Joe Higgins
Question:1. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Taoiseach the Cabinet sub-committee meetings that were held in July, August and September 2014. [35180/14]
Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed)
Cabinet Committee Meetings
I chaired a meeting of the Cabinet committee on justice reform on 24 July. On 18 September I chaired a meeting of the Cabinet committee on climate change and the green economy. On 29 September I chaired meetings of the following Cabinet committees: economic recovery and jobs; Construction 2020, housing, planning and mortgage arrears; social policy and public service reform; health; and Irish and the Gaeltacht. I also chaired two meetings of the Economic Management Council, one in July and one in September.
I should mention that in September, the Government made a number of changes to Cabinet committees and the current committees are: economic recovery and jobs; social policy and public service reform; European affairs; economic infrastructure and climate change; Irish and the Gaeltacht; health; justice reform; and Construction 2020, housing, planning and mortgage arrears.
The problem with questions to the Taoiseach is that the lead-in time before they are answered is so long that the answers to which the Taoiseach deliberately confines himself are out of date. For example, he could have taken the opportunity to apprise us of what Cabinet sub-committee meetings have taken place since the date in the question. In the past month we have heard about only one Cabinet sub-committee, the Economic Management Council. What precisely is the role of this council, made up of four members of the Government, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the two finance Ministers? The national revolt by ordinary people against the water charges has finally brought home to the Government the reality of people’s anger, but the Government is no longer handling this issue. All we hear about is the Economic Management Council. In the unlamented ex-Stalinist states the old politburos did not have as much power apparently as the Economic Management Council has in this supposed Republic of Ireland.
Is the Taoiseach aware that members of the Government are now openly critical of what they see as a dictatorship within the Cabinet and a sidelining of the roles of other people? Before conducting her infamous political assassination in order to be Tánaiste, Deputy Burton was highly critical of this and the lack of democracy represented by the power wielded by the Economic Management Council. It seems as if for Deputy Burton democracy was simply to get herself elevated into the position because all we have heard since is absolute silence.
Would the Taoiseach accept this particular structure has meant the inner core of the Government has been and is even more out of touch with ordinary working class people, low and middle income earners and unemployed people than establishment Governments usually are and that the full Cabinet is out of touch as well, or it would, I hope, have advised him that this latest austerity tax on water would not be accepted and will be greeted by a massive boycott in January?
Does the Taoiseach accept the point that isolating all of these discussions to an inner cabal of four people inside the Cabinet is keeping him even more insulated from the very heartfelt feelings, anger and opposition, particularly to water charges, among ordinary people?
I hope the Deputy does not think I live in some kind of exclusive domain away from the people who elect us to this House. I was at a public meeting with 350 people in the Red Cow facility the other evening. I have to say it was very engaging and positive. I was in Tuam yesterday with 250 people. A broad range of issues, including the economy, rising confidence, job opportunities and Irish Water, were discussed.
I have said to the Deputy in this House on many occasions that if he wants me to change the system of Taoiseach's questions, I will do so. I will give the Deputy, as the leader of his group, and the leaders of the Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin groups, the opportunity to table a Priority Question each week if they want to ask something that is of more urgent need from their perspectives. That offer has been refused on a number of occasions. As the Ceann Comhairle is aware, when these questions come up, many of them are outdated because the Cabinet committees have moved on. That is open to the Deputy all the time. When Cabinet committees have met, I can inform the leaders of the groups that they have met. We can put that in place for their information.
I was in this House during the 1980s, and indeed prior to that, when the structure of the Cabinet meant that its business took a very long time to complete. The Ceann Comhairle would have been a Minister of State in that Government. Some of those meetings went on for 14 or 15 hours in the absence of a structure to co-ordinate the decision-making process. Government is about making decisions at the end of the day, after proper Cabinet collegiality and discussion about them. The Government of which I was briefly a member between 1994 and 1997, under John Bruton as Taoiseach, had a facility of programme managers for each of the Ministers. They met to tease out where issues might be controversial or not agreed or whatever. That was a three-party Government. I think that system worked very well because issues that required political decisions were brought to the attention of the leaders of the parties. That meant there was an effective Cabinet response. I think meetings lasted between an hour and three quarters and two hours, on average.
Along with the then Tánaiste, Deputy Gilmore, I set up the Economic Management Council to streamline the way business is actually handled here. It is not for me to comment on the investigation that will take place with the banking inquiry. Clearly, the situation that arose before the bank guarantee and before the IMF arrived here was that the connection that should have been in place to bring really important issues to the fore did not exist. In this case, the Economic Management Council does not in any way replace the Cabinet. It is a measure of knowing the issues that are important, urgent and need to be addressed. They are addressed at the Economic Management Council, but only before they are more fully addressed at the Cabinet itself. It is a method of understanding important issues that are likely to cause problems, or require political analysis and decision, before they are brought to the Cabinet for decision.
