It is proposed to take No. 5, Finance Bill 2012 - Order for Second Stage and Second Stage. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the Dáil shall sit later than 9 p.m. tonight and shall adjourn on the adjournment of Private Members' business which shall be No. 39, motion re stroke costs in Ireland, which shall take place on the conclusion of the opening speeches of No. 5 or at 7.30 p.m. whichever is the later, and adjourn after 90 minutes.
Order of Business
I understand that order is to allow the main spokespersons to have their say.
In what?
On the Finance Bill. For today, that is the way it is put.
A Deputy
Deputy Higgins can speak tomorrow.
We are not having a debate. I am only clarifying that each spokesperson will be guaranteed that his or her contribution will be today and we are delaying Private Members' time until that happens. Is that okay?
Just for the opening slots.
May I share time?
Yes, that is usual. Is the proposal that the Dáil shall sit later than 9 p.m. tonight agreed to? Agreed.
Family-friendly hours. It is St. Valentine's Day all right. The Government is really up for it.
Deputy Martin on the Order of Business.
Would the Taoiseach outline to the House the legislative requirements that will be in order to implement the various commitments in the employment action plan, specifically, when the credit guarantee scheme Bill required will be published, and also whether the abolition of county and city enterprise boards will necessitate legislation and when we can expect that legislation to be brought before the House?
In respect of the loan credit guarantee scheme, the Minister has done quite a deal of work on the Bill itself. They have designed the model and tender for it, and an operator has been determined.
I cannot give Deputy Martin an exact date as to when he will bring it in here. Maybe I will get the Minister to give a more accurate fix on this. If I give the Deputy a date, I may be wrong. I would say eight to ten weeks. I might be a little off on that, but that is what I would expect.
This has been announced for approximately a year. Eight or ten weeks means one is looking at six months before this will be activated. It seems incredible that an operator has been identified but the House has not even had wind of anything. Also, the Minister might comment on the enterprise boards.
It is not an easy situation to get right given the range of businesses that are out there and the circumstances that apply in each case. The Minister has had to start from scratch here and devise a system that will cater for this. For every €100 million that will be leveraged through this credit scheme, 1,200 businesses will be enabled to do their business. That is my assumption. When I speak to the Minister and get a more accurate fix on it, I will let Deputy Martin know.
What of the country enterprise boards?
The position there is being conducted by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. There will be an enterprise desk in each local authority. The funding for that will be still ring-fenced from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and that will continue for some time to see exactly how this works.
Will there be legislation to abolish the existing boards?
The legislation is being worked on by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. I ask Deputy Martin not to ask me when the Minister will bring it into the House; I will let the Deputy know.
Seo ceist faoi reachtaíocht atá fógraithe. Legislation is required in order for the Government to ratify the treaty establishing the European stability mechanism. When does the Taoiseach expect this to be published, when will it come before the Dáil and does it have to be sent to the Attorney General for further legal advice?
This is being drafted. Clearly, there is a deal of work to be done in respect of the fiscal responsibility Bill which would give effect to Articles in the treaty and work is under way on that Bill. It is complex enough and we will report progress to Deputy Adams as it is being completed.
Is there a date set?
No.
I thank the Taoiseach.
In the Garda Síochána regulations it is stated that a Garda cannot become insolvent. Has the Government any proposed legislation, perhaps in the Legal Services Bill 2011, to address this in law, as many new young gardaí, like many others in society, are in negative equity and are in difficulty with mortgages etc.?
That is a matter for a parliamentary question, not promised legislation.
I am asking if there is promised legislation.
It is not promised legislation.
Is the Ceann Comhairle sure-----
I am certain about it.
-----that it is not in the Legal Services Bill 2011?
The Legal Services Bill 2011 is going through the Dáil. How can that be promised legislation? Are we codding each other here? Hold on a second.
If there is not promised legislation, there should be-----
Maybe there should.
-----because it is a serious matter for the force.
That is why I suggest Deputy Healy-Rae table a parliamentary question.
When is it proposed to introduce legislation for the regulation of the private clamping industry, since I was clamped a couple of weeks ago?
That was unfair.
There is a proposition to bring in a Bill on this, but it will be the latter part of the year.
The sea-fisheries and maritime jurisdiction (amendment) Bill, as the Taoiseach might remember, is a Bill to introduce administrative penalties for alleged offences at sea. When will that be introduced?
I heard the Taoiseach give a lengthy reply earlier this afternoon to Deputy Martin on Priory Hall. On Sunday last, 600 or 700 people were praying for the Taoiseach out in Donaghmede and asking him to urgently intervene, and for him to take responsibility to arrange a comprehensive settlement,-----
We dealt with that matter earlier.
-----as Deputy Martin stated earlier, to re-house these people. I ask the Taoiseach again.
A topical issue.
I promise to ask the Taoiseach every day from now on about Priory Hall.
Deputy Broughan will not be allowed.
Will the Taoiseach bring this horrendous situation of people being refugees in their own country to an end once and for all in the coming days?
