Today's business is items 1, 2 and 3. Item 1 will complete all Stages. It will be followed by item 2, Second Stage only, until 6 p.m. Item 3 will be taken from 6 p.m. until 7 p.m.; it will not conclude at 7 p.m. I am proposing ten minutes per speaker on item 3 and if item 2, Second Stage, has not been completed by 6 p.m., it will resume at 7 p.m. In the Whips' notice that went out from my office last week, the Health Bill was wrongly described. It is as in item 4 on today's Order Paper; it is the Bill dealing with governance of the new Tallaght Hospital, which will be taken tomorrow.
Order of Business.
Before commenting on the Order of Business, I wish to thank you, a Chathaoirligh, and the Seanad office for organising today's Mass and service for two much loved former colleagues, Seán Fallon and Gordon Wilson. The thought put into remembering them is much appreciated.
We often hear criticism of our semi-State bodies in this House but today I welcome the announcement of 750 jobs for Blanchardstown, which is a major employment blackspot. It is a great boost to the area itself and for the north Dublin/Fingal area generally. I commend all those involved in IDA Ireland which faces worldwide competition trying to attract foreign companies.
I was interested to hear the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Deputy Richard Bruton, rightly speak about the reasons such companies locate here. The fact that major companies are coming here is a great vote of confidence in our education system which produces capable young people for the workforce. It is a most welcome announcement.
I thank the Senator for his kind words but they would be more appropriately addressed to the staff than to myself.
I join with Senator Wright in welcoming the announcement of 750 new jobs for Blanchardstown. I am glad IDA Ireland has revised upwards its forecast of the number of jobs it hopes to attract during the coming year.
I do not know if it will be possible to provide time because of a very crowded programme this week and next but, on a less positive note, I wish to raise the matter of what is going on in Bord na Móna. The board is going in one direction while the chief executive is going in another. It is not helpful from the point of view of the future of the company and this matter needs to be resolved quickly. Under the Act, the Minister is responsible so he should take that responsibility on board and carry out his functions.
As regards job creation, in Bord na Móna's rationalisation over the past ten years, 2,400 jobs have been lost, many of them in a part of west Kildare which is not well off. That puts it into context. It is essential to resolve the matter and I ask the Leader to do what he can to achieve this. While I would welcome an opportunity to make statements on the matter, I am prepared to accept that, given the difficulties with scheduling Seanad business over the next fortnight, it might be impossible.
Can the Leader provide information on a report that I understand is being lodged in the pigeon holes of Deputies and Senators at 4 o'clock today? It is a report by Price Water-house into the recent confusion concerning examination results and procedures. I am anxious to know whether putting this report in the mail boxes of Members of the Oireachtas can be construed, in any sense, as constituting publication.
I join in calling for ministerial intervention in the sad debacle at Bord na Móna. It behoves us as Members of the Oireachtas to see that this does not continue. It is the responsibility of the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communication's to clean up Bord na Móna's act. When they heard what was happening, the Bord na Móna workers in the midlands and the west were up in arms. In County Roscommon and a neighbouring county 25 jobs were lost in 1996 because of a rationalisation programme. The workers are not happy that this saga has dragged out, that public funds have been squandered on meetings in the last month and we got no reasonable explanation of what is happening. Obviously, there is a major battle of wills going on behind the scenes and it is up to the Minister to straighten things out.
Would the Leader convey to the Minister for the Environment the concern felt by the communities and the people using the River Shannon? Recently there were near tragedies, and there was another yesterday. But for the intervention of a local boatman and farmer, several lives might have been lost. The reason I make this call is that it appears nobody is fully in charge. The fire brigade seem to be the people who respond, but they do not have the equipment. The Minister for the Environment should provide the local authorities and the fire brigades based along the Shannon with the necessary equipment, otherwise lives will be lost because the amount of leisurecraft traffic on the river has increased dramatically. Many Senators know what I am talking about as they have boats on the Shannon or use the river. To avert a major tragedy in the future I ask the Leader to bring the matter to the attention of the Minister for the Environment. Local authorities have already been informed but I think the Minister will have to sort out the matter. If it is not his responsibility or the local authorities, there will be a——
There are more appropriate ways for the Senator to raise that issue.
