The Order of Business is items 1, 2 and 3. Item 1, Committee and Remaining Stages to be taken today; item 2, motion for earlier signature to be taken without debate at the conclusion of item 1; item 3, statements on the Agenda 2000 CAP reform, to be taken at the conclusion of item 2 and not to exceed two hours, with contributions of spokespersons not to exceed 15 minutes and those of other Senators not to exceed ten minutes. Senators may share time.
Order of Business.
The Order of Business is agreed. All Senators will welcome the fact that the Provisional IRA has at last indicated the whereabouts of the bodies of people it murdered over the past 20 to 25 years so that the families of those people can at last give their loved ones a decent burial and will now know where their remains are buried. However, I find it obscene that the bodies of murdered people should be used as a bargaining pawn by the Provisional IRA.
Having taken this step, perhaps the Provisional IRA will now lift the fatwa it declared on many people who are barred from Northern Ireland on its word and who dare not return under sentence of death. Since it is now so concerned with human rights issues, it might consider going this step further and lifting this fatwa which has been in operation in many communities over a long period.
I join with Senator Manning in his remarks. It is precisely the point I wished to make. I preface it by saying that I am sure the House will wish to send the strongest possible message of support to the Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, in these difficult days. I welcome what the IRA has done, but I was sickened by the context of a human rights issue in which it was put. Senator Manning is 100 per cent right. I listened to Martin McGuinness on the radio this morning when he spoke of regret for the anguish and pain the families had been put through. What about the anguish and pain of people like Mrs. McConville, who was an innocent victim of a sectarian murder by the Provisional IRA and who was tortured for days? Let us hear a little about their anguish. Shame on those who perpetrated these crimes and now capitalise on them for their own political reasons.
I support the Taoiseach in what is a difficult situation. Movement has been made by Mr. Adams, although one must ask if he and his colleagues have any sense of irony. This very day when they speak of these bodies, they have O'Connell Street plastered with posters saying "Honour Ireland's Dead". Let us honour and respect all of them, not just one little tribal group.
While I know time is short now, perhaps when we reconvene we could have a debate on all aspects of the building industry, such as the inflationary prices charged by builders, the gross profits being made, the lack of concern for workers in the industry and the continuing high rate of industrial accidents. We especially ought to investigate the profits being made.
We should also examine the banks, some of whom announced obscene profits today. Some of the executives in AIB received over £1 million, yet the taxpayers had to bail them out at one stage. I laugh when I see these bank executives awarding themselves £1 million in profits and special directors' fees. We should remember it was a bank executive who chaired the review commission into the incomes of Members of this House and who decided we were overpaid at £20,000 a year.
Senators
Hear hear.
I listened to a nurses' union representative saying today they needed a pay increase because there were no promotion prospects for them. What are the promotion prospects for a Member of this House? We are stuck with a specific income. I am all right because, I am glad to say, I am not in financial difficulty, but many decent colleagues on both sides of the House are expected to raise and educate children on an annual salary of approximately £20,000. That would be regarded as an insult in any other profession or trade. I would like to see the building worker who survives on £20,000 per year. I have the freedom to say this because I am not in financial difficulties and I doubt if I will be attacked by my constituents for saying it. If I was I would not give a damn because it is the truth.
It is hard to follow that. I wish to be associated with the remarks of the previous speakers expressing good wishes to those gathered in Belfast, virtually on the anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. We have come to a moment of truth in terms of a resolution of the impasse which would allow for the establishment of the Executive and the implementation of the rest of the Agreement. I wish the Taoiseach, the British Prime Minister and the leaders in Northern Ireland well. They are genuinely seeking agreement on a formula to resolve the impasse. It would be an historic opportunity for Ireland, because if there is no resolution there is danger of a limbo situation arising making a solution much more difficult to find.
I welcome the decision by the IRA to disclose the whereabouts of the remains of nine of the people it killed in the conflict. It is high time it took this action. I hope it and paramilitaries from the other side of the conflict will proceed to disclose the whereabouts of others who died and that we can all be seen to be making an effort, despite how grisly the matter may be, to bring about reconciliation.
I ask the Leader to bring to the attention of the Minster for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Minister for Foreign Affairs the need for an inquiry into the Monaghan and Dublin bombings. Recent revelations have indicated that the inquiries by the RUC and the Garda Síochána were totally inadequate. The 25th anniversary of the bombings is next month. We should not only call on others in another jurisdiction to bring about reconciliation but we should be seen to be taking steps to ensure that we deal with the inheritance of the past on our side of the Border. That would be well worthwhile. Perhaps the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform might reconsider his position on this matter.
I agree with the views expressed by Senator Norris on the banks. There is a need for a debate. Their top executives and corporate bodies are making colossal profits. In view of the dramatic reductions in corporation tax we should seek a clawback on these profits. It should also be borne in mind that the banks have not treated their employees well in recent years. Most new employees are on short-term contracts.
I join with other Members in sending good wishes to the Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and all others participating in the talks at Stormont. It is desirable that a compromise should be reached. It is something all the parties should keep to the forefront. They have all travelled a considerable distance, not just since the Good Friday Agreement but before it. Some of the cross-Border visits by senior politicians on both sides would not have been contemplated as recently as three or four years ago. There is a normalisation and we hope that will continue. The other matter they must consider, as Senator Mitchell stated, is the consequences of failure and the fact that there can be no going back to what we had before. If they keep that firmly in mind a settlement will be reached. We hope they will go forward to form the Executive, the cross-Border bodies and everything else which flows from the Agreement.
I agree with Senator Manning in respect of the fact that the Provisional IRA has identified the location of bodies. There seems to be a sense that it is to be congratulated for this but I thoroughly reject that proposition. It is late for this to have happened and it would be extremely cynical if it were done to achieve some short-term political objective during the coming week. No concession should be granted on the basis of it identifying the location of bodies.
