I hope Deputy Allen's point of order is a point of order.
Order of Business (Resumed).
I do not want to be disorderly but I am trying to get an answer. I asked the reasons the Interpretation Bill has not been proceeded with since it went through all Stages in this House. There is no point informing me it is before the Seanad. When will it proceed through that House?
The Deputy has asked his question.
As I said, it is before the Seanad. I do not have a reason it has not proceeded.
It is four years.
The Deputy has made his point. I call Deputy McManus.
What about the other question I asked on the misuse of public moneys?
That does not arise on the Order of Business, and the Deputy knows that. I have called Deputy McManus.
On a point of order. This House is being ignored——
The Deputy knows the procedures. I suggest he table a parliamentary question to the Minister responsible.
It will be answered in about two weeks' time.
That is a matter for the House. I have called Deputy McManus.
A Cheann Comhairle——
The Chair will not have the House disrupted in this fashion.
Will the Minister withdraw the Bill, which is now before the House inappropriately, and recommit it?
To what Bill is the Deputy referring?
I refer to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, which is before the House.
That has already been dealt with.
It is before the House inappropriately.
The Deputy should resume his seat.
The Ceann Comhairle can bully the Opposition as much as he likes but the Bill is wrongly before House.
I have called Deputy McManus.
It specifically excludes——
The Deputy is the Whip of his party and should give a good example in ensuring that the Standing Orders of this House are obeyed by everybody, including the Chair.
It is hard to get the Chair to do that.
That is because there are so many interruptions.
The Government stated that it will remove all democratic accountability from health boards by way of legislation which will be published this session. We are coming to the end of the session and we have not seen any sign of the Bill. When will it be published?
On the future of health boards, when will the Government bring forward legislation to abolish health boards and replace them with four new health boards?
The Government is giving priority to this Bill and I expect it will be published next week.
I asked about two Bills.
I understand it is incorporated in the same legislation, but I will check that to make sure.
This is the first time I have heard that. Is the Minister saying the abolition of the health boards' legislation will be published next week?
The health (amendment) Bill is expected to be published before the beginning of the next session.
I accept the Minister is saying it will be published next week but is he saying provision for the abolition of the health boards is included in that legislation?
The Bill is expected to provide for changes regarding the membership of the Eastern Regional Health Authority, the area health boards and the health boards, the abolition of the distinction between reserve and executive functions and the assignment of the reserve functions to the chief executive officers and the Minister for Health and Children, as appropriate. That is what I indicated to the House earlier.
Given the three month delay in taking Report Stage of the Education for Persons with Disabilities Bill, will the Minister pinpoint a week when it will be taken and whether it will be taken before, alongside or after the disability Bill since this will be published during the local elections and will be subsumed like the citizenship Bill?
The Government is anxious to proceed. It is expected early in the next session.
Legislation has been promised to provide for measures for the equal participation of tens of thousands of our citizens. This has been delayed for a number of years. The Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities met last week and expressed its dismay at this delay. The Government withdrew a flawed Bill almost two years ago. The legislation has been promised for months. Will it be published before the summer recess? What is delaying it?
I understand the consultative process is still ongoing and it is not possible to indicate a precise——
The Government is waiting until after the elections.
I call Deputy Michael D. Higgins.
The Government is not going to be able to deliver on it, so it is delaying it.
Allow Deputy Michael D. Higgins to speak without interruption.
The Government is pushing legislation——
That does not arise on the Order of Business.
The Government is not going to be able to deliver on it, so it is delaying it. There are tens of thousands of people with disabilities——
The Deputy will have to find another way of raising the matter.
There is no consultation.
I will have to move on to the next business and I would like to take Deputy Michael D. Higgins's question.
I raised——
It is a sham because the Government cannot deliver on it.
Last month I received an undertaking from the Taoiseach on the Order of Business that I would get some information on the Bill amending the Diplomatic Relations and Immunities Act 1967 as amended by the 1976 Act. The Taoiseach gave me an undertaking he would give me the reasons for the delay in bringing the Bill forward. Not having received any contact from the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Taoiseach, I repeated that request to the Tánaiste on 1 April——
The Deputy should speed it up a little. Other Deputies are offering and we must move on.
I will not be a moment but does the Ceann Comhairle realise I have been waiting several weeks to get a simple letter from the Taoiseach?
The Deputy should ask a question appropriate to the Order of Business and he will get an answer from the Minister.
It is appropriate. Why have I not received an answer to my question on the Diplomatic Relations and Immunities Act 1967, which I have asked three times? I received a letter from an assistant secretary——
Allow the Minister to respond.
I do not want to keep anybody out, but I would like to be treated with courtesy.
The Deputy is keeping people out.
I will not ask the question a fifth time.
The Ceann Comhairle's interruptions take up more time than questions.
The Chair never interrupts.
You do.
The Chair intervenes.
I appreciate Deputy Higgins's concern and I will check with the Department of Foreign Affairs as soon as we conclude the Order of Business to see the reason for the delay in the appropriate letter being issued to him in respect of this matter.
Given that the ninth report of the All-Party Committee on the Constitution is being published today, what plans, if any, does the Government have to introduce legislation to amend the Constitution in regard to proposals made in the previous eight reports, most of which have all-party consent? Given that the Government seems prepared to introduce proposals to amend the Constitution in a vacuum, what purpose will the All-Party Committee on the Constitution have in the future and will there be a debate on its future?
Debates and the order for them are matters which can be arranged between the Whips.
I asked a specific question on the proposals made by the previous eight reports of the all-party committee, most of which have all-party approval. Is the Government submitting proposals for any of these constitutional amendments to be made and, if not, why not?
These reports will be considered by the Government in due course and appropriate action will be taken.
Can it be done in two days?
At midnight last night, 60 people were deported from this country. People were held in Mountjoy, children were taken from schools——
Has the Deputy a question on legislation?
——and mobile phones were seized so that people could not contact their solicitors. What legislation allows the authorities to take such action?
I suggest the Deputy submit a question to the Minister responsible.