The Order of Business is No. 1, Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill, 2000 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] – Report and Final Stages; and No. 2, statements on women's cancer strategy, with contributions of Senators not to exceed ten minutes.
Order of Business.
Why is the Leader of the House confining statements on No. 2 to ten minutes? I do not expect there will be too many speakers and I would give them more time. Does the Leader of the House have any plans to hold a meeting of the Seanad outside Dublin? I thank him for rescheduling the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2000 for Thursday instead of today. However, no amendment has yet been made available to the Opposition and we are told that there are over 100 amendments. Clearly this is not the way to do business.
The amendments are in the Seanad office and are being prepared for circulation.
Thank you, a Chathaoirligh. I was aware of that but my point was that they have not been circulated to members of the Opposition, the people who must deal with them. That will not happen until later today when some of the amendments will be made available. We have been told that the others will not be available until Thursday. I am not taking issue with the Leader on this matter. He has been treated very badly by the office of the Minister who asked him to schedule the Bill for today even though the amendments would not be available before then. This Bill was published last December.
I want an assurance from the Leader that the Bill will not be rushed on Thursday. Only a limited number of amendments – certainly none of those that have not been released with at least two days notice – should be taken to allow Members to do their preparation work. The Leader was placed in an impossible position last week by a Department which informed him it wanted a Bill to be taken without having a single amendment ready. When we addressed this matter on Friday, we were told we might receive the amendments on Tuesday, which is the day we were scheduled to take the Bill. That is either incompetence on the part of the Minister's office or it shows contempt for this House of Parliament. I ask for an assurance that adequate time will be allocated to this very important Bill and that no attempt will be made to rush it through on Thursday.
I raise the current events in the Balkan states. I ask that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, come into the House to debate the issue. The current debate on the Nice treaty and the statement yesterday from Prime Minister Jospin on the idea of a federal Europe tie in with the wider issue of sovereignty, which this House has discussed on a number of occasions.
Europe is witnessing a renewal of conflict between Albanians, Kosovars and Macedonians. I want to hear the view of the Government on this matter and on how Europe should respond to it. It would be very useful to hear the views of those people who are consistently guilty of double think on whether we should get involved in various areas of conflict. They are not easy matters to deal with but people should set the record straight so that we can find another way of dealing with sovereignty, neutrality and enlargement, issues that need to be tackled. It would be helpful if the Minister for Foreign Affairs debated the matter with us.
I add my voice to what Senator Manning has said on the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2000. It has been months since this Bill was taken on Second Stage. We were told that it would come before us on Tuesday, but no amendments have appeared and now we are told we will take Committee and Remaining Stages on Thursday afternoon. I know we are not supposed to bring up business that will not be taken that day, but this Bill was originally scheduled for today.
This is an important Bill and a vast number of amendments have been tabled by the Government and, undoubtedly, by this side of the House. It is an insult to us to have it moved around in this fashion. We can expect that it will be guillotined given that Committee and Remaining Stages are scheduled for Thursday afternoon. I ask the Leader of the House to withdraw the Electoral (Amendment) Bill from this week's schedule and to take it instead next week with a proper timescale allocated to it. This is major legislation and we should do it justice.
This is the 40th anniversary of Amnesty International, which links in to Senator O'Toole's comments about the conflict in the Balkans and human and civil rights which have been so much abused in that region since the break-up of Yugoslavia. It is also closely related to the two refer enda being held at the same time as the vote on the Nice treaty, namely, the abolition of capital punishment, with which Amnesty International has been closely identified due to its efforts to have it abolished worldwide, and the establishment of the International Criminal Court which will allow people to be brought to justice for human rights abuses.
The 40th anniversary of Amnesty International is a particularly appropriate time to hold these referenda. I ask the Leader of the House to find an opportunity for us to discuss and mark the wonderful contribution Amnesty International has made to human rights in Ireland and abroad, and to honour the contribution of the late Sean McBride who received the Nobel peace prize because of his work with Amnesty International.
I agree with Senator Manning that ten minutes is a derisory length of time for Members to speak on the women's cancer strategy. We have been waiting a long time for a debate on health, and ten minutes is not enough time for Members to have their say regarding the lack of effort by the Government in implementing a cancer strategy.
The Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill, 2000 will be debated all afternoon.
I would be delighted if the matter was dealt with over a full afternoon. With so many Members wishing to speak, we should have adequate time.
In relation to waste management, I seek a debate with the Minister for the Environment and Local Government on the strategy for housing development. There are housing density guidelines, yet little reference is made to them in the development of towns, villages and smaller settlements. Sewerage is inadequate in many areas and there seems to be no planning or strategy for future development. This applies particularly in rural areas.
I support Senator Costello's suggestion that we mark the 40th anniversary of Amnesty International. If it cannot be done this week, I would like to see it done in the very near future. Amnesty International has made an important contribution to human rights throughout the world. Many who suffered torture and oppression had nowhere else to go and depended on Amnesty International to come to their aid. As Ireland has a vibrant Amnesty International section, it is right that the Seanad should mark its anniversary in some way.
The issue of the manufacture of soap containing mercury has again been raised in the media. Ms Mary Banotti, MEP, did considerable work on the matter some years ago. I did not know it was still manufactured in Ireland as it cannot be sold here. I ask the Tánaiste to come to the House to explain the reason this product is still manufactured in Arklow. It is wrong to sell it as it has serious neurological and kidney effects. There are also health and safety risks for workers at the manufacturer plant. It is now not even possible to buy mercury thermometers in Ireland, never mind manufacture a product containing mercury.
