The Order of Business is items 1 and 2. Item 1, Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken today. Item 2, Second Stage, to be taken today with the contributions of spokespersons not to exceed 15 minutes and all other Senators not to exceed ten minutes. Senators may share time. Item 2 is not to be taken before 5.30 p.m.
Order of Business.
We have no difficulty with the Order of Business. Will the Leader agree to a reasoned and informed debate on Sellafield and the British nuclear industry within the next couple of weeks? I and several Senators requested this recently. While I believe the Leader is well disposed to a debate, I am not sure what pressure he is under regarding business in the last couple of weeks before the summer recess. However, now is an opportune time to hold an informed debate. If it is in the format of statements, will the Leader consider an interactive discussion? I increasingly find the format of statements without any response from the Minister to questions posed by Senators to be a waste of time and energy. We should have in interactive discussion or debate on this most important issue.
The Leader gave a commitment in the last two weeks about the possibility of a debate on education before the end of the session and he undertook to consult with the Minister for Education and Science. Last week we managed to get a number of issues dealt with expeditiously, including statements on the Insurance Ombudsman and a debate on industrial relations, thanks to the motion by the Labour Party. We need to address a number of other issues, including education. It is one in which most Members will have an interest, both at national and constituency level. There is a problem at school level which the Minister could outline and which needs to be addressed.
Dear as education is to my heart, I would be prepared to give way to a debate on Northern Ireland. It was proper not to have a lengthy debate in the course of developments in the North over the past two months. However, given that elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly are to be held on Thursday, it is very important that Members offer their views and to consider how issues such as Strand Two might be developed. That can encompass a number of issues. An tseachtain seo caite bhí cúpla focal le rá ag an Seanadóir Ó Murchú mar gheall ar ghearradh siar ar Theilifís na Gaeilge. Ba mhaith an rud go dtuigeadh daoine go bhfuil sé sin go mór i Strand Two den Agreement.
Strand Two will allow many issues to be discussed in what is a wide area. It would also be the first time a debate on Northern Ireland could develop into social areas, such as An Gaeilge and education. It is hugely important that the House offers its views on this matter. Everybody else is discussing it. People in Northern Ireland who hold differing views should at least know our thinking in this area.
I support Senator Avril Doyle's request for a debate on Sellafield, especially in view of the new research that shows Sellafield to be now more dangerous than Chernobyl was. It is a very important matter and it deserves an early debate. The Minister should come before the House to discuss what action will be taken in relation to his British counterpart.
Senator O'Toole is right to call for a debate on Northern Ireland. This is an opportunity for us to tease out the implications of the British-Irish Agreement before the recess as they pertain to us. There is a great deal of cross-Border activity on a ministerial level which has implications for us.
This weekend marked to the passing of the 200 figure for road deaths. Already the carnage on the roads is ahead of previous years. This issue has been raised again and again in this House but there does not appear to be a planned campaign to reduce the level of people killed on our roads. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform spoke of zero tolerance yet the vast majority of deaths are due to drunken driving. Action is vital; there is no sense discussing this issue unless there is a response.
I asked last week for an update on prisoner release legislation. The Taoiseach promised it would be introduced into the Dáil and Seanad but I cannot see how the process can begin if the legislation is not introduced before the recess. Does the Leader have any information about what is happening? Will we be brought back for this or will it be dealt with next week before the recess?
Motion 22 in the name of the Labour Senators calls for a discussion of the report of the Murphy inquiry into child abuse in swimming. Last week I bemoaned the fact that we had to refer the matter to the joint committee so the report could be published. We have not yet seen the report. The report has still not been put into our pigeon-holes; it must be specifically requested. Each Member should automatically get a copy of a report of this nature. The issue has been debated in every forum except this House. The Minister has been advised to do many things in relation to the IASA but we have had no opportunity to offer him our advice.
A large number of Senators wish to contribute on the Order of Business so I remind Senators that their contributions should be brief and relevant.
I endorse the call for a debate on the nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield. I draw the Leader's attention to the fact that a group of British and Irish local authorities have called for the suspension of the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel at Sellafield. This follows the publication of a report in London this morning which states that tanks holding high levels of liquid waste at Sellafield may leak. If this happened there could be an accident which would be ten to 100 times more serious than that which occurred at Chernobyl. It is urgent that the Minister come into the House to address this report and that the matter is debated.