The Economic Management Council, which has been given the status of a Cabinet sub-committee, has four members. It is open to this sub-committee to bring in other Ministers - they have attended in the past - to discuss issues that are important to them. It streamlines the work of the Government and allows the Cabinet - the members of the Government - to focus on areas to which they really need to give their attention. If there is a problem about any of the issues under discussion, they can be identified and the Cabinet can make its decision, or not as the case might be. It is not in any way some sort of secret organisation. It is merely a streamlining process for the bringing to the Cabinet of all the issues that require Cabinet decision. That is what it is about. It does not take over from the Cabinet. It does not take away from the Cabinet because that is a matter for all the members of the Government to sign off on collectively. It allows for issues that need to be teased out further to be identified, for the collective responses of members of the Cabinet to be received and for decisions to be made. That is all it is. It makes for more effective working of the Government itself.
Does Deputy Higgins have another supplementary question?
I would be surprised if he did not.
Yes. I thought the Chair was going to call some of the others.
I have to deal with the Deputy first because this question is in his name.
Of course the Taoiseach lives in a bubble. He frequently has to have an escort of dozens of gardaí to get him in and out of venues.
Whose fault is that?
It is unfortunate for the Taoiseach that he is so far removed from the feelings of the ordinary people he has angered so much with his austerity agenda and, in particular, his water tax. It is also unfortunate for the people because they do not want to be protesting on the streets. They have many other things to be doing, but they are on the streets because this is the last straw. Their protests will intensify if the Government persists with its approach by sending out water tax bills at the end of January and February. The massive boycott that the Government will face in such circumstances will put Captain Boycott in the shade. The Government thinks it can mollify the people by providing next week for a supposedly lower charge.
Can we get back to the Cabinet sub-committees?
People know very well that it will increase inexorably as soon as the pressure is off. The Taoiseach should not fool himself in that regard. He can take it from me that I am speaking for the grassroots here.
I doubt that.
On the role of the Economic Management Council, I would like to refer to the phone calls that were made in 2011 to the Taoiseach and allegedly to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, from the then president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, who demanded absolutely that the Government would not burn some bondholders it was apparently about to burn. The Taoiseach capitulated without a Cabinet meeting to Mr. Trichet's threat that a financial bomb would go off in Dublin rather than in Frankfurt. Was it not the Economic Management Council that met in relation to that threat? Did the Minister for Finance not come in and change Government policy on his feet without reference to the Cabinet? What else is that, if not a dictatorship inside the Government?
The Deputy is straying from the question of Cabinet sub-committee meetings held in June, July and August when he talks about Mr. Trichet.
It is the role of the-----
The Deputy's question relates to the numbers and dates of meetings. I have offered him an opportunity to table Priority Questions every week if he wants to raise a matter that is more urgent from his point of view. I will advise the leaders of the groups and the parties of the meetings that take place after they have taken place so they will have a more up-to-date record, and they can ask Priority Questions if they wish.
In regard to the Garda escort, I do not know how many functions I attended in Galway and Tuam yesterday, as I do in other places around the country. Sometimes people turn up to protest, which is perfectly legitimate in our country as a democracy. I understand that. It is good to listen to a different opinion. The sound might sometimes be a little raucous. I might not be able to pick out exactly what they are saying, although it sounds very vocal indeed and some of it is not normal language we might use in here.
They are saying "no way - we won't pay".
People have a range of different agendas about which they want to protest. That is perfectly legitimate in our country. I do not like to see people attempting to block the public road when people are going about their work or intending to do their jobs.
I think even the Deputy understands and recognises that.
I walk to work myself in the morning and walk home at night, so it is not a case of having corridors of gardaí looking after me. Where I come from, Deputy Higgins, we are well able to look after ourselves, indeed.
Go on, Mayo.
Actually, if Deputy Higgins has time, I will bring him up to Captain Boycott's house and talk to the good Daly family there to understand the history of how that word came into the English language and what it meant for the people who lived there.
The Taoiseach should bring Mr. Denis O'Brien with him.
The Economic Management Council is an important element of Government, in that the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform meet regularly every week. One does not have the situation where two senior Ministers in the previous Government did not know that the IMF had landed on our shores. One does not have the situation in which the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland had to go into a telephone kiosk in Frankfurt to ring the Irish nation and say they were already here. The reason for those events was because there was not the connection and internal information flow in the Government about these important matters.
Same as the meeting on burning the bondholders.
That is why the information being held by the Ministers allows the Cabinet to make its decisions. That is the important element of the Economic Management Council. It is not a sidelining of the Cabinet. It is not a sort of secret organisation that makes decisions that are foisted on the people. It is merely a streamlining of the business of Government in a way that allows the Cabinet to do its work more effectively. From that point of view, it has saved a great deal of time, brought about a great deal of efficiency and keeps everybody informed very regularly about issues as they arise. They range from Ebola to beef to water to international events to the financial situation and whatever else. It is very important that Cabinet members be informed and up to date in order that, when they have to make decisions, they can make them.
