The Order of Business is No. 1, Freedom of Information Bill 2013 – Second Stage, to be taken at 11.45 a.m., with the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed six minutes.
Order of Business
First, I express the appreciation of this side of the House for - I am sure all sides of the House will support the good wishes to - Mr. David Begg, the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, who has announced his retirement, to take effect next March. I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Begg when he was an active member of the Forum on Europe. He will be well known because of the excellent work he did as chief executive officer of Concern before taking over his current job. I wish him well in his retirement, as he has made an enormous contribution to trade unionism and to other areas of life. He pointed out something on which the Leader might comment, which is that 48 trade unions represent 800,000 workers, which he believes to be too widely structured. It is under-resourced and open to dissent. There certainly is a message in this regard that perhaps could be addressed. I am unsure whether the Government has a role in this regard but 48 unions representing 800,000 workers appears to be somewhat excessive.
I call on the Minister for Education and Skills to come to the House to discuss the junior certificate reform proposals that have caused enormous dissent and controversy among the teaching profession. The TUI is balloting on whether it should take strike action in this regard and these proposals have been met with stiff resistance by the teaching unions. The other two unions have today called on the Minister to abolish her predecessor's proposals. On foot of the discussions I have had with members of the teaching profession in my native town of Drumshanbo and in County Leitrim in general, I certainly support that view. I call on the Minister for Education and Skills to come before the House today to clarify her position regarding the junior certificate and how she will respond to the trade union movement. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business calling on her to come to the House today.
I commend the Government for its decision to announce the by-elections and to have moved the writs for them in the other House yesterday. While I commend it, that is as far as I will go in so doing because this will give an opportunity to the voters of Roscommon-South Leitrim and Dublin South-West to respond to the Government's actions in a wide range of areas. It is a Government of broken promises that has introduced political spin to a degree far greater than any previous Administration and which has imposed punitive taxes on people, particularly water charges. This is of particular interest in Roscommon-South Leitrim where approximately 21,000 families are unable to access fresh water that is clear and healthy. They now will be expected to pay this iniquitous water charge. Later today in the other House, Government Deputies will troop into the lobbies to oppose a motion tabled by my colleague, Deputy Barry Cowen, calling for an exemption for the aforementioned 21,000 families and other families nationwide who, because of the manner in which water has been regulated, are unable to access clean, fresh and healthy water. However, they will be expected to pay this punitive tax.
Members also have learned there is no clarity surrounding those who will be able to have a medical exemption. Why has the Government, not for the first time, introduced laws, only to be obliged to come back months later to figure out precisely how it will implement them? This should have been done months ago. The Government should have been able to explain to people months ago, particularly those with a medical condition, how much they will be obliged to pay. Irish Water has stated that it will rely on the honesty of citizens and is not even going to ask them for medical evidence. Consequently, real issues arise that affect people in Roscommon-South Leitrim. In addition, in the constituency of Dublin South-West, taxes have been imposed and there have been reductions by the Department of Social Protection that have affected lone-parent families and those who are most vulnerable in society who live in the Tallaght and south-west Dublin area.
I ask the Government to get its act together. All one has heard in recent months is spin about the economy recovering. The Government should tell that to the people of Tallaght and Roscommon-South Leitrim as a two-tier recovery is under way. While one part of the country is gaining a little, where I come from, down in the midlands and the west, there certainly is nothing other than people saying the Government has neglected rural Ireland and could not care less about it. The people will decide on 10 October and I hope they decide in favour of non-government candidates. Fianna Fáil has two excellent candidates in those constituencies, namely, John Lahart in Dublin South-West and Ivan Connaughton in Roscommon-South Leitrim. I hope to see them as Deputies in the Oireachtas after 10 October, which would be a response to this iniquitous Government.
This is a huge day for the people of Scotland as they go to the polls to decide their future. It has been extraordinary to watch the level of engagement and debates in that country as they have gone about their business. I wish, on behalf of my Labour Party colleagues, to state we wish the people of Scotland good fortune in their future, whatever decision is taken today. I am sure it will feel like a very long day for very many people.
I remind Senator Paschal Mooney that if my recollection is correct, water charges were part of the troika imposition. I also seem to recall there was a flat rate of €400 that would have been put in place.
There was not. They were not in the Labour Party manifesto; that is for certain.
I am sorry-----
Senator Susan O'Keeffe to continue, without interruption.
