It is intended that we take item No. 1 today, to conclude at 4.30 p.m.
Order of Business.
On the Order of Business, I would like to draw the attention of the Leader of the House to item No. 23 on the Order Paper. I believe this is a matter of great urgency and it should not have taken some excellent articles in The Irish Times over the past few days to bring home to us the extent of the AIDS threat in this country or the total absence of any national plan or campaign, the absence of any effective programme of public education and the terrifying complacency which grips our entire community in face of this threat, especially in the absence of any foreseen medical solution. This is a matter of urgency and I would like to ask the Leader of the House if, on an all-party basis, this might be discussed by the House in the very near future.
I would also ask the Leader of the House if he could arrange to have the Order Paper purged of many of the out-of-date motions which now clutter it; for example, item No. 27 has the National Museum still being defended by the Independent Senators against a threat that never really existed. However, we could, with some relevance, look at item No. 28, in the name of the same Members on the question of an all-party committee on foreign affairs. Perhaps we could bring the Order Paper more up-to-date and I urge the Leader of the House to look with sympathy on my request for ah all-party debate on the substance of item No. 23.
I would like to add my voice to that of Senator Manning. As a sponsor of item No. 23, I greatly welcome the fact that he is suggesting an all-party debate on the issue. I, too, look for an indication from the Leader of the House, Senator Lanigan, as to when this very important matter will be taken.
I did not realise Senator Manning was going to raise the matter but it is quite astonishing that, to my knowledge, neither House of the Oireachtas has actually debated the issue of the threat of AIDS to the health of everybody in this country. There is no point in pretending it is a minority issue. It is the most serious threat to the health of the nation that has presented itself in probably 100 years. I fully support the idea that we should devote time, not necessarily to that particular motion but to the whole issue of creating the sense of alertness, responsibility and concern that this threat necessitates.
The Leader of the House invited me to ask him this morning about the Housing (Homeless Persons) Bill and the Government's proposal on it. He invited me to raise the issue again following yesterday morning and I could never turn down an invitation like that. I look forward to his reply. He was going to do wonders between yesterday and today.
I am sure some of the things he wanted to do outside this House are not supposed to come onto the floor——
He invited me yesterday morning.
Let me take the Housing (Homeless Persons) Bill; I think that in the very near future we will be able to satisfy Senator Ryan and many people who are concerned with this legislation. The Bill — a Government Bill — will be before us in a very short time. I do not want to be pressed any further than that. Of course, if it is not before us in a very short time Senator Ryan can come in with his own Bill. At this point we might even give him the Second Stage of his own Bill if he is not satisfied within a very short time.
On the question of out-of-date motions, I totally agree there is no point in having an Order Paper which is totally irrelevant. It gives people the chance to have their names mentioned on page after page on an Order Paper on items that will not be reached. We can have a reasonable look at this with the consent of the Whips. Perhaps there could be an amalgam of certain items on it and within the next few weeks we will endeavour to get through as many of the substantive motions as possible.
On the question of item No. 23, I agree with the sentiments expressed by the people who have spoken on this matter. It is a matter of grave public concern and I do not disagree that a debate on an all-party basis should take place on that item. However, I do not accept the remarks passed by Senator Manning regarding the attitude of the Government and the information published on this issue. The Minister for Health at a recent international conference on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome was congratulated on the stand he and the Government have taken in their education programme. Throughout the world no education programme has been successful in mounting the type of campaign which is needed to stop the growth of this very dangerous disease. I will discuss with the Minister for Health the best date on which we can have a debate on that issue. The Order of Business today is item No. 1, to conclude at 4.30 p.m.
Order of Business agreed to.