It is proposed to take No. b9, motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions; and No. 20, statements on the White Paper on Universal Health Insurance (resumed). It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that No. b9 shall be decided without debate; for the purposes of Standing Order 21(1)(a), the next fortnightly Friday sitting after 9 May 2014 shall be on 6 June 2014, the time and date by which notice of a Bill for the 6 June sitting shall be received by the Clerk shall be 11 a.m. on 9 May, and related Standing Orders shall apply accordingly; and the Dáil on its rising today shall adjourn until Wednesday, 30 April 2014 at 2.30 p.m.
Order of Business
There are three proposals to be put to the House. Is the proposal for dealing with No. b9, without debate, agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with the sitting and business of the Dáil on Friday, 6 June 2014 agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal that the Dáil on its rising today shall adjourn until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 30 April 2014 agreed to? Agreed.
I note the change in the schedule. The Dáil is coming back a week earlier then had originally been planned. Will the Tánaiste indicate whether it is intended to move the writs for the two by-elections on 30 April or thereabouts?
I wish to ask the Tánaiste about the legislation on water charges. Can the Tánaiste give me an approximate date when it might be published? It is important that it is published before the European and local elections so people will be in a position to make an informed judgment about it when they are casting their votes.
Is there a possibility that the Government will be in a position to publish it before 23 May?
As the Deputy stated, the House will return on 30 April, the week after Easter. There is no justification for the House adjourning for a week longer. The public would find it difficult to understand why the House-----
The Government scheduled it wrong.
-----would not return until May.
The Government is safer here than outside.
The water charges legislation has been enacted. Regarding the possibility of by-elections, in fairness, the cause giving rise to those was recent. As a matter of decency, it would not be appropriate to discuss the holding of by-elections at this early stage.
The programme for Government commits to the introduction of legislation to allow for collective bargaining rights. When will the industrial relations (amendment) (No. 2) Bill be presented? Can we with certainty look forward to its successful passage through the House in a short time? We have waited a long time for this to present.
Regarding the regulation of lobbying Bill, there is significant concern about the special relationship that has applied heretofore - perhaps continuing - between known and unknown lobbyists, some with close relationships with political entities in this institution, who swan and have swanned around this building over many years. This is a matter that needs to be addressed. There is great public concern about it. When will the regulation of lobbying Bill present? By the way, its heads were published.
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is at an advanced stage in his preparation of that legislation on collective bargaining. I expect that it will be before the Government shortly after Easter.
Regarding the registration of lobbyists legislation, we expect it to be published and in the House before the summer recess.
On promised legislation, what is the position of the introduction of the industrial relations (amendment) Bill, which is to provide a new legislative framework to address the issues arising from the Supreme Court ruling striking down registered employment agreements, REAs?
That is the collective bargaining legislation to which I just referred. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is at an advanced stage in preparing that legislation. I expect it to be before the Government soon.
I thank the Tánaiste.
Will the Tánaiste clarify whether the Labour Party believes that, when it imposes a water tax-----
-----the tax comes with an in-built Labour anaesthetic-----
We are not going back there. This is the Order of Business.
-----and causes no pain and hurts no one? If that is not the case-----
The Deputy is out of order.
-----will the Tánaiste tell us how Labour will save us from Fine Gael hurting us all?
Will the Deputy leave the leaflet down, please? He is totally out of order.
Labour even showed a water tap to make the point that it would stop Fine Gael from introducing a water charge of €238.
Deputy, you know the rules of this House.
Sorry.
No, I am serious. I called you out of respect for you. I expect you to behave in a proper fashion by adhering to the rules.
Throw him out.
This is the Order of Business. It is not-----
A talking shop.
-----an occasion to make speeches.
Sometimes, people have to be reminded of what they said because they tend to forget.
There are plenty of other occasions that are not the Order of Business.
The Taoiseach firmly promised me yesterday that, when the Dáil returned after Easter and well before the local and European elections, the Government would present in detail its pricing structure and proposals for water.
That was yesterday.
Is that detail agreed? Will the definitive information-----
That is not on the Order of Business.
-----that the Government was not ready or want to give yesterday be before us?
That is not on the Order of Business.
I am sorry, but it is.
You are out of order. This is about promised legislation.
Yes, and-----
It is not about Government commitments or anything else.
-----arrangements for sittings that were promised in the House by the Taoiseach yesterday. I am simply asking the Tánaiste whether that still stands.
If the Taoiseach promised it yesterday, why does the Deputy want to be told it again today?