I am not talking about the Labour Party manifesto here but about the reality of what happened.
As for the recovery, I do not believe it is a spin. While I believe some people clearly have not benefited, at least the recovery, which is slow, is making progress. Ultimately, the Government hopes and is driving for that recovery to benefit everybody, as Senator Paschal Mooney knows well. I was not sure that on the floor of the Seanad, one could be promoting one's own colleagues who are standing in a local election-----
Why not?
Members will all have the time for Senator John Kelly.
For God's sake.
I did not think it was an appropriate place to do that. It was not my understanding of what the business of the Seanad was about.
Will the Senator not promote the Labour Party candidate in Roscommon-South Leitrim?
Please, Senator, allow Senator Susan O'Keeffe to continue, without interruption.
I will be very happy to campaign in the appropriate places in counties Leitrim and Roscommon but not on the floor of the Seanad.
Why is it not appropriate?
I did not think it was appropriate. Perhaps I am wrong.
Senator Susan O'Keeffe to continue, without interruption.
I would like to raise the serious matter of the special investigations unit of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I have spent some time examining this issue and there have been some disturbing reports about evidence being planted, hiding evidence, bullying, heavy-handedness and forged documentation. There appears to be a pattern over a number of years in respect of the activities of the special investigations unit within the aforementioned Department. Like many people, including the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I believe it is important to do everything that can be done to ensure a healthy and prosperous food industry in Ireland, as well as for the protection of farmers and the payments made to them. However, the idea that a unit may end up planting evidence in people's homes and forging documents is extremely serious.
We now see reports relating to an unpublished report within the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine which, strangely, took the opportunity to find ways to offer some criticism of a judge who offered observations about the special investigations unit in a court case last year. A document which has not been published and which was written by the Department suggests the judge's remarks may have been influenced by an unsubstantiated allegation or that perhaps if the prosecution counsel had been able to explain and clarify the circumstances, the judge might have said differently. I find it very disturbing that the Department's officials are suggesting privately that a judge in the judicial system is somehow not behaving as she ought to. This is a very serious matter and it is as serious as the other matters relating to the special investigations unit. Will the Leader ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to come to the House to give an explanation and tell us what has been happening with the special investigations unit, which seems to be turning into some kind of private hit squad, and I do not say that lightly? There are very serious matters going on behind the scenes and, as I said, in the interests of farmers and of our very valuable industry, the Minister could do well by coming to the House to help explain what has been happening, in particular in regard to this unpublished report which is a very serious departure for the Department.
Before I call Senator David Norris, I welcome some German visitors, Nina, Belke and Thomas Gumprecht from Erlangen in Germany, to the Visitors Gallery.
Yesterday, our colleague, Senator Katherine Zappone, welcomed the fact that she believed the Government would introduce what she described as reform of the university seats. That reform will expand the constituency to 850,000 voters. Once one takes into account the fact that the Senator was appointed and did not have to face an election, it is easy to be airy-fairy about other people's elections. I put that in contrast with the fact that next week, there will be a by-election in which the total poll will be less than 250 votes and the Taoiseach is doing nothing about that.
I commend Mr. John Bruton for his analysis of the 1916 Rising. The Redmondite tradition is a very honourable one and should be commended. It is the main tradition of nationalism in this country, going back to the great figure of Daniel O'Connell, Parnell and Redmond, of non-violence. I think of this particularly because we should, in this House and as a Parliament, note the fact that today is the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Home Rule Bill in Westminster, which was a very significant achievement. I know the leaders of 1916 were shot and that was a great political mistake and a great human one but that was in the middle of a war and the government felt it was being shot in the back. One should put it in the context of the time. I was part of the Shot at Dawn Campaign which tried to look after the interests of 16 year old kids who were shell shocked and then shot because, in their state of nervous paralysis, they did not take their cap off in the presence of an officer. That is the kind of context in which this took place. If one looks at what happened in 1916, I believe Yeats was correct in his first impression of some of these people when he said that they were vainglorious. They were. They were afraid that history would write them out. They were seen by the British as traitors to the Empire but they were traitors to their own cause because Eoin MacNeill, the commander-in-chief, had cancelled the Rising, yet they ignored this. I have read Claíomh Solais by Pádraig Pearse and all the racist pap in it about the Gaul and the Gael and all this kind of stuff. His father was an English Protestant. Cathal Brugha was Charlie Burgess and Éamonn Ceant was Edward Kent. It is really ridiculous. In the Proclamation which contains some good things, when they referred to our gallant allies in Europe, they were actually talking about the Kaiser and his armies which trampled over little Catholic Belgium and engaged in war crimes. I think it is no harm for us to put these matters in context and to re-establish the central, democratic and parliamentary tradition in which this House from the days of Grattan through to O'Connell through to Parnell and through to Redmond should be prepared to celebrate and honour.
