and No. 2, the Aviation Regulation Bill, 2000 [Seanad] – Second Stage.

It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that: (1) the proceedings on No. 1, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion after 30 minutes and any amendments from the Seanad not disposed of shall be decided by one question which shall be put from the Chair; and (2) No. a15 shall be taken at 12.30 p.m. today and the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: (i) the opening speech of the Minister for Finance and of the main spokespersons for the Fine Gael Party and the Labour Party shall not exceed ten minutes in each case; (ii) the speech of each other Member called upon shall not exceed five minutes; (iii) Members may share time; and (iv) a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed five minutes.

An Ceann Comhairle

There are two proposals to be put to the House. Is the proposal to deal with No. 1 agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal to deal with No. a15 agreed?

Mr. Sargent

I see no party other than Fine Gael and Labour mentioned and the issue is one which will be of interest to all parties in the House. I ask that that be considered in allotting time.

An Ceann Comhairle

Is this proposal agreed?

Mr. Sargent

I am not agreeing to the current arrangement.

Mr. Quinn

We are being asked at extraordinarily short notice to assent to or participate in a very complex debate. The resolution which has been published runs to quite a number of pages of fairly dense and complex legislation. It is an extraordinarily flippant way to treat this House. If the issue of housing was not so serious and if these measures were not so long overdue, we would not be giving our parliamentary assent.

The House is being derelict in its duty in rushing through legislation which cannot be adequately scrutinised. We will have to take the assurances of the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach in good faith because we do not have any other way of satisfying ourselves that the measures being proposed can be adequately scrutinised. In assenting to this particular measure, it is a bad day for the legislative process but an essential one for people who have been squeezed out of the housing market by the incompetence of this Government.

Mrs. Owen

I agree with Deputy Quinn on this issue. We in Fine Gael are also agreeing to this measure with great reluctance in view of the speed with which it has been presented to us. Legislation will be introduced next week and it should not be rushed through the House. It should be given proper scrutiny next week, although the decisions will have to be made today which will predicate that legislation. We are caught in the sense that we want to see measures which will allow first time buyers into the housing market and, therefore, we do not want to delay this measure being taken by the Government. However, this is not the way to run a Government. The Government should be better able to direct its business in a way which gives this House more time to scrutinise the legislation which is complex. We will accept this proposal reluctantly.

An Ceann Comhairle

Is the proposal for dealing with No. a15 agreed?

Mr. Sargent

No.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Owen, on the Order of Business.

Mrs. Owen

What proposals does the Government have to tackle the levels of illiteracy, given

today's very damaging report which indicates that 25% of the population is effectively illiterate allied to the child poverty levels and the fact that a recent survey showed that 91% of small firms are finding it difficult to find staff? Nothing seems to have happened since the Government came to office to bring down these levels. We hear promises but see no action. What will the Taoiseach do about this?

The Taoiseach

On No. a15, the Financial Motion, I thank the Opposition parties for their co-operation in taking the resolution today. We all know it is a Financial Resolution similar to a budget day resolution and cannot be circulated well in advance, otherwise it is open to all the difficulties of a Financial Resolution where people get around it and make decisions based on it. That is why there was short notice. The Bill will be before the House next week when there can be further debate. I thank Opposition parties for their co-operation.

The OECD report issued yesterday to which Deputy Owen referred shows Ireland performing poorly in regard to levels of adult literacy. It includes data which have been in the public sphere for a few years and restates that we have a problem in this area. As the Deputy knows, there was almost nothing in the budget three years ago for adult literacy but now an enormous amount of money has now been put into proper adult literacy programmes. The report shows that the problem lies particularly among older people who did not benefit from the expansion of second level education. It is an area to which we have given a high priority and have dramatically increased adult literacy funding. The figure was £800,000 when we took office and it is now in excess of £10 million. This provision is at the core of the forthcoming White Paper on adult education which the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy O'Dea, will bring forward shortly.

Mrs. Owen

Does the Taoiseach accept these very high levels of adult literacy cause great hardship in families and mean that people who could contribute to the economy by taking up employment are probably prevented from doing so, leading to the high levels of staff vacancies that exist? The Government stands indicted by the fact that the figure in the OECD report is so high and it is time it took more active action.

Mr. O'Dea

It is not.

Mrs. Owen

The OECD report states that it is.

Mr. Dukes

The Minister for Finance cannot count.

The Taoiseach

There has been an enormous improvement both as regards older people and the adult education schemes that have been put in place. I had the pleasure of attending the annual meeting of the committee on education last year. Because it now has resources it has been able to develop nationwide. Out of a potential workforce of 1.8 million there are approximately 30,000 in the long-term unemployment category. The number has decreased in the past three years from over 12% to under 2% which is probably the highest and most dramatic recovery in long-term unemployment in the OECD.

Mr. Quinn

I appreciate there is a confidentiality aspect to a financial resolution but that could have been overcome by a comprehensive briefing on a confidential basis to the spokespersons for the two political parties. What transpired to my knowledge—

Mr. Sargent

Which two parties?

Mr. Quinn

The two parties that matter.

Deputies

Fine Gael.

Mr. Quinn

There could have been face to face consultation. We need to look at the fall-out rate of students who do not complete primary or secondary education. There is a growing level of illiteracy in that category. It is not confined, as the Taoiseach's remarks would suggest, to people who, for whatever reason, are now in adulthood and cannot read. There is a problem with young people dropping out of the school system and we do not have an adequate way to measure that let alone prevent it.