The Tánaiste promised there would be no water charges three years ago.
A lot has happened since yesterday. It is a simple question.
Labour knew the figure.
(Interruptions).
Other Deputies are offering. We all must stick to the rules of the House or submit a proposal to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, CPP, to change them.
It is a simple question. Will the debate promised by the Taoiseach stand?
It is not a simple question. You are out of order.
I am really in order, a Cheann Comhairle.
You are not in order.
He is out of order.
The Tánaiste could shake his head or nod.
Deputy Higgins is well able to do that himself.
I swear he blinked.
One needs strength to do that.
I am loth to interrupt Deputy Higgins-----
You had better proceed, because I will call the next Deputy if you do not.
I will proceed. I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for calling me. The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has an important three-piece suite of long-promised legislation, those being, the heritage (amendment) Bill, the monuments Bill and the natural cultural institutions Bill. I understand that the Cabinet has agreed the heads of these important Bills, but there is no sign of them being published. Will the Tánaiste explain the delay? The Department in question is not exactly inundated with legislative proposals. When can we expect to see the Bills emanating?
The heads of the heritage (amendment) Bill are to go to the committee for consideration in line with the new arrangements for having heads of Bills considered at committee before drafting is finalised. The expected publication date is late 2014. The expected publication date of the monuments Bill is late 2014. The heads of the natural cultural institutions Bill are to be submitted to the committee before drafting is done.
Is an Oireachtas Bill due before the House and is it necessary if the Government is disposed towards calling the writs for by-elections with an acting Clerk of the Dáil rather than a permanent one?
I am sorry, but the Deputy was not present yesterday when I announced the appointment of Mr. Peter Finnegan as Clerk Assistant, which transfer all powers onto him from the Clerk pending the introduction of legislation.
I apologise.
I understand that the Oireachtas Bill has been referred to the finance and public expenditure committee of the House. We are waiting for the committee to deal with it and revert with a report.
Today, the Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality produced a cross-party report on the recognition of Traveller ethnicity. The report requested the Minister or Taoiseach to make a statement recognising the ethnicity of the Traveller community and to take steps to put legislation before the Dáil to give Traveller ethnicity a legal standing.
To which Bill is the Deputy referring?
This would be in line with the recognition afforded by the Northern Assembly. Will the Tánaiste commit to a timeline for progressing this legislation, particularly given the many recent high-profile cases of discrimination against the Traveller community, such as the vile article recently written by a journalist?
I understand from the Deputy that the committee's report was published today.
Yes.
In fairness, the Minister for Justice and Equality will need to read and consider it.
Will the Government commit to considering it?
We must read it first.
Hold on one minute - we would like to read it first. Give us-----
Labour supported this matter previously.
Yes, but out of respect for the committee, we ought to at least be given time to read and consider its report before making a response.
Given the fact that the social protection Bill will be discussed in the House in May, will the Cabinet consider self-employed people? The likes of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, ISME, and the Self-Employed Alliance, SEA, attended the Oireachtas recently. The Minister, Deputy Burton, has done great work on this matter.
Where is the Deputy going?
Is the Cabinet considering it? When the Bill is before the House in May, can we use it to recognise for the first time ever self-employed people in terms of social protection? What happened previously was a disgrace.
Hear, hear.
The Social Welfare and Pensions Bill is due in this session. I am sure the Deputy will agree that the Minister for Social Protection has implemented more reforms in our social welfare system in the last three years than were made in the previous 13 years. The issues raised by the Deputy will obviously form part of the debate.
She has cut it to shreds.
She has done a great job.
Although it is two years to the commemoration of the 1916 Rising, could the House have a debate on it at some stage? There are issues to consider such as the invitations that would be extended to heads of state throughout the world and what format there will be for the commemoration. We should debate that. I am aware that an all-party group has been established but perhaps we could have a discussion in the Chamber so we can decide, as a people, what type of commemoration should take place.
The Deputy is asking for a debate.
I am. I am concerned that as time passes this could evolve into something that might become undignified, to say the least.
That is a very good suggestion. The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Deenihan, and his Department have done a great deal of work on this. There is also a committee working on it. The suggestion that the House have a discussion on commemoration of 1916 and, indeed, the period of commemorations to put it in context is very worthwhile. I will ask the Government Chief Whip to discuss with the party Whips how that might be arranged.
What about the discussion I asked the Tánaiste to confirm?
That was given to the Deputy yesterday. We cannot get a confirmation every day.
A great deal has changed since yesterday.