I note with interest that the Taoiseach is traversing the country. He could almost rival the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, for the extent to which he is attending events throughout the country.
He would be trotting after me.
The Taoiseach referred to his willingness to change the system of parliamentary questions as it applies to him. The Fianna Fáil group has not refused any proposal from the Government side of the House on how the system might be improved.
Many people view the Economic Management Council as a war council to deal with the emergency in which we found ourselves. Whatever the merits of that initiative, it was interesting that the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy White, raised questions last weekend about whether the EMC should continue. If one bears in mind the fact the Government has told us repeatedly we are moving out of the crisis, one wonders whether the life of the EMC is coming to an end.
I wish to ask about the Cabinet committee on health, which was responsible for a White Paper that added to the flaw in the Department of Health's budget last year. The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, announced recently a delay in compulsory health insurance and admitted to a crisis in the HSE budget. Was this issue raised at the Cabinet committee on health? We read in The Irish Times today that the Minister has written to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, to say that he does not have the budget to equip the new children's hospital at St. James's Hospital. I am minded of the many facilities that have been developed-----
I am sorry, but the Deputy cannot stray too far.
If I could finish, I am minded of the many health facilities that have been developed but have not been opened because the money to equip or staff them has not been made available. Has this matter been considered by the Cabinet committee on health? Given that the Taoiseach announced 12 months ago that he was assuming personal oversight of the health budget, does he accept any responsibility for its current overrun of €600 million?
Previously, the Taoiseach stated that Cabinet sub-committees were a method of timelining and forcing conclusions on issues that had existed for a long time. In defence of these committees today, he asserted they made for more effective government. Obviously, we could not object to sub-committees as a means to that end, but having competent members on them should be a prerequisite.
The Taoiseach has stated that the purpose of the committees is to ensure priorities are addressed, but I will raise three recent issues. The Government would not listen to what Deputies were saying about medical cards or about the scandals in the justice area which led to the resignation of the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice and Equality. The Government guillotined debate on water charges and forced the legislation through, leading to an unprecedented walkout by Opposition parties and Independent Deputies. How have these committees brought about what the Taoiseach claims they have brought about, namely, more effective Government?
Mr. Frank Flannery, a senior strategist for the Taoiseach's party, has castigated the Government's performance. The former Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, has said he discussed with the Taoiseach the issues about which he had concerns but that he could not get them sorted. As we have just been reminded, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy White, stated at the weekend that the Government should get rid of the EMC. If the test is not the number of meetings held but the initiatives resulting, the solutions found or the way committees have crunched down, so to speak, does the Taoiseach not agree that the Government and, therefore, its approach have failed miserably to address issues?
Deputy Ó Fearghaíl mentioned that his party had not refused any offer of a change. I made an offer to Deputy Martin on a number of occasions to regroup the questions, whether they be about Northern Ireland, Europe, the United States or other issues, but sometimes, as Deputy Ó Fearghaíl knows, they overlap. If one is dealing with a Northern Ireland question, it can be about when I met the British Prime Minister and whether we discussed this, that or whatever, and that has implications for Europe. That is something we can do, but I did say as well, and I repeat the offer today, that if people in, for instance, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin or the Technical Group, such as Deputy Higgins, would prefer to table one priority question each week on an issue that they think is more important for them, I am quite happy to deal with that. In a way, it is kind of not relevant to answer questions about meetings I had with the Lebanese Prime Minister four months ago because of the way they are grouped together. I understand that. Maybe that might be a more efficient way of doing things.
The EMC is not going to come to an end. We will continue with it for the lifetime of the Government. It has been a very effective way of informing Ministers and of knowing the issues as they arise in areas of Government. As Deputy Ó Fearghaíl will be aware, there is also the structure of early warning systems for Ministers in cases where an issue that is likely to arise could become important, controversial or whatever. Most of them actually are controversial. Secretaries General and their Ministers would advise, in my own case the Office of the Taoiseach, that here was an issue that was likely to arise in the next two or three weeks. That is a matter that could be discussed by the Cabinet sub-committee that is relevant to that and I could speak to the Minister directly. Far from sidelining Cabinet, the Economic Management Council, is a very good way of bringing issues right to the centre where the Cabinet will make its decision collectively.
Deputy Adams mentioned some Deputies and the Minister, Deputy White, made a good contribution at the previous Economic Management Council meeting because he has responsibilities in some of those areas and I believe he found it to be effective. I saw some reports of comments by Deputies and Ministers but it is a good way of doing business efficiently, of getting it through and bringing it to the Cabinet, where one tells all the members what are the issues that must be discussed and analysed and on which they must make decisions to move on. It does not lead to a situation in which one has meetings that extend to double digits in terms of hours.