In line with Senator Norris's statement regarding the Price Waterhouse report into last year's craft examination papers which were lost, I understand this report will be issued at 4 o'clock but, it will be restricted to TDs and Senators; neither the public nor the officials in the Department of Education will have access to it. This seems to be in breach of what the Minister for Education said in the Dáil some time ago. The people most affected — the parents and students — will not see the report. Would the Leader clarify the Minister's standing in relation to this report? Will it be circulated? It is a public document and the public should know about it.
I join in the call by Senator Finneran and others for an end to the extraordinary saga in Bord na Móna. Everybody would accept it is very damaging to a company which has struggled through a difficult time.
Would the Leader ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to approach the British authorities in the matter of Annie Maguire? Last week Annie Maguire touched the heart of the nation when she discussed, at some length, the impact which false imprisonment had on her and her family. It is extraordinary that, over a decade since her release, the issue of compensation still has not been resolved by the British authorities. This is an indication of how little they care about the concept of justice. I have no doubt all Members will share my affront at this particular matter. I, and other Members of the House, would be grateful if the Leader would find some way of debating this issue——
I am sure the Senator could find other ways of raising this issue.
——or at least bringing our concerns on this matter to the attention of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Does the Leader anticipate having a debate on industrial strategy in this House, if not prior to the recess, then soon after we resume? I too welcome the new jobs in Dublin. However, it is likely that most of those jobs will be filled by people from Roscommon, Clare, Galway and Donegal. Despite increases in the number of jobs, the unemployment situation in Dublin has not been dented. There seems to be an unofficial policy within the IDA to attract employment to the "eastern economic corridor" to the detriment of the west of the country. In that context, will the Minister inform the House whether he intends to pursue a regionally based industrial strategy?
The Senator can find some other way to raise this issue.
I agree. However, I am merely making a suggestion in line with what Senator O'Toole is attempting to achieve in the education sector. The town in which I live has lost 13 young people and one teacher during the past 12 months. This is only one of the symptoms of living in rural Ireland. Unless employment in the regions increases, I do not believe viable communities in the west will survive.
There are more appropriate ways to raise this matter.
I am convinced that an unofficial policy has been adopted by the current Administration and its predecessors directing the IDA to attract industry to this country and site it in Dublin. I would not mind if such industry created jobs in economic blackspots such as Tallaght and elsewhere, but they do not seem to have any effect on the unemployment situation in these areas. As I stated earlier, there is a good chance that the people employed by IBM will be university graduates.
The Senator has made his point.
I become angry when I see jobs being allocated to Dublin rather than to other parts of the country which need them. I request that there be a debate on industrial strategy as it relates to the regions, perhaps in the context of one of the NESC or National Economic and Social Forum reports.
I support Senator Finneran's statement relating to safety on the River Shannon. There has been tremendous expansion in water based leisure activities in recent years and it is an area of huge potential. It must be pointed out that while there are approximately 800 boats on the River Shannon, there are 8,000 in Holland — a country the size of Munster. This area has greater potential for growth than any other in the tourism industry. I am not sure whether the Department of the Marine or the Department of the Environment is responsible but this subject is worthy of debate, whether in the form of a motion on the Adjournment of the House or during Government time provided for statements.
In his discussions with the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, will the Leader of the House request some indication of the impact of the EU decision relating to competition and the ESB? This decision, which was handed down last week, will have a serious impact on employment in the ESB, particularly in the area of electricity generation. Will the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communication indicate the likely impact of that decision and whether jobs will be lost in generating stations, such as Moneypoint, as a result?
