I must now deal with a postponed division relating to Second Stage of the Rural Equality Bill 2017, which took place on Thursday, 4 May 2017. On the question, "That the amendment be made", a division was claimed and, in accordance with Standing Order 70(2), that division must be taken now.
Rural Equality Bill 2017: Second Stage (Resumed) [Private Members]
The following motion was moved by Deputy Martin Kenny on Thursday, 4 May 2017: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following:
"Dáil Éireann, while recognising that rural proofing and equality are important issues to ensure the development of rural areas, declines to give the Rural Equality Bill 2017 a second reading for the following reasons:
(a) the proposals in the Bill would require rural impact assessments to be carried out on all enactments, including Money Bills, this would have implications, in particular, for the Finance Bill, and could have serious implications for the timely passing of legislation to give effect to the annual Budget;
(b) the proposed Bill, as presented, has significant drafting flaws in relation to definitions and level of ambition;
(c) the proposed Bill will create difficulties in relation to the scope of its application and in relation to the administrative burden it will create as there are a significant number of public bodies for which a rural impact scheme is not relevant or material because of the nature of their work (e.g. Irish Film Classification Office), or their limited geographical remit (e.g. Dublin Docklands Development Authority);
(d) the Action Plan for Rural Development, which takes a whole-of-Government approach to both the economic and social development of rural Ireland, includes a commitment to
‘develop a new and effective rural proofing model which would ensure that rural development issues are considered in the decision-making processes of all Government Departments, State bodies and agencies.'; and
(e) the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs proposes that, in delivering the commitment in the Action Plan, the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs should examine the issue and recommend whether rural proofing would be best achieved by non-legislative actions or by legislative actions, or a mixture of both, and present a report to Dáil Éireann on the matter."
-(Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Heather Humphreys)
Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 89; Níl, 47; Staon, 0.
Tá
- Aylward, Bobby.
- Bailey, Maria.
- Barrett, Seán.
- Brassil, John.
- Breathnach, Declan.
- Breen, Pat.
- Brophy, Colm.
- Browne, James.
- Bruton, Richard.
- Burke, Peter.
- Butler, Mary.
- Byrne, Catherine.
- Byrne, Thomas.
- Cahill, Jackie.
- Calleary, Dara.
- Carey, Joe.
- Casey, Pat.
- Cassells, Shane.
- Chambers, Jack.
- Chambers, Lisa.
- Collins, Niall.
- Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
- Coveney, Simon.
- Cowen, Barry.
- Creed, Michael.
- Curran, John.
- D'Arcy, Michael.
- Daly, Jim.
- Deasy, John.
- Deering, Pat.
- Doherty, Regina.
- Donnelly, Stephen S.
- Donohoe, Paschal.
- Dooley, Timmy.
- Doyle, Andrew.
- Durkan, Bernard J.
- English, Damien.
- Farrell, Alan.
- Fitzpatrick, Peter.
- Flanagan, Charles.
- Fleming, Sean.
- Gallagher, Pat The Cope.
- Griffin, Brendan.
- Halligan, John.
- Harris, Simon.
- Haughey, Seán.
- Heydon, Martin.
- Humphreys, Heather.
- Kelleher, Billy.
- Kyne, Seán.
- Lahart, John.
- Lawless, James.
- Lowry, Michael.
- MacSharry, Marc.
- McEntee, Helen.
- McGrath, Finian.
- McGrath, Michael.
- McGuinness, John.
- McHugh, Joe.
- McLoughlin, Tony.
- Madigan, Josepha.
- Martin, Micheál.
- Moran, Kevin Boxer.
- Moynihan, Aindrias.
- Moynihan, Michael.
- Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
- Murphy, Eoghan.
- Murphy, Eugene.
- Naughton, Hildegarde.
- Neville, Tom.
- Noonan, Michael.
- Ó Cuív, Éamon.
- O'Brien, Darragh.
- O'Connell, Kate.
- O'Dea, Willie.
- O'Dowd, Fergus.
- O'Loughlin, Fiona.
- O'Rourke, Frank.
- O'Sullivan, Maureen.
- Phelan, John Paul.
- Rabbitte, Anne.
- Rock, Noel.
- Ross, Shane.
- Scanlon, Eamon.
- Smith, Brendan.
- Smyth, Niamh.
- Stanton, David.
- Troy, Robert.
- Varadkar, Leo.
Níl
- Adams, Gerry.
- Barry, Mick.
- Boyd Barrett, Richard.
- Brady, John.
- Buckley, Pat.
- Burton, Joan.
- Collins, Joan.
- Collins, Michael.
- Coppinger, Ruth.
- Crowe, Seán.
- Cullinane, David.
- Daly, Clare.
- Doherty, Pearse.
- Ellis, Dessie.
- Ferris, Martin.
- Funchion, Kathleen.
- Harty, Michael.
- Healy-Rae, Danny.
- Healy, Seamus.
- Howlin, Brendan.
- Kelly, Alan.
- Kenny, Gino.
- Kenny, Martin.
- McDonald, Mary Lou.
- McGrath, Mattie.
- Martin, Catherine.
- Mitchell, Denise.
- Munster, Imelda.
- Murphy, Catherine.
- Nolan, Carol.
- Ó Broin, Eoin.
- Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
- Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
- Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
- O'Brien, Jonathan.
- O'Reilly, Louise.
- O'Sullivan, Jan.
- Penrose, Willie.
- Pringle, Thomas.
- Quinlivan, Maurice.
- Ryan, Brendan.
- Sherlock, Sean.
- Shortall, Róisín.
- Smith, Bríd.
- Stanley, Brian.
- Tóibín, Peadar.
- Wallace, Mick.
Staon
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Regina Doherty and Tony McLoughlin; Níl, Deputies Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Martin Kenny.
Amendment declared carried.
Motion, as amended, agreed to.