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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 22 Jun 2000

Vol. 521 No. 6

Order of Business.

The Order of Business today shall be as follows: No. 50 – Copyright and Related Rights Bill, 1999 [Seanad] – Order for Report and Report and Final Stages; No. 52 – Town Renewal Bill, 2000 – Second Stage (resumed).

It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that (1) the Dáil shall sit later than 4.45 p.m. today and business shall be interrupted not later than 10.30 p.m. and the sitting shall be suspended between 2 p.m. and 2.30 p.m.; (2) the Report and Final Stages of No. 50 shall be taken today and the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion at 10.30 p.m. 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 Enterprise, Trade and Employment; and (3) the Dáil shall sit tomorrow at 10.30 a.m. and shall adjourn not later than 4.30 p.m., there shall be no Order of Business within the meaning of Standing Order 26(2) and (3) and, accordingly, the following business shall be transacted in the following order: No. 52 – Town Renewal Bill, 2000 – Second Stage (resumed), if not previously concluded, and Remaining Stages; No. 8 – Firearms (Firearm Certificate for Non-Residents) Bill, 2000 – Order for Second Stage and Second and Remaining Stages; (4) the Second Stage (resumed) and Remaining Stages of No. 52, if not previously concluded, shall be taken tomorrow and the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion at 1.30 p.m. tomorrow 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 the Environment and Local Government; and (5) the Second and Remaining Stages of No. 8 shall be taken tomorrow and the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion at 4.30 p.m. 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 Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

There are five proposals to put to the House. Are the arrangements for today's sitting agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with item No. 50 agreed?

On item No. 50, it is proposed to take the Copyright and Related Rights Bill immediately following the Order of Business right through to 10.30 p.m. There is a proposal for a short break between 2 p.m. and 2.30 p.m. followed by Question Time. Because there is no Private Members' business, I seek the Ceann Comhairle's guidance as to whether, for the sake of the staff and the Minister who will be here continuously from 3.45 p.m. to 10.30 p.m., there could be a short break between approximately 7.30 p.m. and 8 p.m.? There will be only three people dealing with a very technical and difficult Bill.

That is a reasonable request to which I think we can agree. Perhaps the Whips could discuss the arrangements being made between 7 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.?

If I had my way I would give everyone a break except the Minister. I would be far less sympathetic than Deputy Owen. This is the second time in a week a Minister has introduced vast changes to a Bill on Report Stage. There are seven lists of additional amendments, some of which reverse amendments the Minister tabled on Committee Stage. It is not an acceptable way to do business. This is the second major Bill on to which a Minister has grafted legislation on Report Stage.

The Minister has amended his own amendments.

Is the proposal for dealing with No. 50 agreed? Agreed. Are the arrangements for tomorrow's sitting agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 53 agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 8 agreed? Agreed.

Will the Tánaiste tell the House if she still supports the appointment of Mr. Hugh O'Flaherty to the EIB, given that in the course of his interview yesterday he indicated that a degree of ad hoc decision making takes place in the justice system? Our Constitution requires justice to be delivered in the open so the public can see what is going on.

The Chair will not allow a repeat of yesterday's disorder. The Deputy should ask a brief question.

Is the Tánaiste still satisfied, having heard the questions raised in the interview given by Mr. O'Flaherty, that there is no need for her to withdraw her support from the Government? I would like a direct answer from the Tánaiste. She supported the Taoiseach yesterday despite his comments that the former judge had questions to answer.

The matter is before the relevant committee next Tuesday.

Justice must be delivered in public and the judge has refused to accept the findings of Mr. Justice Hamilton. Where does the Tánaiste stand on this?

The Order of Business is for questions on promised legislation. Deputy Howlin has tabled a motion for the committee and it will consider that matter next week. That is the appropriate forum for such consideration.

Will the Tánaiste be there next week?

Can I ask—

There will be no repeat of yesterday's disorder. I allowed the Deputy to ask a question, she has asked it and the matter must now be closed. Members were denied opportunities to raise matters yesterday. If there is disorder on the Order of Business, I will proceed to today's business.

Yesterday there were questions for the Minister for Finance and they were not answered. I do want to be disorderly.

If the Deputy continues to be disorderly, I will have no option but to take the business of the day. It is the Deputy's choice.

The Tánaiste knows that justice must be delivered and implications for Cabinet—

I call Deputy Quinn.

Is the Tánaiste and leader of the Progressive Democrats Party satisfied with the replies given by the Minister for Finance yesterday when he said he was speaking on behalf of the Government in respect of the unanswered questions, including the missing bit which the Taoiseach thought should be addressed. Does the Tánaiste, or do the Progressive Democrats Party, believe Mr. O'Flaherty should accept an invitation to appear before the committee?