When will the Forestry Bill be brought before the Seanad? It is very important legislation which has huge potential for the development of rural Ireland, in particular our indigenous industries, which form the backbone of the economy.
I refer to The Irish Times report that the Euro Diabetes Index 2014 ranks Ireland 20th out of 30th countries, ahead only of countries in eastern and southern Europe. In other words, we have the worst diabetes care in western European. Despite shadowing the United Kingdom in many health indices, in this survey, Ireland is far behind it in this particular health matter. The director of the index, Dr. Beatriz Cebolla, notes that we have a huge public health problem in that we, as a population, are obese and sedentary. She notes that we have very good services in terms of the supply of equipment for monitoring and treating diabetes and in educational matters but no reliable data on the health complications for such patients, such as blood sugar levels and eye and foot conditions. She makes a number of recommendations, including addressing obesity, exercise and nutrition in schools, which I consider an excellent idea. Will the Leader request the new Minister for Education and Skills rather than the Minister for Health to come to the House to discuss the inclusion of such matters on the curriculum?
I seek a debate on the introduction of water charges. It is obvious from the summer months that the public will be asked to pay more for water than was previously anticipated and that the annual charge will be greater than what was presented by the Minister when we had very lengthy debates in this House on the water services legislation. The way the Government has gone about this is also very undemocratic because in a very clever way from its perspective, although I think it will backfire on it, it has given responsibility for setting the charges over to the Commission for Energy Regulation, thereby allowing Fine Gael and the Labour Party to wash their hands of the charge and the rate. I do not think it will wash with the people or the electorate.
It is also interesting at a time when we are hearing from the Government that we may have some wriggle room in the budget to support low and middle income families, it is planning to dip into their already empty pockets to charge them for water, which we know is one of the most necessary resources people need. That is on the back of the huge level of investment going into water meters which would be better spent on fixing the leaks in the system rather than putting what I would characterise as Government cash registers outside people's homes, which is what these water meters will be.
It is important that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government comes to the House to spell out exactly what is happening because we have not had that since the Commission for Energy Regulation has been given the responsibility to set the water charge. Members of the Oireachtas, both in the Dáil and the Seanad, should be allowed to have a discussion with the Minister on this important issue because obviously people throughout the State are getting packs and they have a large number of questions, even around the logistics and modalities of it, which need to be addressed also. Whatever about the charge, people have many other issues and concerns. I respectfully ask the Leader to arrange such a debate as soon as possible.
We have seen further evidence today, with the publication of the Private Residential Tenancies Board rent index, that rents in this country are rising, in particular in the Dublin area. There is evidence that rent increases of 10% have occurred between June of this year and June of last year. That is an underestimate of the level of rent increases and I know that Threshold, for example, has noticed that 20%, 30% and 40% rent increases regularly occur. As the PRTB pointed out, the reality is that these rents represent 41% of the income of the tenants registered with it.
It is not sustainable to have people pay such an amount to put a roof over their heads.
Renting is no longer a minor or marginal form of tenure consisting of students and people moving towards home ownership. One in five people nationally rent, with Dublin and Galway recording even higher figures of one in four and one in three, respectively. Ireland's rate of home ownership has gone from one of the highest to one of the lowest in Europe. Perhaps the Opposition might reflect on this fact before the forthcoming election.
I call on the Leader to arrange a debate on the possibility of introducing a rent certainty model. Families need to know from one end of the year to the next that their children will be able to continue to attend the same school and they will not be faced with rent increases of 20% or 30%. From personal experience, I am aware that people are losing their homes daily as a result of rent increases. It is time we got serious about this issue and I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to the House for a debate on it.
I wish our friends in Scotland the best of luck in their fight for independence from Britain. Even if they are defeated, things will never be the same again. Scottish independence would be wonderful for Ireland and would bring a united Ireland faster down the track. I am a passionate believer in achieving a united Ireland by peaceful means.
