Today's Order of Business is Item 1, the Roads Bill, Committee Stage, from now until 6 p.m. and Item 20, the Labour Party Private Members' motion, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Order of Business.
I ask the Leader of the House to make time available to debate the annual report of the Ombudsman, published yesterday, before the end of this session if possible. The Ombudsman has pointed out that there are a number of matters arising in his report which, if they are to be tackled properly, would require changes in the law. He was specific as to which laws need to be changed. I also ask the Leader of the House to indicate which legislation he expects to present to the House between now and the end of the session to give Members a chance to prepare properly for it.
I propose an amendment to the Order of Business. I propose that we take Item 14 first. I am not trying to be obstructive, but simply to exert pressure to improve our office accommodation. It is wrong that this matter has not been resolved. It is impossible for us as Independent Senators to perform our duties properly when we are working in conditions which break the Factory Acts and a number of European Community regulations. I cannot continue to give the impression that I can serve the electorate in the post to which they have elected me.
I understand that appeals have been made to various people to regularise this situation. That is not the way to proceed. We are elected Members. We are entitled to certain basic condition under the Factories Acts. We should get them, and those who are in charge should be directed to service us, since they are at our disposal and not the other way around. I am sorry to speak so strongly but as you know, a Chathaoirligh, our situation is intolerable. I would like to pay tribute to your attempts to satisfy us in this regard. If we were not people who tried to do our work, then we might be happy with unsatisfactory, inadequate conditions, but we really do try to work, and we should be facilitated in this matter.
I wish to draw attention to one other matter which shows the way in which this House is treated with complete contempt. This Chamber is taken over from time to time for committees and the report is produced almost instantaneously, whereas it is weeks before the Official Report of Seanad Éireann is produced. We had an extremely important debate on AIDS in this House which was not covered in any newspaper. Groups such as Family Solidarity are still telling dangerous lies about AIDS, yet the authoritative debate that took place in this House was not reported in one newspaper, in one organ or the broadcast media——
Make your point, Senator.
——and we do not yet have the Official Report one month after the debate took place.
I support Senator Norris's amendment. I am working in a semi-secretarial capacity for which I have not been trained, in unsuitable offices. There is no ventilation and insufficient daylight in our office. The lights must be turned on in the office during the day. I appreciate that you, a Chathaoirligh, have tried to do something about this, but even if we used the office on a rota basis our conditions would be totally unsatisfactory. I said when I moved into those offices first that putting a fan on the floor to make the air circulate was very dangerous. After an hour in the room I was compelled to use the fan because it is impossible to stay in the room without it. I do not know whether any other Senators have come down to see the conditions in which we are existing. I realise you have tried to get something done, a Chathaoirligh, but it has been three months since we raised this matter and absolutely nothing has happened.
I support the Senator. The secretariat for the members of Fine Gael is exactly the same as it is for the Independent Senators.
This is not appropriate to the Order of Business. Senator Norris has referred to an item on the Order Paper.
I am informing the Members that we are in the same position.
It is not appropriate to the Order of Business. I call the Leader to reply.
I assure Senator Manning that the Ombudsman's report will be dealt with between now and the summer recess. Other legislation to be dealt with between now and the summer includes the Finance Bill, which will be dealt with next week, also the Broadcasting Bill, the Animal Remedies Bill, the Health (Family Planning) Bill, and the Local Government (Planning and Development) Bill. Two other Bills will be initiated in the House between now and the summer, the Statistics Bill and the Bill to implement the Culliton report on the IDA.
I wish to clarify whether it is intended to have a full Second Stage debate on the Finance Bill next week. What is the intention of the Government? Perhaps the Leader would clarify the position. Are all stages of the Bill to be taken next week?
All Stages of the Finance Bill will be debated on Wednesday and Thursday of next week.
(Interruptions.)
We have an amendment to today's Order of Business from Senator Norris. He has moved an amendment that Item 14 be inserted before Item 1.
Question put: "That item 14 be inserted before item 1."
The Seanad divided: Tá, 15; Níl, 28.
Tá
- Belton, Louis J.
- D'Arcy, Michael.
- Dardis, John.
- Enright, Thomas W.
- Farrelly, John V.
- Henry, Mary.
- Lee, Joe.
- McDonagh, Jarlath.
- Manning, Maurice.
- Neville, Daniel.
- Norris, David.
- Quinn, Feargal.
- Reynolds, Gerry.
- Ross, Shane P.N.
- Sherlock, joe.
Níl
- Bohan, Eddie.
- Byrne, Seán.
- Calnan, Michael.
- Cashin, Bill.
- Crowley, Brian.
- Daly, Brendan.
- Farrell, Willie.
- Finneran, Michael.
- Fitzgerald, Tom.
- Hillery, Brian.
- Kelleher, Billy.
- Kiely, Dan.
- Kiely, Rory.
- Lanigan, Mick.
- Lydon, Don.
- McGennis, Marian.
- McGowan, Paddy.
- Magner, Pat.
- Maloney, Sean.
- Mooney, Paschal.
- Mullooly, Brian.
- O'Brien, Francis.
- O'Kennedy, Michael.
- O'Sullivan, Jan.
- Ormonde, Ann.
- Townsend, Jim.
- Wall, Jack.
- Wright, G.V.
Tellers: Tá, Senators Norris and Henry; Níl, Senators Mullooly and Magner.
Amendment declared lost.
Order of Business agreed to.