The Order of Business is No. 1, motion re increase in membership of An Bord Pleanála to be referred to the Joint Committee on the Environmental and Local Government, to be taken without debate; No. 2, motion re powers of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, to be taken without debate; No. 3, motion re Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act, 1998, to be taken for one hour, with the contributions of spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and of all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, if time is available; No. 4, Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill, 2001 – Second Stage, with the contributions of spokespersons not to exceed 15 minutes and of all other Senators not to exceed ten minutes; No. 5, Company Law Enforcement Bill, 2000 – Second Stage, to be taken at 3 p.m., with the contributions of spokespersons not to exceed 15 minutes and of all other Senators not to exceed ten minutes; No. 6, Nítrigin Éireann Teoranta Bill, 2000 – Second Stage, with the contributions of spokespersons not to exceed 15 minutes and of all other Senators not to exceed ten minutes.
Order of Business.
Does the Acting Leader have information as to when the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Attorney Gen eral will publish their reports on the arms crisis? The Acting Leader will remember that I asked the Leader this question on two occasions last week and he will also remember that more than six or eight weeks ago the Leader promised that these reports would be debated in the House. There has been some slippage on the finalisation of these reports and the suspicion must be that the Minister and the Attorney General do not want them to appear before the Houses rise because they do not want them debated in these Houses. Can the Acting Leader clarify that matter for me?
On the question of the post-Nice fall-out, it will be a scandal if there is not a debate in this House before the recess on the implications of the referendum and on the way ahead. Even though our timetable looks full this week, the Acting Leader can read a parliamentary timetable better than most and if he scrutinises tomorrow's and Thursday's business he will see gaps where we could begin that discussion. Tomorrow we could debate motion No. 24 on this matter in the names of the Independent Senators. It does not go far enough but it would provide a framework to begin our discussion. I am aware that Senator O'Toole has other proposals to invite the Commissioner to address the House.
I have written to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges about a debate on that issue. Members will be aware of my view of Commissioner Solbes, which I have expressed on a number of occasions. I will return to this matter after the meeting of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.
I wish to raise two issues. Yesterday the Central Bank issued a statement calling for budgetary restraint. The House badly needs to know how the Minister for Finance intends to respond to that. It is anachronistic that with the economy facing a downturn the Central Bank should call for budgetary restraint when we should be investing more in the economy and in infrastructure, both for now and the future. There appears to be a conflict between the Central Bank and the Minister for Finance. I ask the Acting Leader to arrange, before the recess, for the Minister to come before the House to engage with us, not in a confrontational but in a discursive manner, and to explain his budgetary policy and how it fits in with the statements of the Central Bank and the European position.
The other issue I wish to raise has been raised with me numerous times in the past fortnight by school management authorities and parents. It is the extraordinary shortage of teachers at primary level, a shortage which has not been experienced for many decades in primary education. Some schools in the city area are working with a complement of staff less than half of whom are fully qualified. With schools and classes doubling up, it is an extraordinary problem. I do not wish to debate it now but I ask the Minister for Education and Science to recognise that desperate remedies are needed to deal with this situation. We must be flexible and creative in our approach to produce a large number of teachers in the primary sector where they are badly needed.
The Minister should come before the House and demonstrate an openness to suggestions. They might not be acceptable to everybody but we must meet this challenge without diluting the quality of teachers' qualifications. There is a huge problem and I am sure all Members of the House have been in contact with schools who cannot get teachers to fill vacancies. As a result, pupils are being taught by unqualified and untrained personnel.
I support the call for a debate on the Nice treaty. I have asked nearly every day for the Minister for Foreign Affairs to come before the House. Last week the European Union bandwagon came to this country and met all groups except the Parliament, despite our requests for a meeting. It is unsatisfactory that Parliament should be bypassed in this fashion. The Minister for Foreign Affairs must come to the House and explain the Government's thinking on this matter. He should also address the question of requests from this House to a Commissioner going unheeded. What is the response of the Department of Foreign Affairs to this? It is an insult to the House.
I seek a debate on Northern Ireland before the House goes into recess. Ideally, it should have taken place already. Next Sunday is the deadline for the resignation tendered by the First Minister to come into effect. We are facing a huge crisis both in terms of the collapse of the Good Friday Agreement and its institutions and the commencement of the marching season on 1 July, when the First Minister's resignation comes into force. It would be worthwhile to have a debate on the matter, particularly given the escalating violence in Northern Ireland.
The other debate I seek also relates to violence, but to violence on the sports field. Everybody saw the extraordinary match where a sportsman was assaulted on 11 different occasions by the same person. This went on under the full glare of the cameras in the presence of 40,000 people, yet there has been no charge of assault. That is international sports. If somebody can assault another person on the field of play, it is a terrible example to our young people. One cannot do such a thing on the street. The message coming across from that is a bad one. I want the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Deputy McDaid, to come into the House and explain the Government's position on this matter. I did not hear a word from the Government on it, even though an Irish citizen was seriously assaulted.