These questions are not in order on the Order of Business.

The answers will be very interesting.

It would be helpful if the questions were answered this morning because there will be no Order of Business tomorrow.

They are not in order on the Order of Business.

Will the Ceann Comhairle allow the Tánaiste to answer those two pertinent questions?

She is not always here.

The answers are of great interest to everyone.

There will be no Order of Business tomorrow and it would be useful for the Tánaiste to clear up any doubts.

The matter will be before the relevant committee next Tuesday.

Today Deputy Ardagh, the chairman of the committee, said he regretted it.

We must proceed with the Order of Business proper. Deputy Dukes has offered and I hope he will ask a question on promised legislation. Deputies must resume their seats

Arising from the Tánaiste's partial answer to the last question, will she appear before the committee next Tuesday?

That is not relevant.

The Tánaiste is usually very loquacious. Will she give any interviews today?

I accept the ruling of the Chair about the relevance of questions on the Order of Business but this is highly relevant to the rest of the State.

When will the following legislation, which we were promised would be taken before the end of the session and which has not yet appeared, be published – the housing (Gaeltacht) amendment Bill, the company law enforcement Bill; the national treasury management agency Bill; the standards in public office Bill; the valuations Bill; the health insurance Bill; the opticians Bill; the courts and court officers Bill and the criminal justice (fraud offences) Bill? Will the Tánaiste explain why the Minister for Finance is visiting troops in south Lebanon?

The last question is not relevant to the Order of Business. A separate parliamentary question on the matter would be more appropriate.

The Chief Whip informs me that all those Bills will be published before the end of the session.

Does the Tánaiste believe that?

Does the Government intend to take action to combat inflation? If it is going to take such action, will the package of measures be announced in the House? Will the package include measures which will require legislation and, if so, when it will be enacted?

Many of the matters will not require legislation. The Government will consider everything on Tuesday and agree a comprehensive package of measures. Some of the measures will require amending legislation and that will be done as quickly as possible.

Will the Dáil have to be recalled to tackle this serious problem? Otherwise the legislation would not be enacted until October.

Some short-term temporary actions can be taken, but the medium and long-term issues require legislation, particularly those that deal with competition in the economy.

If the Tánaiste enacts price control measures by private order, do they have to be placed before the House for 21 days? The lateness of the session makes it impossible for the Government to do anything of this nature until the autumn.

Orders have to be placed before the House and they can be annulled within 21 sitting days.

Will the House have an opportunity to debate them?

Whatever the Government does, the Deputy will not want to change it.

The Government might want to change its decision about Mr. O'Flaherty.

Will the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development personally intervene in the licensing of a roll-on roll-off ferry for the Gulf Stream company? Transport of live cattle is extremely important to many farmers.

That question is not appropriate to the Order of Business.

Is the Tánaiste aware that the EPA has just published a report on the contamination of ground water, which supplies our drinking water?

That matter is not relevant at this time.

I am asking about the environmental protection agency Bill. The Tánaiste promised on Tuesday that the water services Bill would be published before the next election, expected in 2002. After her experiences yesterday, has she revised her opinion on the date of publication?

The environmental protection agency (amendment) Bill will be published later this year and the water services Bill will be published before 2002.

(Mayo): What is the position regarding the publication of the courts and court officers Bill, promised to give effect to the report of the working group on qualifications for the appointment of judges of the High and Supreme Courts and certain other matters? Will that Bill end, once and for all, the kind of judicial wheeling and dealing which occurred during the Sheedy case?

On a related matter, I wish to inquire about three ongoing investigations. The first, which has been in train for ten weeks, relates to the Judge Ó Buachalla affair, the second, which has been in train for 14 months, relates to the McBrearty case—

Investigations do not arise on the Order of Business.

(Mayo):—and the third relates to the shooting of John Carthy at Abbeylara eight weeks ago. Why have the reports on these investigations not been brought forward in order that they can be debated in the House before the summer recess?

Reports are not a matter for the Order of Business.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is awaiting the reports to which the Deputy refers and when they are brought forward they will be published as quickly as possible and, hopefully, debated in the House.

Does the Tánaiste not believe that this is a good week to press home her advantage with the Minister for Finance by asking him to publish the legislation relating to the regulation of the financial services industry?

It was never going to be a good week.

When will the legislation dealing with severance payments to former Irish Sweepstakes workers be published?

The legislation relating to former Irish Sweepstakes workers was published last week.

I apologise, I meant when will it be enacted?

The intention is that it will be dealt with on Thursday next, subject to the agreement of all parties. With regard to the single financial regulator, agreement must be reached as a matter of urgency in respect of this matter and the legislation should be published shortly thereafter.

