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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 3 Jul 2012

Vol. 771 No. 1

Order of Business

It it proposed to take No. 1, Criminal Justice (Search Warrants) Bill 2012 [Seanad] - Second Stage. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the proceedings on Private Members’ business, which shall be No. 32, Education (Amendment) (Protection of Schools) Bill 2012 – Second Stage, shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, 4 July 2012.

There is one proposal to put to the House. Is the proposal for dealing with Private Members' business agreed to? Agreed.

On the forthcoming legislation in respect of the health service, the Taoiseach is aware the HSE board has been abolished and officials now occupy the seats of the former governors. While proposals have been put forward in respect of seven directorates, they are just proposals at present and in the meantime, hospitals are finding it extremely difficult to pay their way. Mr. Cathal Magee of the HSE has indicated that a deficit of €500 million is looming. The situation is in crisis and is directionless. As I noted earlier, it was reported last weekend that the Minister has hired, as part of his senior team, consultancies located elsewhere, which are paid by the taxpayer here but which have no obligation and which, by the manner and nature of the company formation, are not obliged to pay tax in Ireland. I urge the Taoiseach to bring forward the health governance Bill before the summer recess as a matter of urgency. I seek clarification on the governance issues now arising in respect of health-----

-----and in particular in respect of so-called senior advisers. Are they recruited as advisers or are they procured as consultancies which provide services to the Minister and the Department in respect of ongoing current health issues?

Deputy, this is a separate issue.

These are core issues in respect of what is happening on the ground and it is damaging morale hugely.

Sorry Deputy, that is a matter for a parliamentary question. Let us stick to the legislation.

The HSE governance Bill is now receiving priority from the Parliamentary Counsel in the Attorney General's office.

I can confirm that progress was reported today. People are working in relays on the legislation and we expect to publish it in this session. It is a complex Bill and there is a great deal of effort being put into it. The Minister was happy to report significant progress in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General.

Therefore, the board was abolished and nobody has been in charge for 15 months.

If the Deputy tables questions about the persons employed by the Minister, I am sure he will be happy to answer them.

When will the Central Bank (consolidation) Bill be published? I ask this against the backdrop of the fiasco at Ulster Bank which has been a disaster for customers and, in particular, those depending on social welfare payments.

The Joint Committee on Investigations, Oversight and Petitions was heralded as a great innovation by the Government. It signed off on its Standing Orders last January and I understand they cannot have a legal framework until a motion is brought before the Dáil. When will this motion be forthcoming? Will it be brought before the Dáil before the end of the session?

A report on the latter issue will provided at the Whips' meeting on Wednesday. The Central Bank Bill will be published after the other Bills that are relevant to the issue have been dealt with. The debate on the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011 has yet to begin on Committee Stage, while the Credit Union Bill 2012 was published a few weeks ago. The Central Bank Bill will not be published until next year after these Bills have been dealt with.

I would like to ask the Taoiseach about the consumer and competition Bill. Is he aware that Ulster Bank is not paying child benefit to the parents of 16 to 18 year olds, in spite of these children being in full-time education-----

That does not apply.

-----and despite receiving the money from the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Finance-----

Please do not do this to me every day.

I do not do this every day.

Please ask about legislation. We do not need a speech.

I am making no more of a speech than anybody else. People went to post offices today to collect their child benefit payment and went home with no money. Will the consumer and competition Bill be expanded to include the banking sector in order that the consumer will be protected in the event of unforeseen events? It is an important issue.

That would be extending it beyond Kilgarvan.

A lot of people did not receive money today. This is a serious matter.

The heads of the Bill were approved in July 2011 and the Bill will be published later this year.

The Taoiseach asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to reply to me ten days ago about the water services Bill and he did so. We have been promised everything, but we still do not have the standards that should apply. I hope the Taoiseach will not say this is extending beyond Kilgarvan, as this is a problem being experienced all over the country. We need to have the matter clarified because the Minister came before the committee last week and did not provide us with the details.

Deputy Lowry will sort it out.

It has not been sorted out.

I thought the standards were published last week.

No, not the detailed guidelines. It would be easier to obtain the third secret of Fatima than it would to get the guidelines off the Minister.

Will the Deputy table a parliamentary question?

As the Deputy has been so consistent, I will specifically request the Minister to direct the regulations to him and make sure they are out in good time.

The heads of the health insurance (risk equalisation) Bill were approved by the Cabinet a couple of weeks ago. Things are happening so fast that new entrants appear to be cherry picking the most lucrative ends of the market. Will it be possible to bring the Bill before the House before the end of the session in order to ensure stability in the market during the holiday period?

I regret to tell the Deputy that that will not be possible. The heads of the Bill were approved a few weeks ago. As it is to be implemented before 1 January 2013, it will be brought before the House in the autumn session.