I listened to Senator David Norris speak blithely of the heroes of the 1916 Rising. I take serious issue with the views of the Senator and those of the former Taoiseach, Mr. John Bruton, who described the day Prince Charles visited Ireland as the happiest day of his life. Most of those present were reared on stories of Padraig Pearse and his comrades who fought for independence after 800 years of domination by Britain. Whereas the Scots were included in the development of the British empire from the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Irish people were suppressed and not given a chance to be successful. In 2016, we will celebrate the Easter Rising and the freedom achieved by those brave people who fought on these streets.
Two days ago I listened to a radio recording of Mrs. Thomas Clarke in which she described Eoin MacNeill as a traitor for trying to call off the Rising.
The Senator is entitled to her opinion.
I have a problem with the revisionists who praise Redmond. We would have got home rule my eye; there is absolutely no way we would have got it.
The Senator is very wise about events that took place 100 years ago.
The Senator must be allowed to conclude without interruption.
The greatest honour of my political life was to be asked to give the oration commemorating Tom Barry's final battle with the British army in County Cork. It is fascinating to note that Tom Barry would not have led that successful ambush if he had not fought in the First World War and learned battle tactics in Mesopotamia, as Iraq was known at the time.
My colleagues and I in the Fianna Fáil Party look forward to the celebration of the 1916 Rising. I am privileged to have been nominated by party leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, to serve on the committee on commemorations established by the Taoiseach. We will continue to take on the revisionist and derogatory comments that are made about people who laid down their lives with bravery and without fear. I assure Senators that Fianna Fáil is the true republican party.
The Senator is testing my indulgence.
The Seanad has frequently discussed illegal activity, including smuggling and diesel laundering. A new and sinister activity known as petrol stretching which involves the mixing of kerosine with petrol is reaching epidemic proportions in western and Border counties. This fuel is causing severe damage to vehicles, imposing significant financial burdens on people and putting livelihoods at risk. A question arises as to who is liable in the event of a vehicle being severely damaged. Is it the owner of the petrol station or the supplier of the illegal fuel? In some cases, insurance companies are not accepting liability, which is a major issue. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate with the Minister for Justice and Equality on identifying what can be done to curb this activity as it is costing many people a great deal of money.
A system of quality assurance for fuels, including an inspection regime, is required to provide customers on garage forecourts the certainty that the fuel they are purchasing is good and has not been interfered with. This sinister activity must be nipped in the bud before it spreads further. I understand 350 people attended a public meeting to highlight the issue in Swinford, County Mayo. I call on the Ministers for Justice and Equality and Environment, Community and Local Government to take the matter in hand as a matter of urgency by putting the people involved in the activity out of business. While diesel laundering has been addressed with considerable success, this new practice will cause even greater damage to many people.
The Taoiseach will today address the OECD report published this week on base erosion through profit shifting, BEPS, and corporate tax. A Government press release indicates the Taoiseach will defend the 12.5% corporation tax rate, which is very valuable to the country. I support his position in that regard and his view that Ireland is not a brass plate location. However, the important part of the draft speech is the Taoiseach's view that, as international tax loopholes are closed, our low corporation tax rate will become even more attractive and offer a great opportunity. Ireland should fully participate in any moves by the OECD and United States against the international tax lawyer and tax accountant loophole industry. We have a 12.5% corporation tax rate and it is incumbent on companies that they pay it. The tax base must not be eroded for the many reasons outlined by Senator David Cullinane and others. We need tax revenues.
Our industrial policy must be refocused on competitiveness, better sheltered sector services, better value for pubic expenditure and the better policies the House is dedicated to achieving. I ask that the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, come before the House to discuss the implications of the BEPS report and the Taoiseach's address for honing a better industrial policy, while retaining the 12.5% corporation tax rate.
It is expected that the United States Senate will vote this evening to approve the appointment of a new ambassador to Ireland, Mr. Kevin O'Malley, whom the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has already unanimously endorsed. The appointment of an American ambassador emphasises yet again the strong investment, cultural, tourism and demographic links between the United States and Ireland. Mr. O'Malley is a man of great distinction and the 40 million Americans of Irish extraction will welcome his appointment. We should look forward to welcoming the new ambassador to the House, especially as we have been without an American ambassador since December 2012.
I commend the new Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar, for the manner in which he has approached his remit and brief and being so forthright and forthcoming. I ask him, at the earliest opportunity and possibly in the Seanad, to nip in the bud certain terrible speculation, rumour and gossip that are swirling around in the public domain.