The brief for the national children's hospital was pioneered by the Minister, Deputy Reilly, when he was Minister for Health. The Government put up €200 million from the sale of the national lottery and that added to the existing €450 million in Exchequer funding. Current estimates are that the core hospital at St. James's, as well as the two satellite centres at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown and Tallaght hospital, will be delivered within that allocation. Moreover, this includes the provision for inflation, VAT and contingencies. As the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, has pointed out already, this figure does not include equipment or information and communications technology, ICT, which can be purchased, licensed or leased separately. All these matters are under constant examination to ensure this building, a children's hospital for the children of the island of Ireland, will be equipped to world-class standards. Obviously, the important thing is to get the design brief, get the members in place and get that planning under way.
As Members are aware, if one decides to purchase ICT in 2014, it evolves so rapidly and changes so quickly that what might be deemed to be progressive today is obsolete tomorrow. Consequently, costs must be reviewed and validated as the ICT infrastructure and platforms are defined and agreed. Clearly, there is also a targeting of philanthropic sources and commercial funding streams for supporting certain elements of the project for the children's hospital. This could include car parking and academic and research facilities. Estimates will be reviewed and refined as matters move on. The project brief affirms the intent to provide the most modern, the most contemporary and the best practice facilities in this hospital. Why would it not, as it will be there for many years? That design team is in place, having been put in place by the Minister at the time, Deputy Reilly, and the aim is to make the planning application next year in June 2015. Subject to that planning, the project will be on site at all three locations, that is, at the main hospital on the St. James's campus and both satellite centres at Tallaght and Connolly hospitals, in January 2016. Commissioning for the main hospital is targeted to begin at the end of 2018 and transition of services into the spring of 2019. There is a long way to go on that and a lot of readjustment of what is the most up-to-date evolving equipment and on how to make arrangements to provide for that, in order that people will have the very best equipment in the hospitals we can find.
Clearly, the budget is over for 2015. It was the first budget for seven years in which there were no tax increases, no cuts in services and in which allocations are the way they have been. Obviously, the Government wishes to deal with the urgent priorities in each of these Departments and the Cabinet sub-committees play their part by bringing to the fore issues both for Ministers and for public servants. One can ask why something has not been dealt with or whether an issue has arisen because a particular matter has not been resolved. Evidence of this is the Action Plan for Jobs, which is overseen by my Department and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, and which has brought about a progressive system of clearing away red tape, administrative blockages and things that are only in the way of people doing business effectively. From that point of view, I tend to hold the Cabinet sub-committee meetings on one Monday each month from 8 a.m. right through. Given the small number of committees, the practice used to be that they would meet irregularly and it was not consistent. Therefore, matters began to be delayed for long periods. I find it to be an effective way of providing input to the Cabinet in order that Ministers can then come to the Cabinet and decisions can be formal and can be announced and dealt with.
Cabinet Committee Meetings
Joe Higgins
Question:2. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Taoiseach when the last meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee on justice reform was held and when the next one is scheduled. [35182/14]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:3. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-committee on justice reform last met and the schedule of upcoming meetings. [35198/14]
Micheál Martin
Question:4. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if the Cabinet committee on justice reform has met recently. [35657/14]
Gerry Adams
Question:5. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-committee on justice reform last met. [39833/14]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 to 5, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on justice reform last met on 29 October 2014. I anticipate it will meet again soon but the date for its next meeting has not been scheduled yet.
Will the Taoiseach clarify again for Members the role of the Cabinet sub-committee on justice reform? Can he say, for example, whether it will have a role in the next while in responding to the Garda Inspectorate report? While I have not had the opportunity to study it, the headlines that came out of it point to serious ongoing issues within the Garda Síochána on how issues in communities and problems of people are dealt with. Will this be an important role or what will be the role of the sub-committee on justice reform?
The terms of reference for the justice reform committee are to oversee the development of proposals for an independent police authority and associated reforms to the policing and justice system. The Garda Inspectorate has produced a report that is 600 pages long, has 200 recommendations and was reflected upon by Cabinet this morning. It is to be taken very seriously because it points out inadequacies in the system. It points out where things could have been done better, as well as the lack of investment in many areas that would allow gardaí to do the job more effectively. This is being responded to by the Garda today and, obviously, the Minister for Justice and Equality also will respond to the Garda Inspectorate report. This is one of two reports, the second of which is to be produced in the not-too-distant future. I assume the person to be appointed as the chairman of the independent policing authority, which I suggest is the most radical move in Irish policing systems since the foundation of the State, will be in a strong position to oversee the consequences and the implementation of recommendations arising from the Garda Inspectorate's report. I reiterate there is a second report to come. This report is extremely extensive and detailed and gives a reflection on the complex nature of the range of activities and problems that gardaí face nationwide. It is a report that deserves to be discussed in this Chamber. It contains 200 recommendations and I believe the person to be appointed as chair of the independent policing authority will be in a strong position to oversee what must follow the production of the report.
