It is proposed to take No. 20, statements on pre-European Council Meeting of 23 May 2012; No. 1, Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011 [Seanad] - Second Stage; No. 21, Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 - Second Stage (resumed), to be taken on the adjournment of Private Members' business. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the Dáil shall sit later than 9 p.m. and shall adjourn not later than 10 p.m. and that No. 20 shall be taken immediately following the Order of Business and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 65 minutes, and the following arrangements shall apply: the statements shall be made by the Taoiseach and by the main spokespersons for Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Technical Group, who shall be called upon in that order and who may share their time, and shall not exceed 15 minutes in each case and a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed five minutes. The order shall resume thereafter with Topical Issues. Private Members' business which shall be No. 39 - Referendum (Amendment) (Varying Of Polling Day) Bill 2012 and No. 61 – motion re national monument at Nos. 14-17 Moore Street; and the proceedings on No. 61 shall, if not previously concluded, be adjourned after 90 minutes tonight.
Order of Business
There are three proposals to be put to the House. Is the proposal that the Dáil shall sit later than 9 p.m. tonight agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 20, statements on pre-European Council meeting on 23 May agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with Private Members' business agreed to? Agreed.
On the Order of Business, I call Deputy Martin.
I wish to raise with the Taoiseach issues relating to legislation under the portfolio of the Departments of Justice and Equality and Defence and under the latter in particular. A serious matter occurred in recent days when, at an event organised by the HSE and the Department of Defence at Custume Barracks, Athlone, an edict was sent from the office of the Minister for Defence, Deputy Shatter, that only Fine Gael and Labour Party councillors were to be invited to attend that function and Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin or Independent councillors were not to be invited.
From where did he learn that?
What about the Independents?
Moreover, similar events have taken place at the Curragh. This is a serious issue and is unprecedented.
Sorry, we are on the Order of Business now.
Moreover, the Minister's office confirmed that this order went out. The former Deputy, Ms Mary O'Rourke, who is a serious person, contacted my office.
Would the Deputy please deal with matters on the Order of Business? On promised legislation.
Three defence Bills are promised. One is the defence (amendment) (discipline) Bill, a second is the Civil Defence board (dissolution) Bill and the third is the defence (amendment) Bill, which is in section C of the Government legislation programme. I ask the Taoiseach to intervene personally as the Army should never be politicised in this manner. It always has been the precedent that all party political representatives were invited to events involving the Army.
Fianna Fáil never did that in Clonmel.
I ask for a provision to be put in the aforementioned Bills to ensure there will be no interference in respect of the invitation that should issue to public representatives irrespective of colour or creed-----
Sorry, Deputy, we are dealing with promised legislation. Thank you.
-----to any event involving the Army. It is a shocking event and I seek clarification from the Taoiseach on it.
The Deputy will not get clarification-----
I want the matter dealt with and I want the Taoiseach-----
-----except for matters that are in order on the Order of Business.
-----to speak to the Minister, Deputy Shatter. It is not his Army, it is not Fine Gael's Army, it is the Irish Army and such invitations should be extended to all.
Deputy, please resume your seat. You know it is out of order and the Taoiseach should not deal with it.
He gave it a good run though.
There are three Bills.
Is there any promised legislation in this regard?
I can tell Deputy Martin that the Civil Defence board (dissolution) Bill is on the A list for publication this session.
I call Deputy Healy-Rae.
A Cheann Comhairle-----
Sorry, Sinn Féin is second in order. I am speaking instead of Deputy McDonald.
I did not know that.
Deputy Healy-Rae got out of the traps long before the Deputy.
I apologise, a Cheann Comhairle.
Deputy Healy-Rae found himself leading Sinn Féin there.
Take it easy there now. The Deputy should not let this rush of enthusiasm go to his head.
Sorry, Deputy Mac Lochlainn should please proceed.
In respect of promised legislation, I am sure the Taoiseach will welcome the conclusion of the Vita Cortex dispute and will salute the workers for the stand they took there. Legislation is required to try to ensure there is no repeat of such an incident. However, today I must report to the Taoiseach there has been a serious stand-off at the Highland Bakery on the outskirts of Letterkenny.
Come on now, Deputy, that has nothing to do with the Order of Business. I am sorry.
It is promised legislation in respect of workers' rights.
About the Highland Bakery?
I refer to 28 workers today-----
It is a very serious issue.
-----who have been locked in, with Revenue Commissioners staff outside.
There is the option of Topical Issues and there are all sorts of other ways to raise the matter, but not on the Order of Business.
Okay, may I then wrap up by asking the Taoiseach to intervene urgently in this matter? He has been talking about protecting jobs and this is about common sense from the Revenue Commissioners.
Sorry, this is not in order on the Order of Business.
I ask the Taoiseach to intervene. In respect of promised legislation on workers' rights, he should please intervene in this matter.
No, there is no promised legislation. I call Deputy Healy-Rae.
Please. I simply ask the Taoiseach to comment on the position, as this pertains to the Revenue Commissioners.
No, it is not in order on the Order of Business. I am sorry. We cannot deal with such issues on the Order of Business. I told the Deputy what to do.
Will he bring forward legislation?
He should table an issue for the Topical Issue debates.