With regard to calls for debates, last week there were some vigorous calls for debates on the situation in Kosovo and what is happening in the former Yugoslavia. It was correct to debate those issues and we did so on Friday, but Members who are vigorous in their calls for those debates should make every effort to attend when those debates are granted.
Hear, hear.
It may be inconvenient but, given the gravity of the situation and the vehemence of some of the calls last week, it would have been expected that there might have been more contributors to that debate.
Will the Leader inform the House whether the Government intends to have the proposed new licensing laws in place for the summer? Will he tell the House if the Government intends to provide matching national funding for EU headage payments in order to maintain headage to farmers?
There will be Statements on CAP reform this evening and there will be an opportunity to make those points during that debate.
I appreciate that, a Chathaoirligh, and I will do so, but maybe, mar focal scoir, the Leader will tell us if the Government intends to apply the same rate of headage to different disadvantaged area categories in Objective One areas and Objective One in transition areas.
I read last night's statement from two Oireachtas members from the Government side on a letter from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform as regards asylum seekers and refugees. A local discussion in Cork on this matter was televised. The letter states that 500 people are to be redesignated from the Dublin area to other areas of the country and, in particular, the Cork area. I am not saying that the Cork area should not receive them but, I am a little concerned about the demand by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Will the Leader ask the Minister to explain the situation to this House? This happened three weeks ago with regards to housing; it has happened now with regard to asylum seekers and refugees. All we want is an explanation. I would appreciate it because there is a letter saying that 500 people should be allocated to Cork. I am not saying that should not be the case but let us clear up the matter.
I wish the best of luck to the Taoiseach and the members of Government who have gone to the North this week. It is appropriate to do so and to call on the parties in the North to avail of the opportunity. As Senator George Mitchell said, we cannot countenance failure. We wish the Taoiseach, the Government and all the parties in the talks well. The only result we want is a good conclusion.
Previous speakers referred to the release of information on where the IRA buried many of the people whose lives it has taken. If this was done on humanitarian grounds, then it would release information on all the other people whose burial places are not known. It would appear to me that this is purely to do with negotiations and that saddens me.
We on this side of the House join with the previous speakers in wishing the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs well in the sensitive negotiations going on at present and wish them every success.
I call on the Leader for a debate on something which is not as important but may be important in the future, that is, waste management decisions with regards to landfill sites, incineration, etc. I call for a debate to inform the public of the possibilities rather than waiting to react to a crisis and telling the public we must put these measures in place.
Will the Leader ask the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to come to the House to explain his new proposals on high rise apartments? Has he notified county managers? Will local authorities have to change their town or county development plans? What is the procedure? It takes time to change a town or county development plan and with the local elections in June, it seems this announcement was a publicity stunt.
I support the calls for a debate on banking. I have asked on numerous occasions for a debate on the sale of the TSB, ICC and ACC. I hope the Leader will arrange for the Minister for Finance to come to the House to discuss the sale of these State bodies. The taxpayer and those who have made these banks worthy of purchase and helped them make large profits should receive some of the bonanza.
I also wish the Taoiseach and the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy O'Donnell, well in the great work they are doing. I also welcome the decision of the IRA to tell where the bodies of those it murdered over the years are buried. However, we should also spare a thought for all the missing women, especially in the Leinster area, an issue which has been highlighted in the past week or ten days. I share their relatives' hope that these women are still alive; hope springs eternal. However, if they are not, I hope there is a streak of decency remaining in the perpetrators of their murders and that they will tell where their remains lie.
I join with the comments of Senators Manning, Norris, Costello, Dardis, Gallagher, Coogan and Glynn as regards the announcement of the Provisional IRA to indicate where some of the bodies of those who were murdered have been buried. I call on the IRA to disclose where all the bodies of those who were murdered by it over the years are buried and to acknowledge the hurt it has caused.
I join with Senators in expressing goodwill to the Taoiseach, the British Prime Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and all party Leaders participating in the historic talks. We all recall the historic event which took place last Good Friday, and which was then endorsed by the people of Ireland. The Leaders of both countries and the Leaders of all parties are carrying out the wishes of the people North and South and they are speaking for the vast majority of those people. Friday is the first anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and hopefully we will soon have confirmation of a lasting peace to which future generations will look forward so we will be able to live in peace on this island.
I agree with Senator Norris's timely request for a debate on the building industry. It is one of the fastest growing industries and I will give time for such a debate after the Easter recess. I will also give time for a debate on banking, as called for by Senators Norris, Costello and Burke. I accept the point raised by Senator Norris as regards the salary of Oireachtas Members. Consideration of this is long overdue and I hope the Government will address it as a matter of urgency before the end of the year.
Senators Costello and Dardis called for an inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. I will convey their request to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform after the Order of Business. Senator Coghlan inquired about the licensing laws, which are at an advanced stage, about which I shall inform the House on tomorrow's Order of Business.
The Senator called for matching funds for his part of the country. It is the Government's earnest hope that all parts of the country will receive almost equal funding. The sentiments expressed by the Senator were well founded and all fair minded Senators would agree with him.
Senator Cregan asked me to convey to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his concerns about the refugee situation and that of asylum seekers in Cork and I will do so today. Senator Coogan called for a debate on waste management and landfill sites to which I can agree.
Senator Burke called on the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to come to the House to take up the point he raised on high rise apartments. I am pleased to inform the House that the Minister will be here tomorrow for Committee and Final Stages of the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Bill, 1999, and he will address the Senator's concerns. I hope the Senator will be here to express them.
Senator Glynn asked for a debate with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on missing women. I can concede to the Senator's request.
Order of Business agreed to.