While I will let Deputy Higgins back in, there are other Deputies and I will come back around again. I call Deputy Ó Fearghaíl.
All Members acknowledge that in recent times, the Department of Justice and Equality has been going through a difficult and traumatic period, which perhaps culminated in the resignation of the former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter. At the time of his resignation, Members were promised a reform plan and that it would make the justice system far more open and transparent. As part of the creation of that plan, they were promised that there would be extensive consultation. Members do not appear to have had that consultation. Indeed, the process of reform, such as it is, has been completely closed. Will the Taoiseach comment on this? Even at this late stage, would he consider honouring the commitment to have open consultation on the process of reform?
What is the current state of play in respect of the Fennelly commission?
Let me try to assist the Deputy by outlining a number of issues. He inquired about reform in the area of justice. The Government has already made considerable progress in this regard. The Protected Disclosures Act 2014, which enables Garda whistleblowers to report their concerns directly to GSOC, has been commenced. In addition, an open competition has been held in respect of the appointment of the next Garda Commissioner. I expect that appointment will probably be made towards the end of this month. As the Deputy is aware, there were expressions of interest in the post both domestically and internationally. I understand the second phase of interviews relating to the process is currently in train.
The Fennelly commission of investigation was established in April of this year. The independent expert review of the performance, management and administration of the Department of Justice and Equality was completed in July. A mechanism to facilitate independent review by counsel of allegations of Garda misconduct or inadequacies in the investigation of such allegations - which have been made to me and the Minister for Justice and Equality - has been established. The Guerin report into allegations made by Sergeant Maurice McCabe was published in May and the Cooke report into allegations of unlawful surveillance of GSOC was published in June. The reports to which I refer are fairly major and they deal with some extremely serious matters.
Work is under way to establish the independent Garda authority. The Minister for Justice and Equality will deal with the matter of appointing a chair to this authority very shortly. The chair designate of the authority will be appointed following a public request for expressions of interest in the post. The Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014, the aim of which is to significantly strengthen GSOC's powers by including the Garda Commissioner within its investigative remit, is currently before the House. The Bill also involves the conferral of additional police powers on GSOC for criminal investigation purposes, enhancing the status of protocols concluded between GSOC and the Garda Síochána and greater autonomy for GSOC in examining Garda practices, policies and procedures. In addition, the freedom of information system will be extended to the Garda Síochána under the new Freedom of Information Act 2014.
Deputy Ó Fearghaíl also inquired about the Fennelly commission. Mr. Justice Fennelly is an exceptionally honourable man. In accordance with its terms of reference - as debated in the Dáil - the commission is due to report no later than 31 December 2014, subject to section 6(6) of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. The Act also provides for an extension of the timeframe within which the commission must complete is work, at its request. Mr. Justice Fennelly wrote to me recently to indicate that it will not be possible for the commission to complete its full investigation within the timeframe originally envisaged, that it will request an extension and that it will submit an interim report towards the end of the year. By that time, we should have a clearer picture of the scale and magnitude of the task remaining - there are many matters to be examined - and the likely period which might be required for the commission to complete its work. In response to Mr. Justice Fennelly, I indicated that I will give favourable consideration to a request for an extension of the commission's timeframe when such is received. Mr. Justice Fennelly also indicated it may be possible for the commission to submit an interim report in respect of those aspects of its terms of reference. I have, therefore, requested that the commission should provide such a report regarding the events leading up to the resignation of former Garda Commissioner, Mr. Martin Callinan, subject to its being satisfied that it is feasible and appropriate to do so. That matter is entirely at the discretion of the commission. I do not have authority to direct the commission to carry out its work in any particular way. This is because it is completely independent in the conduct of its investigations.
I am not sure whether the House debated the report the Minister for Justice and Equality commissioned into the practices, efficiencies and workings of her Department. The contents of said report are quite stark in terms of highlighting the changes required in terms of developing the structures with the Department of Justice and Equality in order to make it more efficient. The Department is an extraordinarily complex entity but a fine report in respect of it was produced at the Minister's request in the context of assessing what must be done in order to change the way it does its work. The latter will allow people to do their jobs much more efficiently. The Minister will be happy to engage in further debate on this matter in the House and to take the views of Deputies on board.