This arises because of the publication of so-called secret and confidential HSE reports. There are rumours the accident and emergency departments in Clonmel, Portlaoise and Naas will be closed. It seems that if somebody had his or her way, there would not be an accident and emergency department between Dublin and Cork.
Welcome to the real world. It is the world of the Government.
Senator John Whelan to continue, without interruption.
Senator John Crown is an expert in the area of health services provision and he points out that one cannot expect to double performance and productivity in hospitals while reducing staffing and resources. Portlaoise hospital was neglected, under-resourced and underfunded for years when it played second fiddle to other facilities because of the interference of a then Minister who has held the health and finance portfolios. Today, we hear of a further so-called "secret" report from the HSE and I ask the Minister for Health to publish such reports so we can have sight of what is being suggested. This would nip in the bud the suggestion that this is any part of Government policy. The idea of downgrading and reducing to office hours the accident and emergency facility in Portlaoise is absurd and unsafe in the extreme. Nevertheless, the speculation around these reports - so-called confidential documents we have not seen - leads to terrible distress and torment for the public, patients and staff at the hospital. It is also unnecessarily undermining public trust and confidence in service delivery at the hospital. It is necessary for the Minister - consistent with form - to issue an unequivocal statement affirming the Government's commitment to the status, service, staffing and resourcing of Portlaoise general hospital.
Do not believe Government promises. Look at what it promised in Roscommon and it got rid of the accident and emergency department.
There are better facilities than ever.
I agree with Senator Paschal Mooney in welcoming the moving of writs for the by-elections in Roscommon-South Leitrim and Dublin South West. I wish candidates, particularly the Fianna Fáil candidates of Mr. Ivan Connaughton and Mr. John Lahart, every success. This is the opportunity for payback to the Government.
I thought there would be a Leyden on the ticket.
We were given promises in the last general election that were broken. Promises were given by the Taoiseach and the then Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, that the round-the-clock services at Roscommon's accident and emergency department would be retained but instead it was closed. The people of Roscommon had an opportunity to show an opinion in the local elections, with Fine Gael losing approximately seven seats. Now it is payback time and on 10 October, the people of Roscommon-South Leitrim will come out and I hope they will vote for an anti-Government candidate.
It is a shame there is no Leyden on the ticket.
The best anti-Government candidates are Mr. Connaughton and Mr. Lahart, who represent the Fianna Fáil Party. There will be a great opportunity for the people to have their say at this point. I hope the numbers will emerge.
The Senator should listen to Councillor Mary Hanafin.
We are getting a wonderful response on the doorsteps. The Fine Gael candidate in Roscommon-South Leitrim promised there would be no water charges for anybody who had to boil water for more than three months. That is a lie.
It is drinking water.
It is untrue.
Do not distort the facts.
That statement has been taken down from the Fine Gael website. This will be a great opportunity and we all look forward to 10 October. It will be the start of the fightback and the beginning of the evolution in Fianna Fáil in finding its way back to government. Our ambition is to be in government in 2016.
I have many relations in bonny Scotland. I wish the Scots every success, whatever decision is made. It is 100 years since Ireland was given the Home Rule Bill which became obsolete. The Scots have an opportunity today and I hope they make a wise decision. We look forward to working with them in unity and partnership in Europe and the world. Scotland and Ireland can be united in business and ideological background.
If we had less of the political broadcasting, it might be helpful to the Order of Business.
I understand why Senator Paschal Mooney advertised his two candidates, aided by Senator Terry Leyden. Mary Hanafin probably does not know who they are.
Who is that?
The Senator would like to forget his former Cabinet colleagues.
This is the first opportunity to replace the two elected members of the European Parliament. By-elections, by law, must be held within six months of a vacancy arising, so this is normal business. I smiled when the Senator mentioned water charges, with his tongue planted firmly in cheek. He knows well that there are alleviating measures for medical and other reasons, an appeals system and a regulator will decide on certain matters. We should allow the process to continue.
One should remember that this Government inherited an appalling mess, as the Senator knows. It is the same Civil Service used by the former Government and it is well aware - as we all are - of what the former Government set in train and signed up to.
The Civil Service is telling the Government what to do.
This Government is not reneging on anything and it is acting properly. As has been said, the recovery is under way. Although it may be slow, it is sure. It is better that we are going in that direction when we consider from where we have come.