Now that we are just two weeks away from adjourning for the summer recess until October, when will we see the Government's legislative proposals for standards in public life?

The Taoiseach

Hopefully that Bill will be published before the end of the session so that people will be able to examine it during the summer.

Mrs. Owen

Will it be before we adjourn?

Mr. Deasy

The Wildlife (Amendment) Bill is supposed to protect all creatures great and small but it is being flouted in an alarming manner. In the Ceann Comhairle's constituency, two teams of hedge cutters have been operating on the road from Castlecomer to Kilkenny this week.

An Ceann Comhairle

Is this promised legislation?

Mr. Deasy

It is included in legislation which is going through the House and in current legislation. Cutting hedgerows at this time of the year is a serious crime. It is happening all over the country. Something should be done about it. What will the Minister do about this?

An Ceann Comhairle

There are other ways in which the Deputy can pursue the matter.

Mr. Finucane

It is an important point.

Mr. Deasy

I would like the Taoiseach to reply.

An Ceann Comhairle

It is not in order.

Mr. Deasy

Surely breaking the law is a serious matter.

An Ceann Comhairle

It is, but this matter is not in order on the Order of Business.

Mr. Rabbitte

When will promised legislation on company law enforcement and the office of a director of company law enforcement be published?

The Taoiseach

Hopefully in this session.

Mr. Dukes

Is that more in hope than expectation?

The Taoiseach

It is still this session, as of this week.

Mrs. Owen

There is no row between any Members?

The Taoiseach

On the point raised by Deputy Deasy, the Bill is before the House. He raised an important issue. As I understand it, the regulation has always been that the cutting of hedgerows takes place prior to spring or in the autumn. I will raise the issue.

Mr. Higgins

(Mayo): What is the position regarding the attachment of earnings Bill? Given that there are now more Independents than Progressive Democrats, does that mean Deputy Healy-Rae should be Tanáiste?

The Taoiseach

The Heads of the attachment of earnings Bill, which is to end imprisonment for civil debt and inability to pay fines, are expected later this year but it will be next year before it is published.

Mr. Higgins

(Mayo): And the second question?

Mrs. Owen

It does not require legislation.

Mr. Sargent

On promised legislation, in light of the serious report that 15 tonnes of uranium at Sellafield nearly ignited as a result of the decommissioning work, does the Taoiseach agree that the civil defence Bill needs to be brought in urgently? This would have been another Windscale '57 fire had it not been avoided. Does he agree this is a serious matter that needs to be addressed?

As regards the firearms and firearms certificates for non-residents Bill, will it delay the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill because it will amend the Wildlife Act, 1976? Is there any conflict between publication of that Bill by the Minister for Justice and Law Reform and the one by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands?

The Taoiseach

The civil defence Bill will be introduced in the autumn. It is to update and regulate the civil defence. The firearms Bill was cleared by the Government on Tuesday.

Mr. Sargent

It could all blow up.

Mr. Kenny

As regards the legislative matter raised by Deputy Deasy, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands said last week that the county councils were monitoring the position. Obviously they are in flagrant breach of the legislation. I have raised the issue of the general register office by way of question on a number of occasions. As we enter the peak tourism season this matter requires action by three Ministers – the Ministers for Health and Children, Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands and Tourism, Sport and Recreation. The facilities and the service to—

An Ceann Comhairle

Is this promised legislation?

Mr. Kenny

It is a disgrace. It is being hidden behind the mantra given in response to questions but something must be done about it.

An Ceann Comhairle

There are other ways in which the Deputy can raise that matter.

Mr. M. Higgins

What is the present status of Bille na Gaeilge? It was going through different Departments when I last heard of it. Is there agreement on the Heads of the legislation? When might we look forward to it being published? As regards the broadcasting Bill, should it ever appear again in committee, will there be amendments to deal with the abuse of the monopoly in broadcasting that will prevent those who watch soccer being the victims of people such as BSkyB?

The Taoiseach

Bille na Gaeilge will be taken in the autumn session. The broadcasting Bill is before Committee and it is a matter for it to proceed from there.

Mr. Higgins

(Dublin West): Does the Taoiseach have any proposals to deal with the poaching of endangered species by unscrupulous head-hunters?

Mr. Yates

Government Deputies should not laugh so much.

An Ceann Comhairle

Does the Deputy have a question relevant to the Order of Business?

Mr. Higgins

(Dublin West): This is another aspect of the wildlife Bill.

Mr. Dukes

The Deputy can rest easy as he will not be a target.

Mr. Higgins

(Dublin West): The attention focused on the Taoiseach's nominees to the Seanad again shows the elitist and undemocratic nature of that institution.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy is raising matters which are totally out of order. I call Deputy Rabbitte.

Mr. Higgins

(Dublin West): Does the Taoiseach have any proposals to change the elitist nature of the Seanad?

An Ceann Comhairle

I call Deputy Rabbitte.

Mr. Rabbitte

As regards promised legislation to regulate the financial services industry, would the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, agree this is the appropriate morning to concede the point to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney? This legislation is required urgently and will the Taoiseach indicate if there is any agreement?

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 15 Jun 2000

Deputies

Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 15 Jun 2000