The Garda Inspectorate report has presented us with a fundamental and challenging analysis of the force's processes and systems throughout the country. I have not read the report in detail but I understand that it highlights deficiencies in practice, supervision and governance in respect of the recording, classification and investigation of crime. The report notes that many of the issues raised have been identified in comparable police forces in other countries. Nevertheless, it identifies many areas which really are in need of reform and modernisation. In addition and like me, the report acknowledges the dedication and commitment of so many members of the Garda. I refer to the men and women who strive each day to ensure the safety of our communities and to protect the security of the State. Their dedication should not go unnoticed and they should be commended for it.
Another point which I bring to the Deputy's attention is the fact that budgetary increases aimed at funding reforms across the justice sector have been introduced. These increases relate to the Courts Service, the planned new policing authority, GSOC, the Garda Inspectorate, the Charities Regulatory Authority, the proposes legal services regulatory authority and the Property Services Regulatory Authority. The House will be aware that the recently established Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is being given its own dedicated Vote, with an allocation of €6.3 million for 2015. The setting up of this stand-alone Vote for the commission reaffirms the independence of the body in line with the Paris Principles, the United Nations' rules which govern the operation of national human rights organisations.
These are just some matters which may be of interest to Deputies.
As the Taoiseach rightly reminded us, the Cabinet sub-committee on justice reform is to implement the statutory basis for the establishment of the Garda authority. He stated that this is a first for Irish policing. It is not a first for Irish policing because there has been a police authority in the North since-----
I was referring to down here.
That is also part of the island.
That is a big change.
When Sinn Féin was told that the establishment of such an authority could not be achieved, we diligently stuck to our task and were able - along with others - to bring about the necessary wholesale reform.
Regarding the issue of consultation, I have informed the Taoiseach on a number of occasions that one of Sinn Féin's contributions was to persuade the Patton Commission to visit neighbourhoods in west Belfast, such as the Shankill Road, etc., and villages, such as Crossmaglen, which suffered terribly during the conflict in order to hear about the experiences of the people who live there. In the context of consultation, the same thing should happen here. The people who live in Sherriff Street, Sean MacDermott Street, parts of Limerick and other working class areas may have a slightly different view of policing than those who live in more palatial surroundings.
I agree with the Taoiseach entirely that the majority of the officers of An Garda Síochána carry out their duties in a very brave, courageous and highly skilled manner, but if we are to do our duty by them and the citizens they serve, the policing authority needs to be established as quickly as possible. I have not seen the Garda Inspectorate's crime investigation report but have been briefed on it and on what is in the media. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn will deal with our party's response to it. The report's 200 recommendations are an eloquent argument for the wholesale reform that is necessary.
The Taoiseach spoke about this being a radical move, yet he opposed it when we proposed it. The former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, dismissed it as being totally unnecessary. The Government set its face against it until there was public clamour over the revelations emerging week on week. I welcome the fact the Government was forced to do a U-turn on this issue.
Can we be given an indication of when the full legislation will be before the Dáil? There are ongoing issues, which will be fired by today's report, and it will become another matter of controversy. In this regard, I presume the job of the Government is to ensure the public has confidence in the agencies and institutions of the State, rather than engaging in this ongoing and corrosive undermining of public confidence. When can we expect the legislation to be introduced? Is it possible that it could be discussed before the end of this session?
As I stated, it is a very significant move for the Twenty-six Counties to move to an independent policing authority. It was important that the chairman designate of the authority be in a position to sit in respect of the final assessment of the person to be considered for appointment as Garda Commissioner. The Minister for Justice and Equality will deal with the appointment of the members of the independent authority very shortly and, obviously, the designated person will be in a position to assist in assessing the final interviews for the appointment of the next Garda Commissioner.
As I said, an opportunity will be provided for the person in question to drive reform of the policing system and ensure practices to ensure the Garda is fit to do and has the facilities to do its job efficiently and competently in a modern society. The force should be given the resources it needs. Over the past couple of years, we have tried to provide some extra funding for the provision of services for Garda motorbikes and cars. I saw some of them myself. Some of them were clapped out, having clocked up 300,000 or 400,000 miles. This should not be allowed to continue when the force is up against criminals who use high-powered cars to cross the country as they go about their criminal business.
The Deputy is aware the authority will comprise a chairman and eight ordinary members. Those ordinary members will be appointed by the Government following the selection process run by the independent appointments service. A resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas will be required to secure agreement on the appointments. The authority will approve a three-year strategy statement and an annual policing plan, to be submitted by the Commissioner. The authority will establish and publish, within 12 months, a code of ethics, including standards of conduct and practice for members of An Garda Síochána. The authority will hold meetings, at least quarterly, in public so there will be engagement throughout the country. It will be able to choose where to hold meetings. It will be entitled to request the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission to investigate any policing matter that gives rise to concern that a member of An Garda Síochána may have committed an offence or behaved in a manner that would require disciplinary proceedings. It can request GSOC, subject to the approval of the Minister, to investigate any behaviour of the Garda Commissioner in the context of his or her functions in regard to policing matters. It can request GSOC to examine practices or procedures of An Garda Síochána in regard to policing matters, and it can request the Garda Inspectorate to initiate an inspection or inquiry into aspects of the operation and administration of An Garda Síochána in so far as they pertain to police matters.