On a point of order, there are 21,000 people in Roscommon who cannot use water.
That is not a point of order.
The Government has failed to address that issue.
I have given the Senator much latitude and that is not a point of order.
The Government is voting today on a Fianna Fáil motion and it will reject the notion of giving an exemption to those 21,000 people and others who must use boiled water. That is not a good-----
It is not a point of order.
There is no clarity around the medical exemptions.
I have given the Senator much latitude. He should resume his seat.
There is no clarity.
The Senator should not get so rattled.
I am sorry to interrupt the combined history lesson and party political broadcast we have seen this morning. I will make a happy announcement to the House. In San Francisco two days ago, Dr. Pierre Thirion, acting on behalf of the Ireland Co-operative Clinical Oncology Research Group, presented a paper selected for the very top presentation at the American Society for Radiation Oncology, ASTRO, conference. It is the leading meeting in the world for radiation therapy of cancer and thousands of papers are submitted every year, with a few accepted for presentation and a handful being accepted for what is called the plenary presentation. It has been described as "the Oscars" of radiation oncology research. Dr. Thirion did a study conducted entirely in Ireland and it was led, designed and run here by Irish doctors. I pay tribute to them for this extraordinary achievement in putting cancer research in this country on such an important stage.
The principle which underlies socialised health care is the notion that people will be looked after from the cradle to the grave, with appropriate access to health care based on need and not ability to pay throughout the long trajectory of a normal life. Sadly, in the past week, we have seen evidence that we are getting it systematically wrong at the extremes of life. I do not wish to personalise the issue to a particular hospital, as the fault is not with a hospital but rather the system in general. However, patients in Galway hospital receiving terminal care at the very end of their lives were forced to receive this in circumstances that were less than private and dignified. No fault can really be attached to any of the nurses or doctors involved but it underlines a gross underprovision of required services. That is not specific to the Government or the current or previous Minister, but it is instead related to a creaking system in need of reform. It has required such reform for the 21 years I have been in the country, when it has been obvious that we needed to carry it out.
There is a similar issue at the beginning of life. During the week we heard reports of some sequelae of both the obstetric tragedy which occurred in Galway several years ago and also of problems in another hospital. I cannot make the point strongly enough that we have a grotesquely small number of specialists in obstetrics per head of population and we are way off the bottom of the European charts, despite having one of the highest birth rates in Europe. This cannot continue. All of the committees, bodies like HIQA, care pathways, guidelines and disciplinary hearings which occur afterwards will not fix this problem.
It must, therefore, be fixed prospectively. It is not just a question of plugging in an extra couple of hands here or there; it is a question of reforming the system. I feel I have been defrauded because I backed the Government parties when they were in opposition and came forward with plans to reform the health system based on insurance, which was one of the five key points of their reform policy. I want the Government to tell us its plan for implementing it because all of the mood music we have been getting both from the previous Minister, who said it would be implemented in a subsequent period of government, and from the current Minister, who is now effectively saying the advice of his officials is that it may never be implementable, is very confusing. I urge that we have clarity on this issue and believe we need a specific debate in this House - not a broad ramble about the health service, but one in which the Minister comes in to us to tell us exactly what happened to the plan; what were the criteria that were not met that made Fine Gael decide it was no longer implementable; what it will do in future; and if it is not to proceed, what is its alternative vision for the health service.
I have just noted the queues at polling stations in Scotland. The last time we saw queues at polling stations was in South Africa when Nelson Mandela became president. I believe it will be an historic day one way or another. It is actually quite exciting and whether they vote "Yes" or "No" it will be momentous.
We have discussed at length various views on commemorations and history, and what happened and what did not happen. It is good to have such a discussion and hear the various viewpoints on history. That is an important role for the Seanad. In that regard it would be appropriate to invite the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, for a debate on commemorations. We will have a very interesting period in the next couple of years. I hope young people will become engaged in history because unfortunately there has been a significant disengagement of young people studying history in school in the past decade. It is very worrying that many schools are now dropping history altogether as a subject for the leaving certificate. I am even more concerned to hear of discussions to drop history in some schools for the junior certificate. I believe history should be a compulsory subject at least at junior certificate level. We need to have a debate on the teaching of history. I recently took part in a panel discussion at a television station with a number of historians, all of whom are concerned at the teaching of history at second level.