I wish to raise an issue of great concern to many Senators — the plight of the deprived in our society and in the Third World. As a result of a European Court of Justice decision on 10 June, social aid programmes worth £260 million have been blocked. Not one penny will come out of the European Social Fund to help the deprived. I ask the Leader to take the following programmes into account: co-financing of NGO projects in developing countries; decentralised co-operation; general development co-operation; combating racism and xenophobia; poverty programmes for Northern Ireland; integration of disabled and older people; combating child pornography; rehabilitation of land mine victims; fight against drug abuse; European voluntary service; human rights and democracy. This is the disgraceful result of a search the British carried out for possible savings. In making these savings they hit the most deprived people across the world. Commissioner Pádraig Flynn referred to this as a moral challenge to the human face of Europe and the most important work done by the Union. Commissioner Bonino told colleagues yesterday that she might have to close down the entire food health inspection service.
The Senator has made a strong case for a debate on this matter.
I ask the Leader for a debate on this issue. We must try to do something to rectify what the Commission has done at the behest of Britain, which started this action in 1995 and which is supported by Germany and Denmark. It is a disgrace.
I support Senator Lanigan. I was present in the Institute of European Affairs in North Great George's Street when Commissioner Flynn made this strong point. However, I also got the feeling he was able to handle the situation and that by implementing this ruling in a challenging way, many of the Union's institutions would find themselves in crisis and it would be resolved in that manner.
I wanted to welcome Senator John Cregan but I understand only one person from each group was allowed to speak. I say that as a preface because I want to raise a serious procedural point with you, a Chathaoirligh, on this matter, although I hope you do not think I am slighting your authority. I welcome Senator John Cregan to the House, particularly because he comes from Dromcolliher about which a famous poem was written by Percy French which indicates that if one has not been to Dromcolliher, one has not been to anywhere worth going to. Since the Leader raised the matter in a partisan way, which is inevitable, it is appropriate that this House should consider reports which appeared in the newspapers at the weekend that members of parties, particularly the Leader's party, were supervised in their voting. That is not appropriate. I ask that this matter be referred to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges because this is an abuse of a free vote.
I have ruled on many occasions that the Seanad has no control over the contents of reports in newspapers or the contents of radio or television programmes and that it is not appropriate to raise such matters in the House.
If I write to you, would you be so kind as to raise this important matter with the Committee on Procedure and Privileges? It is not confined to the Fianna Fáil Party?
It is not relevant to the Order of Business.
I shall write to you anyway.
I ask the Leader to request the appropriate Minister to engage in some form of mediation with a view to resolving the planning impasse which involves Mr. Kevin Boland, who is a former Oireachtas Member and a Minister who gave great service to this country. It is reported that he has been on hunger strike for 14 days. It should be possible to have measured, compassionate and sensitive diplomacy which would bring about results in this case.
I am sure the Senator could bring this matter to the attention of the appropriate Minister. It is not relevant to the Order of Business.
Commonsense might be more effective in this case than a tonne of regulation. We do not want Mr. Boland's health to suffer irreparable damage.
I join in the call to the Leader to have a debate on Sellafield, particularly in view of today's report and the recent decision by the British Government to decommission the plant at Dounreay in Scotland. There may be a change of opinion in the British Government about the nuclear industry. The sooner that debate takes place the better.
I agree with Senator Costello that there is an appalling number of deaths on our roads. We must look at all aspects of new legislation, including, if necessary, random breath testing for motorists. We must have a new radical approach to traffic management. In particular, there is the question of drug abuse and driving. There are some serious questions. I hate to read the newspaper every weekend with the increasing number of young people who are dying on the roads.
I want to draw attention to the largest university in the country, University College Dublin, which still operates an all male interview board in the selection of non-statutory academic staff. There is huge concern among the academic public about the low ratio of females who have been appointed to professorships by the current academic boards. I ask the Leader to write to the Higher Education Authority for an explanation. After all, it houses the largest centre of equality studies in the country, yet it is appointing a very low ratio of female academics. Furthermore, when their CVs were examined and compared with those of the successful candidates, the females were found to be way ahead. Something is not right here and, as I have an educational role, I ask the Leader to write to the Higher Education Authority to seek an explanation.
There cannot be a decision on the Order of Business to send any such communication.
I ask the Leader to make a statement to the Department of Education and Science on the matter.
I join the two previous speakers in calling for a debate on education in this House. It is more appropriate that such a debate should be held at the end of an academic year rather than at the beginning. It appears to me that it will be into the academic year before such a debate takes place. I urge the Leader to consider deeply the issues which have arisen in education and demand that we face them immediately.