I support calls for a debate on power generation in Ireland, particularly as it relates to the importation of energy produced by nuclear facilities in the United Kingdom. There has been much discussion in this country about the closure of Sellafield and other nuclear facilities. If there is an opening up of the European electricity grid, Irish consumers could be using electricity generated by nuclear stations in Britain that are polluting the Irish Sea. This matter is worthy of contemplation and debate.
I support Senator Mooney's request for a general debate on industrial policy. It is time this House considered the combined policies of Forbairt, Forfás and IDA Ireland. These bodies are clapping themselves on the back regarding the creation of new jobs but they have not delivered employment to the constituency of Cavan/Monaghan. If Senator Mooney includes that area in the category to which he referred, it would warrant——
I would be glad to do so.
As I informed Senator Mooney, there are other ways to raise that issue.
On a serious note, this issue must be addressed in terms of the creation of long-term employment. Not all the jobs should be in the east coast area.
I thank Senator Wright for being characteristically generous in welcoming the creation of 750 jobs in Blanchardstown, especially his comments about the extraordinarily good work the IDA has done in the face of fierce competition. Everyone should be grateful for this; it is just one example of its great success in recent times. The IDA has done well in bringing these high quality jobs to an unemployment black spot. They will be taken by people from all parts of the country and all the universities.
That it the problem, they will come from every area to get them.
I am sorry some Senators are carping about what is a great success.
Those who live in Dublin wear rose coloured glasses.
It is a Dublin Government.
If the Senator's party feels Dublin is not worthy of support or does not deserve jobs——
Do not try to confuse the issue.
Senator Manning without interruption.
——I am sure his party leader would like to comment on that. Cheap points should not be made; the tone of this debate was set by the Leader of the Opposition, who was generous in what he said. We all welcome it as a success and the IDA and the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, should be commended.
A number of Senators raised the Bord na Móna issue. In response to Senator Dardis, although there is great public concern about what is happening, I do not think a debate in the House would be helpful at this stage. There are legal procedures to be followed and I hope everything is being done according to due process. I do not know the full facts but it is important that we will know them when it is appropriate. It would be wrong for the Minister to intervene before proper procedures have been exhausted at board level. We all wish the procedures could be speeded up so the matter could be resolved and Bord na Móna can return to the work we think appropriate to it.
Senator Norris and others mentioned the report to be published at 4 p.m. I have a straightforward view on this; if it is being given to 226 Members of the Oireachtas it is a public report. I know what happens at meetings of other parliamentary parties and I am sure Members of other parties know what happens at our meetings.
Does Senator Norris know what happens at parliamentary party meetings?
I hold a parliamentary party meeting with myself.
The fact that it is being placed in the pigeon holes leads me to believe it is a public document intended for publication — I can put no other interpretation on it. I do not think the media will be waiting too long for a copy. It is a serious matter; the Minister is to be commended for having a full investigation. If it is thought appropriate after we see the report, I will have no difficulty making time available for a discussion.
Senator Finneran and others mentioned the Shannon. There is a tourism debate this evening and it could be raised briefly at that time but I will pass on his remarks to the Minister for the Environment. It is a serious matter.
I agree with Senator Roche that what has happened to Mrs. Annie Maguire is disgraceful. There is no excuse for the delay; it is a gratuitously offensive prolonging of something which should never have happened and, in the current climate, it is unhelpful. I could arrange for statements on the subject for 30 minutes during the week after next, so that Members' feelings could be put on the record. I concur with everything the Senator said and would put it even more strongly.
Senator Mooney asked for a debate on industrial strategy. I would be happy to sit an extra day at the end of this session if there is sufficient demand for such a debate — that would be Friday three weeks. Otherwise I will arrange such a debate early in the next session.
Senator Daly and Senator Kelleher raised the EU decision affecting the ESB. It would be helpful to have clarification as soon as possible on how that affects the board and the overall position here.
Order of Business agreed to.