I support Senator O'Toole's call to make the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Woods, aware of the shortage of teachers and the fact that there are not suitable candidates coming on stream in education for the future.
There is another issue which is important to me and which I want to bring to the attention of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform as well as the Minister for the Environment and Local Government. It has to do with the legislation we enacted some time ago dealing with the problem of Travellers. The legislation is not working and that is why I am a little concerned. Sections of it indicate that the local authorities should be able to move the Travellers on from areas within the one mile limit. However, it seems there is a question regarding the role of the Garda in this regard, whether they have the power to intrude in open spaces to deal with this. I do not know where to go.
We cannot debate the detail or implementation of this legislation on the Order of Business. Do you have a question or request for the Leader of the House?
I want to make the Minister aware that there is a problem.
There are other ways of making the Minister aware of this problem than on the Order of Business.
It needs to be said in this Chamber because the Garda's lack of power in dealing with the problem is becoming an important issue.
I want to comment on what I see as the bad ordering of business in this House. There are six significant items being taken today, three motions and three Bills. I am supposed to be the Whip of the Independent group and I was not consulted about any of this business. We were promised last week a list and a timetable up to the dissolution. We have not received it. Therefore I move amendment No. 1 to the Order of Business, that we take item No. 22, motion 24, before No. 1.
It seems that Members on both sides of the House are interested in this issue. It is a clear and specific motion which relates to the queries raised by other Members of the House. It requests the Minister for Foreign Affairs to give an account of his discussions with his colleagues in Europe and the fall-out from the rejection of the Nice treaty in its original form by the Irish people.
I do this for one specific reason. Over the weekend I was contacted by the office of Mrs. Dana Rosemary Scallon. Her aide indicated to me that they had attempted to get a meeting for the Members of the Oireachtas with the President of the Commission and his office in Dublin had said that they specifically did not want such a meeting to take place. That is an extraordinary way to treat elected Members of a national Parliament and we are entitled to an explanation why the repeated calls from my colleagues, Senator O'Toole, Senator Ross and several others, have been ignored by the President of the Commission.
These are points which can be made in the debate on your motion, but Senator O'Toole has also indicated that he has raised this matter or written to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges on the matter. It will be debated at Committee on Procedure and Privileges and I am sure it will come back to the House for further debate. You have made the point.
I am anxious to get an explanation for this insult to the elected representatives, as I understand it. If what was said to me clearly on the telephone is true, we are entitled to an explanation. I do not want to prejudge the issue but my informant was quite clear and specific about the attitude of the Commission's office here. It is something with which we need to deal as a matter of urgency.
I want to preface my remarks by saying that I do not support Senator Norris's proposal for an amendment to the Order of Business but I do support Senator Manning's call in the initial response to the Order of Business for a debate on the consequences of the rejection of the Treaty of Nice. As you will be aware, a Chathaoirligh, I raised this issue a couple of weeks ago in the immediate aftermath of the referendum and I asked that there would be a structured series of debates because of the complexities involved and the fact that there is a need to have more than one debate. While I welcome Senator Manning's initiative, will the Acting Leader indicate if the Whips will discuss a structure for a series of debates specific to the Treaty of Nice in the context of the Taoiseach's proposal for the establishment of a forum for Europe? I hope civil society will become involved in the forum and that it will disabuse the concern by the "No" side that they will be excluded from what will be a democratic process.
I support Senator Manning's call for a debate on the Nice treaty. Will the Acting Leader bring to the attention of the Minister for Health and Children the fact that each year 60 women die from cervical cancer, the most preventable of all cancers? We were promised that a national programme for cervical screening would be established in 1999 but progress is slow. There is a ten week waiting time for the results of screening, which is a cause of enormous anxiety to women. The Minister must, as a matter of urgency, put the necessary resources into ensuring that the national screening programme is in place and that there is a speedier processing of test results.
Will the Acting Leader ask the Minister responsible for motor insurance to attend the House to debate the high cost of insurance, especially for young drivers? Many of them are unable to afford it and those who can often have great difficulty making their payments.
I support Senator Norris's call for a debate on No. 22, motion 24. Will the Acting Leader organise a debate on the situation in the acute hospitals before the recess? Senator O'Toole said there is a dire situation in the schools but it is much worse in the hospitals. The House will be aware that a woman who has been refused treatment for cancer for five months recently took her case to the courts to try to get treatment. That is not an isolated case. It is extraordinary that people with curable cancer must go to such lengths to get treatment. It will be seriously remiss of us if we show no concern about the appalling situation in the acute hospitals before the recess.
I support Senator O'Toole's request for a debate on the call by the Central Bank for budgetary constraint. Some economists are forecasting that there may be budget deficits within a period of four to five years. It therefore behoves us to be prudent and to take note of what is being said. While the Minister for Health and Children has allocated extra funding of £2 billion to health, there is a suspicion that much of it has been diverted to wages and salaries with the result that the customers have not benefited. There is a need for a debate on this.