With regard to the nuclear waste hazard, I call the attention of the House to the fact that the presentation of that report to the Houses of Parliament was made this morning jointly by the nuclear free local authority members in Great Britain and some Irish local authority members. The report was paid for jointly by a number of Irish local authorities and the nuclear free local authorities in England. The editor of the report will present it to Members of the Dáil tomorrow at 8 p.m. in the interview room. I invite anybody who would like to attend to see the frightening results of the report and the investigation. I think they will be startled by it.
I also ask for a debate on education. I ask the Leader to bring the Minister for Education and Science into the House for two reasons. First, the House may not sit again before September and there is a critical situation whereby schools which have one less child enrolled may lose a teacher. That is an important matter.
No less important is another aspect of education, the fact that it is difficult to get insurance for school playgrounds. The Minister may be able to legislate so that it is easier for schools to get insurance cover for pupils in schools and recreational areas. Those are the two areas which I want addressed before September. If possible, I ask the Leader for a debate on the matter before the end of this session.
I hope that the rest of the Members of this House would agree that we should send our sympathy and condolences to the family of the young prostitute who was murdered. I draw the attention of the House to the fact that, despite the law, few men seem to be charged while women are charged all the time, and I seek a debate on the matter. Perhaps it is time the Leader asked the Minister to review prostitution in this country.
May I join with other Senators in welcoming Senator John Cregan to the House?
Will the Leader arrange a debate on the sale of State assets and the amalgamation of the Trustee Savings Bank and the Agricultural Credit Corporation. The Minister for Finance recently announced his intention to look favourably at amalgamating the TSB and the ACC. The Leader and his colleagues are no doubt well rested after their PD bashing convention in the Slieve Russel Hotel.
Senator Burke, that is not in order on the Order of Business.
I am sure the Leader will have no difficulty inviting the Minister for Finance to the House for a debate on that matter.
May I, before I call the Leader to reply, clarify the position with regard to the requests made by Senator Ormonde and others? Any opinion or decision of the House must be obtained by a formal resolution. When the House agrees to a motion the decision of the House and the text of the resolution are conveyed to the relevant Department and to the Department of the Taoiseach.
Senators Doyle, Coogan, Costello and O'Dowd called for a debate on Sellafield. I will discuss this with the Whips after the Order of Business to see if the requests can be facilitated but it will be difficult, given the short time remaining for the present session.
Senators O'Toole, Coogan, McGowan and Costello called for an urgent debate on education. I will also discuss this request with the Whips.
A debate on Northern Ireland would be timely and I hope we can agree to have this subject debated before the end of the session. The Minister has agreed to this.
Senators Costello, O'Dowd and many others over the last number of weeks have expressed their horror at the number of road deaths. It is dreadful to read in every weekend's newspapers of the number of deaths on our roads. I will extend an invitation to the Minister to come to the House for a debate on this matter and I will express these serious concerns of Senators which confront us as legislators. The problem cannot be allowed continue; it must be addressed.
Senator Costello requested information on the prisoner release programme. I will be bringing legislation before the House next week to enable this to proceed over the summer.
I agree with Senator Costello that each Member of the House should have been supplied with a copy of the Murphy report. Any Senator who does not have a copy should contact my office or the Chief Whip's office today. I will have the report discussed in the House at the earliest opportunity in the next session.
Senators Lanigan and Norris expressed their outrage at the cuts in EU social aid programmes. This is a retrograde step and something which the House cannot condone. I agree with the Senators and will try to facilitate the requests to have the matter debated before the end of the session.
I note the sentiments of Senators Ó Murchú, Ormonde and Ridge. I fully agree with Senator Ridge's sentiments. The violent death suffered by the young lady two nights ago was horrific and I hope the person responsible will be brought to justice as soon as possible. It is horrific that such a killing can happen in our community which prides itself on looking after the socially deprived.
I learned of the circumstances of the plight of the person involved from this morning's news reports. The House dealt with related legislation in recent years and we are only now seeing the fall out of parts of that legislation. It may be time to revisit the issue to address the problems of those who find they must engage in such activity.
Senator Burke has sought a debate on the ICC, ACC and TSB on many occasions. I have promised to organise a debate on the issues involved. If the Fine Gael Senators agree, I will offer Fianna Fáil Private Members' time in the next session and we could have a four hour debate on the proposed sale, which Senator Burke and Senator Finneran have raised on many occasions.
Order of Business agreed to.