I cannot give the Deputy a precise date for the legislation but I will update him. It is work that is very much under way. The intention is to have this matter legislated for as soon as possible. That is the position.
What role has the justice reform sub-committee played in the increasingly political policing in this State, over the past month or two in particular? The private company of a billionaire went to the High Court and got an exclusion order pertaining to the water meter sites where it is installing meters for profit at taxpayers’ expense. It uses the media to smear decent taxpayers who are protesting against that.
I ask the Deputy to exercise restraint.
Then the Taoiseach sends in heavy detachments of gardaí who manhandle men and women who are conducting peaceful protests.
Could the Deputy get back to the question?
Does the Taoiseach not believe that issue should be addressed?
It will not be addressed by the Cabinet sub-committee.
The people cannot get a garda when they need one and they must wait for hours. Instead of having properly resourced community gardaí under the people's democratic control and management, resources are being misdirected in the manner I have described. This is an outrage and the Taoiseach had better address it.
The terms of reference of the sub-committee are as I described to the Deputy. I will not interfere with any court process. The Deputy knows as well as I do that it is open to any citizen or organisation to take a case. We live in a country in which it is perfectly in order for people to express their concerns or anxieties through public protest, but it is not acceptable to block a public road or prevent people from going about their legitimate business. In many cases over the years, there have been applications to the court by individuals or companies owing to the prevention of workers doing a legitimate job. I do not subscribe to the comments I have heard from some quarters in this House advocating the breaching of court orders. This is our democracy and every Member was sent here through the democratic system.
The people do not want the Government's meters.
It is wrong to advocate the breaching of court orders on the basis of a desire to prevent people from doing their legitimate jobs. The Deputy understands that very well. Advocating the breaking of court orders, which can result in controversy and which has resulted in injuries is not the way of a legitimate and democratic process.
The Taoiseach is responsible for it.
I understand the matter completely. People express their concern to my face and contact me regularly, sometimes throughout the day and night, about their concerns and anxieties. That is understood but it is not acceptable to block the public roads and prevent people from doing their legitimate work.
But the Taoiseach is responsible for it.
The Deputy understands that and he should be advocating among those he represents the use the very many peaceful ways at their disposal of expressing their concerns and anxieties. What is happening is not acceptable and that is why companies and individuals have sought court orders over very many years.
The Taoiseach is responsible.
Seanad Reform
Micheál Martin
Question:6. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach the position regarding reform of Seanad Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35201/14]
Micheál Martin
Question:7. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach the position regarding the programme for Government commitment on Seanad abolition; if, since the referendum result, he or his Government have plans to reform the Seanad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37627/14]
Gerry Adams
Question:8. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach the position regarding reforming Seanad Éireann. [39821/14]
Gerry Adams
Question:9. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if his Government has formulated any plans for reform of Seanad Éireann. [39834/14]
Gerry Adams
Question:10. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach the position regarding the programme for Government commitment on the abolition of Seanad Éireann. [41686/14]
Gerry Adams
Question:11. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if the Government has plans to reform Seanad Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41687/14]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 11, inclusive, together.
The programme for Government commitment in relation to the Seanad was to hold a referendum on its abolition, and the Government did so. Following on the referendum, I attended the Seanad on 23 October last year to hear the views of Senators on how reform of the Seanad might proceed. I then met the leaders of the different parties and groupings in the Dáil and Seanad on 18 December last year to discuss how best to proceed with that reform.
During the meeting each person was given the opportunity to present his or her views and it was agreed that work on procedural reform could proceed quickly. All the parties and groupings in both Houses, including the Government through the Leader of the Seanad, could present their proposals in this regard to the Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges, CPP. The Government presented earlier this year a package of proposals on Seanad reform to the Leader of the Seanad for submission to the Seanad CPP. It is now a matter for that committee to consider these proposals, along with any other proposals it has received and to make its recommendations for reform.
During the course of the campaign on the Seanad referendum and in the years preceding it, a significant number of proposals and plans for Seanad reform were made by a variety of groups, including Seanad committees, political parties, academic bodies, professional and union groups and members of the public. It is important that these inputs are not overloaded and that we develop a means to progress suggestions where possible and appropriate. In order to progress the reform process, the Government will establish a working party to examine the submissions and proposals already made and to seek further submissions as may wish to be made.
The working party that I intend to appoint will look at the role of a reformed Seanad within the political process, the powers and functions of a reformed Seanad, the method of election and selection of members of a reformed Seanad and any other matter that the working party might see as relevant, and report back to Government not later than the end of February 2015.