I also support Senator Ormonde's call to reconsider the legislation on Travellers' accommodation. The indiscriminate parking of caravans in many areas is leading to widespread public agitation. The disregard for the settled community creates great difficulty in addressing the issue of much needed accommodation for Travellers.
I will do my best to answer all the questions, but I am only an apprentice in this job.
A sorcerer's apprentice.
I hope I have taken note of all the points raised and I will try to give a reasonable and fair response. Senator Manning raised the completion of the investigation regarding the Arms Trial. I am reliably informed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that it is nearing completion. The results may be already with the Attorney General and it is hoped that they will be before the Houses of the Oireachtas before the summer recess. That may not be possible and I suggest the position is reviewed and updated at the end of the week. However, that is the information available to me at present.
A number of Senators sought a debate on the aftermath of the Nice referendum. Such a debate would be welcomed by all sides if it was possible to make time available for it between now and the recess. I will bring the Members' views to the attention of the appropriate Minister and I will revert to the House on the matter. This issue is linked to an amendment to the Order of Business moved by Senator Norris and also the matter on which Senator O'Toole has written to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. It is advisable to refer that matter to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.
Mr. Prodi and Mr. Solbes should have agreed to a request to meet Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas last week. However, I wonder if the request was made in strong terms through the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Senator Norris's disagreeing with the Order of Business today will not change my mind on the matter. I will do my best in relation to it and if some items of legislation are finalised today by agreement, it might create some elbow room for a debate on these matters in the House tomorrow or later in the week.
Senator O'Toole and others, including Senator Walsh, referred to the restraints the Central Bank wants the Minister for Finance to impose in the context of the budget.
It was brainwashed by the Europeans last week.
We should listen to the Central Bank. but the budgets introduced by the Minister, Deputy McCreevy, over the past four years have not been wrong for the people. While I cannot make a decision now, I will bring the matter to the Minister's attention and ask him if it is possible to come to the House before the recess. However, as the Cathaoirleach repeatedly points out, many of the issues raised by Senators should be submitted as matters on the Adjournment and other appropriate debates. I watched with interest over the past month and there were a number of days when no matters on the Adjournment were tabled. Members on both sides should avail of such debates to highlight issues.
I agree with Senator Costello's condemnation of what happened to Ronan O'Gara on the rugby field and I thank the Senator for bringing the matter to the notice of the House. I merely saw a clip of the incident on the television news and I was disappointed to learn that the man who committed the assault was suspended for only seven weeks. A person guilty of a similar assault on the street might spend a number of years in jail. My party and I condemn the assault and the manner in which it was dealt with by the rugby authorities.
Senators O'Toole and Ormonde raised the question of the shortage of teachers in the House. I did not mean to say "the House"– there are enough teachers in the House.
We need to make sure to return the same number.
The Senators raised the shortage of teachers. I will bring the matter to the notice of the Minister and it will be debated if there is time. It is my intention, during the next couple of days, to discuss with the Opposition Whips the matters which should be given priority during the last weeks of the session.
Cancer, in all its forms, is a dreadful disease. I am sorry if what Senators Keogh and Henry say is true, that there are deficiencies in the system and people are not being dealt with. I have had a number of letters with regard to services in the Kerry region and I will bring the matter to the notice of the Minister. I know much is being done and that both sides of the House appreciate that this is happening. However, it appears that it is not enough.
The question of motor insurance is a hardy annual. I was under the impression that ending the practice of juries deciding the amount of awards would bring about a reduction in the cost of motor insurance. This has not happened and it is becoming harder for young drivers to pay for motor insurance. A premium of £2,000 is not unusual for a young driver. If there is time for a debate on this question I will arrange for that.
Northern Ireland should be a priority for debate before the end of the session. It would be a pity if the great work which has been done in the past three or four years should come to nothing. It is not beyond the powers of politicians to argue and resolve their differences across a table. The violence on the streets of Northern Ireland in recent weeks is hard to comprehend, given the years of peace we have enjoyed. Surely the people of Northern Ireland realise that the only way forward is through peace. I appeal to all public representatives in Northern Ireland to make every effort to resume talks and to get down to running the country. To the people who are causing the violence I say it is time to call a halt now.
There seem to be ongoing problems with the Traveller community. No matter how many halting sites are being provided and how many of their demands are being met, I notice regularly on my drive home where Travellers are pulled in to the side of the road. There is one group in Limerick who brought in a JCB to make a site for themselves at the side of the road. They have been there for about two or three months. If any of us did that we would be moved on in a matter of days. We should revisit this issue and see what powers the Garda can exercise.
It is not easy for the Travellers to find a place but I was under the impression that most towns now have halting sites and these should be utilised. It is my belief that those people we are talking about are coming from England during the summertime. They seem to drive very fancy cars and jeeps and have good caravans. I will try to facilitate Senator Norris's request over the next few days.
Senator Norris has moved an amendment to the Order of Business, that item 22, motion 24, be taken before item 1. Is the amendment being pressed?
The Acting Leader has made a very reasonable statement to the House on this matter. I will not push it to a vote today but I am serving notice that I will do so tomorrow if we do not have concrete news.