It is proposed to take No. 1, Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008 - amendments from the Seanad; and No. 17, the Europol Bill 2012 - Second Stage (resumed). It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that for the purposes of Standing Order 117A, the first Friday of the month for November shall be 9 November; the time and date by which notice of a Bill in connection with that sitting shall be received by the Clerk shall be 11 a.m. on Friday, 26 October 2012; and related Standing Orders shall apply accordingly. Private Members’ business shall be No. 69 – motion re statutory sick pay.
Order of Business
There is one proposal to be put to the House. Is the proposal for dealing with the sitting and business of the Dáil on Friday, 9 November agreed to? Agreed.
In the context of the Freedom of Information Act, will the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, who is sitting beside him, take urgent steps to release the documentation on the selection of primary care centres? We have now been told, following a request for information under freedom of information legislation, that it will be a further four weeks before we get the information, having been told three weeks ago on the Order of Business by the Taoiseach and subsequently by the Tánaiste-----
The point has been made.
-----that the Government had no objection to the release of all the documentation pertaining to the decision. I am at a loss as to why the information cannot be laid before the Oireachtas Library and why Deputies and Senators cannot get access to it and make of it what they wish. We should at least have access to the information. It is bringing the House into disrepute that we cannot get replies following parliamentary questions and the timeframe for such has been extended.
I am sorry, Deputy. This is the Order of Business.
What is the status of the Freedom of Information Act? It needs urgent review, in particular in the context of making sure that information on policy decisions is made available as quickly as possible.
Will the Taoiseach also indicate when the Credit Reporting Bill, which is legislation necessary to establish a credit register to inform lending decisions and improve insolvency procedures, will be published? Given the comments last week from the Central Bank about banks being in denial and behaving like unruly teenagers, the need for the legislation is now urgent.
The amendment to the National Lottery Act specifies that some lottery funding is to go towards a new national children’s hospital, about which the Tánaiste is particularly interested. Could the Taoiseach confirm when the Bill will be published and debated?
Deputy Martin has inquired about three Bills.
The national lottery Bill will be published in this session. The Credit Reporting Bill has been published and is awaiting Second Stage in the House. The status of the Freedom of Information Act is as already outlined. The heads of the Bill have been approved. The Minister has circulated it to the relevant committee, the Joint Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform, for consideration and to hear the views of Members and outside bodies. He hopes to publish the Bill before the end of the year. The impact of the Bill will be to extend the remit of freedom of information legislation to make it more comprehensive, efficient and effective than the Bill that was amended in 2004.
When will the Dolphin report into the location of the new children’s hospital be published? When does the Taoiseach expect a decision on the matter and has the process been changed to allow the Tánaiste to add his own file?
Ar reachtaíocht atá forógraithe, when will the finance, local property tax Bill be published? I refer to the Bill to provide for the introduction of the property tax to which Fianna Fáil signed up with the troika. The Taoiseach might be aware that the Irish League of Credit Unions indicated that 1.8 million citizens have less than €100 at the end of each month.
We will have a debate on the Bill when it comes before the House.
I appeal to the Taoiseach to withdraw the proposal.
The property tax Bill will be published on budget day or thereabouts. I have already outlined the process for the national children’s hospital. The Dolphin report will be available once the Government has made its decision on the national children’s hospital, which will be made by Cabinet after the Minister for Health makes his recommendation. I hope the matter can be dealt with and concluded within two weeks. I accept I said that approximately ten days ago but some clinical issues needed to be clarified. I hope we will see a conclusion to the issue in the next two weeks when a decision will be made by Cabinet and the Dolphin report can then be published.
To clarify, will the Dolphin report only be published after the Government has made its decision?
Yes.
Okay.
Legislation to provide for the exchange of criminal records and other information with EU member states and other designated states has been promised for some time. In view of the ongoing issue nationally and internationally of organised crime when is the criminal records information system Bill likely to come before the House? Have the heads of the Bill been discussed and is it likely to be introduced at an early date?
The heads of the criminal records information system Bill were approved in April of this year and the scheduled time for publication is approximately the middle of 2013.
When is publication expected of the Garda Síochána (malicious injuries compensation) Bill to provide a revised scheme for compensating gardaí injured in the course of duty? I raise the issue because two young members of the Garda in my constituency were injured. The system is indiscriminate when it comes to claims by gardaí for injuries incurred while on duty with the force.
The heads of the Bill were approved in July by the Cabinet. The Garda Síochána (malicious injuries compensation) Bill is expected to be published early in 2013.
More than 12 months ago, in September 2011, the Minister for Justice and Equality announced a Government decision to introduce new legislation to modernise the gambling, casino and private members' clubs in operation around the country. When will the Bill be published and debated in the House?
The heads of the gambling control Bill have not been approved yet by the Government. Therefore, it will be next year before it arrives on the table.
The same Minister has announced on a number of occasions that legislation would be introduced to establish a national DNA database. When is the legislation expected? In addition, when is it expected that the civil registration Bill will be published?
Both the DNA Bill, which is complex, and the civil registration Bill will be published in this session.
With regard to the local government reform Bill, has the Government taken into account the massive loss to the communities they serve of town councillors from all political persuasions that will be experienced following the abolition of town councils the length and breadth of this country?
We will debate the matter when the Bill is before the House.
Is the Government aware that tomorrow thousands of people will be left with blank television screens? Will anything be done to assist these people?
Will the Deputy find another way of raising the issue?
My question relates to the broadcasting Bill.
We will give Deputy Healy-Rae a big aerial to bring home with him.
There is no need for Deputy Kehoe to be smart.
The Taoiseach should respond on the broadcasting Bill.
It has been signalled on numerous occasions in recent months that tomorrow is the day for the digital switchover.
One hopes very few screens will go blank, but there will always be a few. That must obviously be rectified, one way or another, in order that people will be able to watch their programmes.
In the light of the difficulties being experienced by many parents in finding school places for their children and the need for transparency in the process, can the Taoiseach give me an exact date for publication of the admission to schools Bill?
Much as I would like to, I cannot give the Deputy an exact date. The heads of the Bill have been drafted, but it has not yet been brought before the Government.
When can we expect to see the Houses of the Oireachtas inquiries Bill? Is it the Taoiseach's intention to update the House on actions being taken by An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice and Equality in regard to the Mahon and Moriarty tribunals? Will we receive an update on the actions the Government is taking on foot of these damning reports?
Although the Houses of the Oireachtas inquiries Bill is scheduled for publication well into next year, given its importance, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, is minded to bring it forward earlier. However, I cannot give the Deputy more precise details. He also asked-----
I referred to the Mahon and Moriarty tribunals.
I will return to the Deputy on that issue.
I refer to the proposals on the low-cost selling of alcohol. Will the Taoiseach enlighten the House on what will happen in that regard? There is much concern among parents about binge drinking and the different reports on the issue. The former Minister of State, Deputy Róisín Shortall, was to bring a report to the House. Perhaps the Taoiseach might update us on the matter.
There are two related Bills, one being the sale of alcohol Bill and the other the public health (alcohol) Bill. The Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, will deal with that issue. There are a number of reports in that regard. I cannot give the Deputy a date of publication, but the Minister of State is dealing with the issue which is of considerable importance.
Not before the election.
Like a lot of the promises made on the other side of the House in the past ten years.