May I rephrase the question by asking the Taoiseach whether he will introduce legislation-----
No, we deal with promised legislation. I call Deputy Healy-Rae.
-----to try to avoid the scenario that is happening today?
Deputy Healy-Rae please.
Can I at least get the Taoiseach on the record in this regard?
The purpose of the minerals development Bill is to modernise and consolidate all mineral development. Hopefully this legislation will ensure best practices are adhered to and will allow for the constant monitoring of this industry. I seek clarification on this Bill from the Taoiseach.
When is this legislation promised?
I expect this legislation to be published towards the end of this Dáil session. It is down for publication and I expect it will just about make it onto the publication list.
That would be welcome.
Media reports indicate the iconic pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is to visit Europe and perhaps Ireland on foot of invitations from NGOs. Does the Taoiseach intend to issue a formal invitation to her to visit Ireland? I further suggest to the Taoiseach that it would be a good idea to invite her to address this House or indeed these Houses, given the respect in which she is held.
Sorry, Deputy, that is a matter for a Whips' meeting.
In respect of the European Stability Mechanism Bill, the Government has been suggesting this Bill will ensure access to this State to funding in the event it is required. Consequently, I wonder whether there is a misprint in the Bill that is going to come before the-----
No, we do not deal with misprints or content. That is done when the Bill is taken.
Because Taoiseach-----
Because nothing Deputy. The fact that we do not deal with misprints.
Or mistakes either.
Article 12 mentioned by the Taoiseach earlier states that-----
Sorry, Deputy, you are out of order. Will you resume your seat?
-----states may get funding. In other words, there is no guarantee. I was wondering-----
The Deputy should resume his seat. As his microphone is switched off, he is not on air.
The Ceann Comhairle did not do that to anyone else's microphone.
Atlantic 252.
The Deputy was out of order. He does not need me to tell him.
Why does the Taoiseach not tell the truth that there is no guarantee whatsoever of funding in this Bill?
Deputy, will you please resume his seat? Thank you.
On May 8, I received a reply to a parliamentary question stating this country could not ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities because the legislative framework was not yet in place. One of the key aspects of the legislative framework is No. 25 in the legislative programme, namely, the mental capacity Bill. Although campaigners in the area were promised the Bill would be published in April, it is yet to be published. Will the Bill be published this month or when will it be published.
The mental capacity Bill is an important Bill that I expect to be published in this session.
In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, I am not sure whether he was present but he should not deny Mr. Justice Feeney the accuracy of his comments about the ESM. He has stated that countries that ratify have access while those that do not will not.
I do not think the Taoiseach understands my point.
Very few do.
I call Deputy Durkan.
The Deputy's point sometimes is very difficult to understand.
It is the man from Del Monte.
The Deputy should not pay mind to Del Monte or I will refer to some of his friends.
On promised legislation, the Irish Aviation Authority amendment Bill is promised and is a subject of considerable interest. Has the matter been discussed in Cabinet, have the heads been drafted and when is it likely to come before the House for a Second Stage debate? I seek similar information on the criminal justice (proceeds of crime) Bill, which also is promised. It is important legislation to strengthen the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, in respect of forfeiting the proceeds of crime. Finally, the criminal law (human trafficking) (amendment) Bill is equally important and has been promised for a considerable period. I ask the Taoiseach to outline the extent to which these Bills have been discussed in Cabinet, whether the heads have been agreed to and when is it likely they will be introduced to the House.
After Deputy Durkan's stirring speech at the weekend, he has picked three Bills, namely, the Irish Aviation Authority amendment Bill, the CAB consolidation Bill or the criminal law Bill, in respect of which no work yet has been done on the heads. The third such Bill is expected later this year but the heads in respect of the other two have not yet come before the Government.
I wish to raise two points from this legislation. As for the strategic investment bank, when should Members expect legislation to be brought forward in this regard? It has been a major policy position of the Government in respect of getting people back to work. As Members have heard already what is happening in Donegal, there is a need for such initiatives. One year after the formation of the Government, when will Members have sight of this legislation? The second legislative item is No. 66 on the legislative programme, namely, the electoral (amendment) (referendum spending and miscellaneous provisions) Bill. I note have raised this issue previously. The polling date for islands has been set for of May 28.
The Taoiseach will be aware that people who, owing to their occupations are entitled to a postal vote, are being denied their constitutional right to vote because as the date for polling on the islands is not announced on the same day as is the date for polling on the mainland they were not able to include that date on their application form for a postal vote and the date for such applications has now closed. It is wrong that this is happening on some of our larger islands in particular. For example, Arranmore, which has a helipad, to and from which ferries operated every day last year and which has a helipad.
That is not relevant on the Order of Business.
I ask the Taoiseach to review the legislation and stop this practise which might have been acceptable 20 years ago but is not now given the infrastructure on our islands.
To what legislation is the Deputy referring?
We will look at that issue in general in the context of the electoral Bill which will be taken later this year.
I call Deputy Griffin.
What about the strategic investment bank?
I will update the Deputy on progress on that matter.
When?
I will give the Deputy a more accurate update on progress on the strategic investment bank.
When will the Gaeltacht Bill come before the House?
Caithfidh sé a bheith sa téarma seo. This session.