I welcome the opportunity to debate the situation in the Balkans in the context of the anniversary of Amnesty International. I would appreciate if the House could broaden the debate and take into account the punishment beatings that are becoming more common by the day in Northern Ireland and the violation of human rights there. When the Good Friday Agreement was signed, we were of the belief that communities could live and work together at a democratic and institutional level. I hope that will continue and strengthen. We need to have communities in Northern Ireland which can live together in a normal, healthy, civil society. If we can assist in the development of civil society and the eradication of punishment beatings and the conditions that give rise to them, it would be a good day's work for human rights on our island. I would like to see this included in any debate on the Balkans and human rights.
The Leader of the House will be happy to know that the Garda Commissioner now agrees with me about a matter raised at last week's Garda council. The Commissioner has acknowledged that while the required funding is in place, manpower is needed to deal with the escalating crime problem in the outer suburbs and inner city. I have been asking for this for three years and it is better late than never. I ask our esteemed Leader to arrange for the Minister to come to this House and tell us what he intends to do about these reinforcements, which are necessary to secure the safety and well-being of the communities in which we live.
The Government made a number of important decisions yesterday in Killarney.
They enjoyed it. The Senator looks very well.
While some of those decisions, especially those in regard to tourism, are very much welcomed a number of very important matters were overlooked. One of the decisions made concerned the local government Bill. I invite the Leader to comment on this. Reading today's newspapers it appears that it is merely a decision to reopen negotiations with parties outside of the Government. I do not suppose anyone knows the timetable. Maybe the Leader knows but, as Senator Manning has said, he has been treated shabbily as a conduit between this House and the Government.
Can we have a debate on the health services as soon as possible? The debate should focus on the fact that there are far too many managers and administrators and not enough nurses, doctors or consultants. One of my clients looked for an appointment with his consultant through me. He was told by the health board that he had missed his last three appointments. Those appointments had in fact been cancelled by the administrators and the man was never informed that he had them. It is symptomatic of the disgraceful condition of our health services that people are treated so badly and casually on such important issues.
Senator Manning last week asked for a debate on sport. When will that debate take place? I also ask for a debate on the issue of funding for the BMW region. A new report indicates that the highest unemployment figures are in the Border region.
I join with my colleagues in calling for a debate to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of Amnesty International. It is unfortunate that such a notable anniversary has been diminished somewhat by the nature of the advertising campaign which that organisation is currently running. It is ironic that an organisation which has for so long stood for the rights of the individual has demeaned itself by being involved in a very personalised advertising campaign.
I was not going to speak but Senator Burke gave me the opportunity. Yesterday's newspapers reported that Deputy Michael Noonan said that instead of building a national stadium Fine Gael would spend £500 million around the country and that part of this would be spent in such clapped out stadiums as Nowlan Park in Kilkenny and Páirc Uí Chaoimh. That was a gratuitous insult to various sports bodies, various Ministers, including former Fine Gael Ministers, and to the sports council who have spent a huge amount of money modernising both of these stadiums.
Senator Lanigan should stick to the Middle East.
If this is the type of work which Deputy Noonan is going to do he should at least visit some of the places that he is talking about. It was an insult to everyone involved in Nowlan Park.
Deputy Noonan was in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday and enjoyed every moment of it.
Senator Manning has called for additional time for speakers. I propose that 15 minutes be allocated to all contributors. It is intended that only the published amendments will be discussed next Thursday. It is also intended that the amendments to the political donations Bill will be published well in advance of the resumed Committee Stage debate, which will take place after next week's break.
Published when?
They have to be discussed with the Opposition parties. They will then be published well in advance of our return on 12 June.
Would it not be much better to take all the amendments together?
On Committee Stage next Thursday afternoon, we will only be discussing the amendments that have been published today.
That have been published today.
Correct.
Senators O'Toole and Quill inquired about the Government's position on areas of conflict and called for a debate with the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Senator Quinn requested a debate on Northern Ireland on which I have already given a commitment to hold a further debate. I will pass on the views of the Senators to the Minister and can arrange to make time available for a debate at the earliest opportunity.
Senators Costello, Ó Murchú and Glennon called for a debate to mark the 40th anniversary of Amnesty International, for which I will make time available. I agree with Senator Glennon's remarks about that organisation's current advertising campaign.
Senator Jackman requested a debate on housing development and the various action plans being put in place. I do not know the position with Limerick County Council, but Westmeath County Council has action plans for every town and village which are to be incorporated into the county development plan—
There is no infrastructure.
—and, as far as I am aware, that is the case in other council areas throughout the country. I accept, however, that such developments may not have reached as advanced a stage in certain council areas as they have in the area of responsibility of the council of which I am a member.
Senator Jackman also raised a number of points in relation to health. This afternoon we are taking the Report and Final Stages of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill and perhaps the Senator can deal with some of the points she raised – in which she is keenly interested – at that juncture.
I will communicate the views of Senator Henry to the relevant Minister and must inform Senator Ridge that I have agreed to have a debate on justice issues. Senator Coghlan looked very well yes terday in Killarney and I will pass on his views to the Taoiseach and the Government.
Senator O'Dowd also requested a debate on the health service and, like Senator Jackman, I advise him to participate in the debate on the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill this afternoon.
Senator Burke called for debates on sport and funding for the BMW region. I have agreed to make time available for both.
Order of Business agreed to.