It is proposed to take No. 3, Fines (Payment and Recovery) Bill 2013 - Second Stage (resumed).
Order of Business
Short and sweet.
There are no proposals to be put to the House. I call Deputy Calleary.
Is that Dáil reform? I refer to the consumer and competition Bill which has been listed for some time. There is a complex disagreement in Government between the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, about who "owns" the Bill.
The Minister, Deputy Bruton, seems to have won that argument and I know that Fine Gael seem very concerned about media mergers for some reason. When will the Bill be published? Why has the Cabinet decided that media mergers, given the importance of the issue, are not being dealt with through separate legislation, as opposed to being tagged on to the consumer and competition Bill?
The Bill will be published this session.
So the argument was lost.
In respect of the Government's proposals for Dáil reform and longer sitting days, what consultation has taken place with staff of the Oireachtas, if any? My second question is about the briefing to which Deputy Daly referred from the ESB group of unions. Is access to the audio-visual room to be shut down and taken from Deputies?
That is not on the Order of Business.
This is the Minister who is all about political reform and transparency.
The audio-visual room has got nothing to do with the Order of Business.
I find it astonishing that the Administration at any level would prevent representatives from a semi-State company coming in and setting out their stall on an issue of importance. If the Minister could clarify that for us, that would be great.
We will not be clarifying anything about the audio-visual room on the Order of Business. It is as simple as that.
To answer the question on Dáil reform, it is important that we arrive at a consensus as much as possible within the elected membership, and then the reforms and how they impact on the staff and the running of the House will obviously require negotiation subsequently.
Did the Minister meet anyone? He did not meet anyone. That is his answer.
Is there any progress on the customs Bill? Will it give greater power to the Customs and Excise to combat fuel laundering and cigarette smuggling? This is becoming epidemic and it is costing millions to the State and jobs to those who are paying their taxes and who are complying. The Bill will make the Minister's job a lot easier when he is drawing up budgets.
Customs legislation will not be introduced until next year, but the issue of fuel laundering has been tackled already by the Minister for Finance, and he had something to say about it in last year's budget. I think he will have something further to say about it this year.
A Bill is due before the House to provide for a new tenant purchase scheme for local authorities and for the repossession of local authority dwellings, as well as a new scheme of housing assistance payments. When is this housing (miscellaneous provisions) Bill due before the House? Section 62 of that Bill is very important for local authorities.
The Taoiseach answered that question yesterday. It will be next year.
Is it the Government's intention to introduce regulations penalising schools which do not allow parents purchase generic uniforms where they can iron the crest of the school onto the uniform itself? What is the timing for the introduction of such regulations? Under which Bill will the regulations be introduced?
I have no knowledge at all of that matter, but I will ask the Minister for Education and Skills to respond.
When is the strategic investment fund to be put on a statutory footing? I think it comes under the NTMA (amendment) Bill. That initiative was first announced two years ago.
The Minister for Finance has indicated that it is hoped the legislation will be introduced this year, but if the overarching NTMA legislation is not available, we will advance that element of it separately in order that we can have access to funding for the stimulus packages we have announced and further packages.
In his reply to an earlier question, the Minister said that the people of Ireland were hurting. I want to raise an issue under the finance (no.2) Bill. It is about a family in County Cork.
We will not be raising that in here.
I have the sheriff's notice here that threatens to evict the family.
This cannot be raised on the Order of Business.
Under the conveyancing Act of 2009, the sheriff's powers were abandoned. I have the sheriff's eviction notice here in my hand. If that is the hurt the Labour Party feels, it is very sad.
I call on Deputy Healy Rae.
I want to ask-----
We are not doing this on the Order of Business.
It is on the Order of Business. The conveyancing Act of 2009 dismissed the power of the sheriff. How is the new sheriff in Cork - a newly appointed lady sheriff - intimidating families like this?
Raise this under Topical Issues. This is not on the Order of Business.
It is. I have the sheriff's notice here.
I do not care what you have. Please resume your seat.
These people are hurting from the powers allowed by this Government. The Labour Party-----
Please do not abuse the right that people have on the Order of Business.
This is an appalling situation.
Sit down and find some other way to raise the issue. I call on Deputy Healy-Rae.
There is chaos in our motor tax offices at the moment because of the changeover on 1 October for retrospective taxing of motor vehicles and machinery.
What Bill are you talking about?
I am talking about the road traffic (no. 3) Bill and I have already asked that this deadline be extended to 31 October. It would make an awful difference.
Table a parliamentary question.
The road traffic (no. 3) Bill will be next year.
When will the criminal justice (miscellaneous provisions) Bill be brought forward? It is very important that this be done in order that we can provide for the post-release electronic tagging of sex offenders. It is much anticipated by people in this country.
That Bill is expected in the first half of next year.
When is the pyrite levy Bill due to be published?
That is a priority for the Government and the Taoiseach has indicated that it will be introduced this session.
What is the current position on the Bill to provide free GP services? Have the heads of the Bill been agreed and is it ready for presentation? The lack of a legal aid Bill is causing some problems at the moment. Have the heads of that Bill been approved by the Government? When will the Bill come before the House? Is its urgency recognised? Finally, the EU directive on cybercrime has yet to be incorporated into Irish law. When will that happen?
The health Bill will be introduced this session. We expect it to come before a Cabinet sub-committee within the next fortnight. Heads of the legal aid Bill have been approved by the Cabinet, but the Bill will not be published until next year. I have no date for the cybercrime Bill yet.
When can we expect to see the water services Bill? Legislation is proposed to deal with the Central Bank, including the financial regulator. That is being put forward as a consolidating measure. Will the legislation contain any substantive measures to ensure the regulator will deal properly with any complaints of malfeasance by bankers?
The water services Bill will be before the House in this session. The Central Bank Bill is not expected until next year, but since it is in gestation, perhaps suggestions the Deputy or the finance committee would like to make might be incorporated in the Bill.
So it will not just be a consolidating Bill.
I am not sure, but I am sure the Minister for Finance will have regard to any submissions the Deputy would like to make to the Bill.
Is there legislation promised to address the serious issue of bonding of horses? This is a matter of considerable importance and is costing local authorities vast sums of money.
The Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 was enacted last year and it deals with that issue.
The final chapter of the Mahon report was published during the summer recess. Is it proposed to bring that matter before the House for discussion?
I will ask the Government Whip to find out and he will refer directly to the Deputy.
When is publication of the family law Bill expected, which will make provision for pension adjustments in the context of separation agreements and certain reforms in family law?
There is a huge list of Bills in the justice area.
I do not have a date for that, but I suspect it will be next year.