When did the Tánaiste last discuss this matter with the Minister for Finance?

I wish to inquire about two items of promised legislation, namely, the legislation relating to the adoption contact register and that which relates to mandatory reporting. When in Opposition three years ago, the Government parties were extremely anxious to have these Bills introduced.

The legislation to which the Deputy refers is expected later this year.

Both items?

At that stage it will only have taken three years to have them published.

Will the Tánaiste confirm that it is not now the Government's intention to enact the legislation relating to the provision of future pension liabilities before the end of the session? Does she agree that it is not satisfactory that a sum of money in excess of £5 billion should be languishing on short-term deposit?

Clearly—

What is the Minister for Finance doing in the Lebanon?

Until last week the Government had intended to enact the legislation before the end of the session but I understand this will not now happen.

It is right that the Government should make a decision to set this money aside for future pensions liabilities.

It is not being done on a statutory basis.

It will not be done on a statutory basis until the legislation is enacted. However, it is good that agreement was reached in respect of setting the money aside because most Governments tend to spend any additional money they have at their disposal. The legislation is complex and I understand it will come before the House in the autumn.

Is the situation in the Lebanon not fragile enough without sending the Minister for Finance there?

(Dublin West): I wish to reply to Deputy Quinn's concerns about the movements of the Minister for Finance. The Minister, Deputy McCreevy, is in the Lebanon because the flak there is much less severe than at home. Therefore, it was a good move for him to travel to the Lebanon.

Deputy Higgins is developing a sense of humour.

(Dublin West): In light of the fact that the Government has decided to flog Aer Lingus, the national airline, to the multinational wolves—

Statements are not in order on the Order of Business. The Deputy must ask a question.

(Dublin West): The Minister for Public Enterprise, despite the fact that she appears to have wrapped the red flag around herself this morning, is increasingly becoming a political lookalike of the unlamented Mrs. Thatcher. Is it the Government's intention to bring the legislation providing for the privatisation of Aer Lingus before the Dáil prior to the recess in order that the national airline can be sold off during the summer?

Committee Stage of the legislation in question is currently being taken in the Upper House and it will not be introduced in the Dáil before the autumn session.

I will wear a green outfit when the legislation is introduced in the House.

(Dublin West): Given her involvement in this shameful exercise, the colour of the Minister's cheeks should match the colour of the outfit she is wearing this morning.

The Government has promised to draft a new medical practitioners Bill and it will obviously be some time before it is published. Will the Government not consider amending the existing Medical Practitioners Act in respect of one word to ensure that the looming medical manpower crisis would be ameliorated?

It is not in order to discuss changes to proposed legislation on the Order of Business.

There is promised legislation in this area.

Yes, but the Deputy is referring to changes or possible changes she is seeking to the legislation. That is a matter to be taken up when the legislation comes before the House. It should not be raised on the Order of Business.

I do not believe the Ceann Comhairle is listening to what I am saying.

I am listening and I fully understand what the Deputy is saying. She is asking about proposed changes in legislation. Will the Deputy please ask a question?

Will the Government consider amending the existing Act in respect of one word because this would ensure that non-EU doctors who—

We will deal with the Bill when it comes before the House. It is not in order to discuss it on the Order of Business.

There will be a medical manpower crisis in our hospitals in the coming weeks.

The Deputy may pursue this matter in other ways.

The Tánaiste may recall that when King David of Israel wanted to dispose of a general, he sent him to the front-line of a battle. Is the Taoiseach adopting a similar strategy in sending the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, to the Lebanon?

For some time the Government has been promising to introduce legislation to regulate the private rented housing sector. When will the report of the Commission on the Private Rented Residential Sector be published? Next week's schedule is now available and there is no sign of legislation to provide protection for tenants in private rented accommodation. Do I understand from this that the Government intends to take no action to provide such protection until the autumn at the earliest?

I understand the commission is due to report in the next number of weeks. As I stated on Tuesday last, following the publication of that report the Government will enact whatever legislation is necessary. However, it is obvious that such legislation will not be introduced before the autumn.

The issue of the beleaguered commuters and the rail dispute was raised in Private Notice Questions on Tuesday last. During the debate I referred to Statutory Instrument 146/2000 which has given rise to a great deal of confusion. Has the Tánaiste had an opportunity to consider that statutory instrument? Does it require alteration and, if not, will she make a clear and unequivocal statement that it does not confer on the ILDA the right its representatives maintain it possesses to negotiate with the management of Iarnród Éireann?

I have not considered the statutory instrument but I can confirm that it involves a code of practice and does not give negotiating rights to the union in question.

That concludes the Order of Business.

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