The latter question is out of order. It is a matter for a topical issue or a parliamentary question.
We have done a good few of those.
One can go again. We must be in order here. The first question was in order. It was about promised legislation.
There is no date fixed for that fines Bill in respect of fisheries; it will be later in the year. Deputy Broughan can convey my thanks to the people for their prayers. God knows, these days I need them.
The Taoiseach must deliver.
I ask the Taoiseach about the promised legislation on Irish water. On Saturday last, the Irish Farmers’ Journal carried a quotation from the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, reporting him stating that Irish Water “will oversee everything to do with water and septic tanks across the country”. I want the Taoiseach to clarify whether the Government has now decided that Irish Water will have a role in overseeing the legislation and regulation of septic tanks.
Deputy Stanley will have to put down a parliamentary question.
If the Government does that to the Irish Water, there will be the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the EPA, the river basin management committees and local authorities. The Taoiseach will be aware that that will be a bureaucratic nightmare stretching the whole way from the Customs House to Belmullet.
Would Deputy Stanley resume his seat and I will get him an answer?
It is on forthcoming legislation. Will Irish Water have a role in overseeing,-----
That relates to content and we do not deal with that on the Order of Business.
-----as the Minister stated, according to the Irish Farmers’ Journal, in the implementation-----
Deputy Stanley has made his point.
-----of standards of septic tanks-----
When is the legislation on Irish Water due?
-----because that would involve five separate bodies?
On the legislation in respect of Irish Water, that will be its remit in terms of the provision of proper clean and safe water at affordable prices.
On something on the same basis,-----
It is about the Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 and enactment of same. When will we get the guidelines?
On the Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011,-----
When will the Minister give us the guidelines?
-----Deputy Mattie McGrath can go to the committee and deal with the Committee Stage.
The Minister promised to give them to us in Tipperary last week but he failed to do so.
Deputy McGrath should not mind that.
When will the Minister give us the guidelines?
This is the Order of Business in the Dáil. We are not in Tipperary.
I did not say that, but I am asking about promised legislation, the water services legislation. When will the Minister give us the standards?
The Taoiseach is after telling the House about the water services.
He did not.
A Deputy
He did.
He did not.
When will he tell us the standards by which the Bill will be implemented?
When is the water services Bill due?
The regulations.
The Minister is working on that and we have not yet set a date for publication. It is a far-ranging and important Bill.
The Taoiseach is straying into grey areas with grey water.
Regarding the gambling Bill, which is proposed legislation, in light of the recent "Prime Time" documentary on unregulated online activities, serious consideration must be given to-----
Deputy Butler can ask when the Bill is due, not give a statement.
I want to raise this issue-----
Then Deputy Butler should table a parliamentary question.
I am going to finish now.
I must be fair to everyone.
When will the gambling Bill come before the House? This is a serious problem.
The heads of the Bill have not come before the Government yet so I do not have a date for its publication. Once the heads of the Bill have come to Government and been circulated, I will be in a better position to give the Deputy a true indication of the time.
I refer to promised legislation on the DNA database system. This is of particular importance in tracking crimes that were committed some years ago. Unfortunately, we do not have that system set up here. Has the Bill been discussed in Cabinet and have the heads of the Bill been agreed? To what extent has it been advanced and when will it come before the House?
It has been discussed at Cabinet and I can confirm that considerable drafting has been done but I expect it will be the middle of the year before it is finalised.
We are almost in a situation of crisis in the HSE in that no one is quite sure who is in charge. When will the Bill to restructure the HSE come before the Dáil? Everyone seems to be passing the buck, the Secretary General of the Department is the chair of the board and the Minister claims he is in charge yet all queries are referred to the HSE. This is a crisis point and we want to know who is in charge and when legislation will be brought before the Dáil so that we can have a serious debate on the restructuring of the HSE, a central tenet and plank of the Government's commitments prior to the election.
The HSE governance Bill will come before the House this session. We know who is in charge.
We do not know.
We will have a chat about that later.
The Taoiseach is smiling, he does not seem to know.
When can we expect to see the legislation underpinning the NewERA proposal, on which the Taoiseach's party was voluble in previous times? We had information yesterday on the jobs initiative and there seems to be a drastic lack of information on the opportunities to be provided by NewERA and the 100,000 jobs associated with it. If we had legislation before the House we would be able to establish if there is duplicity or if these are the same jobs. People are still expecting the creation of 100,000 jobs from NewERA and I can only assume that what was announced yesterday is in addition to the proposal that went before the people.
Deputy Dooley's leader wants to go to dinner. It is Valentine's night.
NewERA operates under the NTMA and has a specific responsibility and remit for carrying out evaluations in respect of the potential sale of the State assets the Government will consider disposing of at an appropriate time, for appropriate remuneration and in accordance with the memorandum of understanding with the troika. When the Government decides to fix on the assets it will dispose of, NewERA will carry out evaluations on behalf of the Government and the implications for new jobs are very clear.