Will the Taoiseach provide an update on the national vetting bureau Bill? The Minister for Justice and Equality indicated a few weeks ago that the drafting was almost complete and I understand it was due to be brought before the House this term. Is that the case?

I can confirm that the Bill will be published in this session, as per the target.

Does the Taoiseach envisage a requirement for primary legislation on any of the matters up for discussion in Brussels last Thursday night? Is there a need for constitutional change on any of those matters?

There is a decision expected to be made on 9 July in a court case about the ESM. The specific recommendation for Ireland is to continue with our programme. Taking into account the breaking of the principle applied, this allows us an opportunity to start negotiations on how to give effect to it. The issue of legislation or anything else will emerge in the discussions on all the options open to the Government.

I was thinking of the banking union or the banking regulator that will be required on a pan-European basis. Clearly, that will have implications for our the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator.

The discussion at the Council meeting was about how to set up an interim supervisory regulatory authority which would eventually lead to the ECB having permanent responsibility for it. Mr. Draghi spoke on that topic. A number of issues must be considered before we can set in place an interim supervisory authority.

Will legislation be needed?

I am not sure, but as the discussion progresses, we will soon find out.

A well-known supermarket chain advertised a so-called children's allowance day promotion in four of its stores, aimed at mothers of children. I hope the Taoiseach agrees that this was a reprehensible marketing campaign. It is time the Minister of State, Deputy Róisín Shortall, expedited legislation on the below cost sale and marketing of alcohol, in which Deputy Micheál Martin was very involved when he was Minister. It is time the Government and the Parliament sent a message that we will not allow-----

Deputy Róisín Shortall is fine, but Deputies Leo Varadkar, Richard Bruton and Pat Rabbitte are opposed.

(Interruptions).

Deputies, please. When is the Bill due?

This is a very serious matter.

I know it is, but I am trying to find out when the legislation is due.

This happened in four of the company's stores and the marketing campaign was aimed at young families to whom children's allowance is paid.

Will the Deputy, please, resume his seat?

The Minister for Health and the Minister of State, Deputy RóisIn Shortall, are considering the report with a view to bringing proposals to the Government. It is exceptionally irresponsible for a group to link the payment of children's allowance with cheap alcohol. I understand Centra has today ordered its retailers to withdraw the promotion. The human cost of alcohol is enormous. I attended a meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee which was addressed by the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health, Dr. Tony Holohan, who launched the national substance misuse strategy steering group report on 7 February. Alcohol, among other things, was responsible for at least 88 deaths every month in 2008. The death of one in four young men was estimated to be due to alcohol, which compares to one in 12 deaths due to cancer or one in 25 deaths due to cardiovascular disease. Alcohol is a contributory factor in half of all suicides and incidents of deliberate self-harm and also increases the risk of acquiring more than 60 medical conditions such as cancer. It is associated with 2,000 beds being occupied every night in Irish acute hospitals - 2,000 beds every night occupied by people loaded with alcohol - a quarter of injuries presenting to emergency departments and 7,866 attendances in 2010 of specialised addiction treatment centres. These are enormously important figures. There are recommendations from the steering group. The Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, are looking at the report and they will bring their proposals to Government shortly.

Because all of these things are lumped together, I might just say in passing that the Polish Prime Minister, Mr. Tusk, spoke to me at the conclusion of the meeting in Brussels the other day and complimented Ireland on the quality, friendliness and generosity of its supporters recently attending the matches as part of the European championships. He came over to me directly and said to specifically convey this to the Irish people and the Irish supporters.

The Taoiseach will be aware the new French Government has announced it is going to establish a new state investment bank to promote jobs and growth. I welcome the fact that we have established the strategic investment fund but the programme for Government is explicit in stating that we will establish a strategic investment bank. Is it still our intention to establish that bank and, if so, when can we expect the promised legislation in order to promote jobs and investment in the economy?

Yes, that is the intention but I cannot give the Deputy a date for the production of that legislation.

The Taoiseach referred to a court case on the European Stability Mechanism. To be clear, I am not asking him to comment on anything relating to that but I am asking him to comment on the scheduling of Dáil business on fiscal matters and the matters he had intended to dispose of before the summer. Does he believe that schedule will be held to or will matters, including matters arising from the euro group meeting, go into the autumn?

One of the crucial issues for the Government was to get a handle on and produce the Personal Insolvency Bill. The detail of that has been published and I understand it is coming into the House on Thursday this week to start that process. There are a number of other pressing pieces of legislation. It depends on when the Deputy wants the House to rise for the summer. The House has been sitting late now for quite a number of weeks and I would like to think we will continue that to get as much of this done as we can. There are some serious Bills here. The Whips' meeting could discuss the schedule. I would like to get as much done as we can. Clearly, in the interests of all those caught in negative equity and mortgage arrears, it is important to get through as much of the Personal Insolvency Bill on Second Stage as we can. The Whip will outline both this week and next week how we can adhere to that schedule.

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