The people have voted for the retention of the Seanad. There is a wealth of information and reports about what might be done to improve, look at or make changes to the electoral system to the Seanad within the parameters of the Constitution. I will appoint that body very shortly to report back by the end of February.
As regards legislative reform, the Government, for its part, committed to bringing forward legislation to implement the 1979 amendment to Article 18 of the Constitution on the election of Members of Seanad Éireann by institutions of higher education in the State. The Government earlier this year published the general scheme of that Bill to achieve this. It should be noted that the amendment to the Constitution that enabled this to take place was passed by the people 35 years ago and this is the first Government to take steps to implement it. Following public consultation on the general scheme, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government expects to publish the Bill to extend the university franchise in the not-too-distant future.
We are battling against time and I will take the two Deputies' questions together.
In the spring of 2011, the Taoiseach made a firm commitment to the Irish people that he would undertake a democratic revolution and he was ably abetted by the then Tánaiste in that firm commitment. I put it to the Taoiseach that he has fundamentally broken that pledge to the Irish people and in doing so, he has done enormous damage to the Irish body politic, and we are seeing a type of dramatic change in political attitudes in the country that arise from that. The Taoiseach promised a referendum to reform the Seanad. He stated, when he lost that referendum, that he accepted the outcome of it but the only proposal with which he has come forward in the interim is to extend the franchise for third level seats. Has he put a costing on that initiative?
Today the Taoiseach stated he would set up a working party and to some extent, I welcome that. However, he excluded reform of the Seanad from consideration of the Constitutional Convention. I congratulate the Taoiseach on the work of the Constitutional Convention. It did good work but it was prevented from looking at this matter. Will he give time for some element of public consultation on what sort of reform of the Seanad should take place?
Since the citizens gave the Taoiseach a wallop in the Seanad referendum, there has been the debacle around the Seanad candidate, Mr. John McNulty, and the nomination of him to the board of IMMA which illustrates the Government's attitude to the Seanad, to the arts and to State boards. Today the Taoiseach stated that he would put forward a working party shortly to report back by February. That strikes me as an unworkable date. What does "very shortly" mean? He will ask those involved to have their report ready in less than three months.
The Taoiseach has not dealt with the Constitutional Convention report which called for citizens in the North to have a franchise in presidential elections and I would like to think that the diaspora would be represented in the Seanad as well. My party proposed - I put this forward to the Taoiseach in the past - that 50% of Seanad Members be women and that we ensure a representation of marginalised and minority groups, such as the Traveller community. Can we have some sense of whether the Government has considered any of these proposals my party has put to the Taoiseach and can he give us a firm commitment that this is a serious proposition to have a report back here by February?
In respect of the democratic revolution, revolutions roll on for a while. We have made some serious changes, in local government in the amalgamation of town and city councils, the removal of the town councils and the changes of boundaries for the local government under independent commissions, and in the Dáil, such as the right of Deputies to raise Topical Issues at a much more appropriate time, the drafting of Private Members' Bills to be discussed on Fridays and longer sitting hours, and all the changes made in terms of corporate donations and the removal of perks from Ministers, etc. There is also the legislation we referred to this morning at Leaders' Questions in respect of the protection of whistleblowers, which is an important issue. I am not sure that Sinn Féin made any proposal in respect of the protection of whistleblowers, but this is a legislative proposal to defend, protect and respect them for what they do. I welcome that the question of appointments to all State boards will be completely independent with assessment of credentials, qualifications and competencies by the Public Appointments Service so that on stateboards.ie all Ministers and Departments will publish the boards under their responsibility and the persons who serve on those boards and when vacancies arise, they will appear on stateboard.ie also. Members of the public or interested persons who want to apply for any of those positions, either remunerated or non-remunerated, will apply through that public system and will have their qualifications, experience, etc., vetted by the Public Appointments Service, which will send to the relevant Minister a list of those it deems to be competent to serve on the board concerned.
On the working group on the Seanad, I intend to take former persons who no longer have a vested interest in the Seanad but who served there, to look at the body of information and reports, many of which overlap and are contradictory, on what we might do about the electoral system within the confines of the current constitutional perimeters. That body of work is already known. There have been many reports over the years. I am advised that it should be possible to do this by the end of February. If there is an issue that they wish to look at outside of that, that will be a matter for themselves.
We have not discussed the question of the opportunity for diaspora to be considered for voting in respect of the presidential elections. A paper is being prepared on that in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and has been for some time. I expect that when it comes back here the discussion on the Dáil reform, which is part of one of the reports of the Constitutional Convention, and that matter can be discussed in the Chamber.
The Government appointed the first Minister of State with responsibility for the diaspora, Deputy Deenihan, and he is also examining the issue. I do not expect a decision to be made in time for the referenda we will hold next year, as many outstanding matters in that regard remain to be considered. However, the matter will be debated fully once the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government presents its paper to us.