It is important to note that tomorrow night is culture night and that this House will be open to the people to come in, study the history and appreciate the culture that exists in the House of Parliament. I pay tribute to the Clerks and the staff at Leinster House who will be working here tomorrow night, opening up the people's House to the people. Culture night is a wonderful evening which has been very successful in recent years. I encourage all my colleagues in their respective constituencies to attend some of the cultural events. Part of our strength as a country is our culture and tradition which we should promote, encourage and foster. Tomorrow night is an example of what is positive and good about Ireland.
I second Senator Paschal Mooney's amendment to the Order of Business. I join him in commending David Begg who has announced his imminent retirement. As a Senator on the Labour Panel, I have had considerable dealings with him. He has played a major role in industrial relations in this country. He was always a voice of reason and one of the main movers in the huge positive contribution that the Irish Congress of Trade Unions made towards helping to resolve the serious economic crisis of recent years.
The famous Chinese diplomat, Zhou Enlai, was once asked if he felt the French Revolution had been a success and he responded that it was too early to say. I wish that Senator David Norris had taken some stock of this before he with his usual gusto drove a coach and four through the whole history of 1916 and came out with what to me seems a shocking statement that the leaders of 1916 were traitors. That is absolutely indefensible. Whereas I fully agree with his point that John Redmond deserves to be commemorated and was a decent, honourable and fine Irish politician in the tradition of Parnell, O'Connell and Grattan, to try to have revision on that at the expense of the leaders of 1916 is a non-starter.
It must be remembered that Henry Grattan, who was the ultimate parliamentarian, had the original Irish Volunteers parading up and down College Green when he was making some of his inflammatory statements in the old House of Commons. From that came a whole new tradition - a different tradition from that of Parnell - of Wolfe Tone, Emmet and the Fenians. That tradition was inherited by the men of 1916. Whatever else they were, they were not traitors and they paid the ultimate price for their beliefs.
The Senator quoted Yeats to suit his purpose. Like the devil, we can all quote scripture. However, he should remember that Yeats's most famous statement on 1916 was:
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
That was the beauty created by the sacrifice of 1916, which has informed Irish politics, whichever way we want to look at it, ever since. We can celebrate 1916 and honour John Redmond, and continue to work towards a peacefully achieved united Ireland, which was the ideal of all of them.
I am a supporter of the JobBridge internship scheme and will continue to support it. International evidence and experience shows that internship schemes play a very important role in supporting labour forces. The experience in Ireland has shown that 63% of people who take part in JobBridge schemes enter the workforce at the end of it, not necessarily in the jobs they are doing as an intern. The internship scheme is evidence that it is more advantageous to be involved in the workforce than not to be involved in the workforce. However, I am very alarmed to hear this morning that 168 internees are being employed in the educational system in various roles, including SNAs, school secretaries and caretakers. There is a real suspicion that this could be seen as an instance of displacement of workforce. The internship scheme was never intended to be used in this manner. I ask the Leader if we could get a statement from the Minister in this regard. I believe the internship scheme is so important to our economic recovery that anything that goes to undermine the credibility of the scheme needs to be resisted. I believe that 18% of recently recruited internships are in the educational system, which is unacceptable. I do not blame school principals for taking the opportunity to recruit additional help in the classroom and around the schools; that is not the point I am making. However, we need to take a fundamental look at how the internship scheme is working.
Last year, we had a very interesting debate on the Food Provenance Bill and I believe I got wholehearted support. However, the Minister said he wished to delay it because the Food Provenance Bill was aimed at identifying the ingredients in processed food and particularly after the horsemeat scandal that occurred the previous year, that was understandable. The Minister said that the European Union was going to introduce legislation and that he wished to delay its implementation in Ireland until the European decision was made. In fact, what happened was that they never got to it in the last session of the European Parliament. I am urging the MEPs to ensure they get it to the top of the agenda. Those pushing to delay it say it will be very expensive even though the cost to test each of those processed foods will be less than 1 cent for a product, meaning that customers would have to pay an extra 1 cent to buy a hamburger or whatever else.
Unless we ensure we get that legislation enacted, we will be the ones who will get the blame. The horsemeat scandal was discovered by us, but many in Europe assume that because we discovered it, we were at fault. It turns out the horsemeat scandal was not our fault at all. It was coming from somewhere else. Let us ensure we get the safety of food to the top of the agenda. The belief in the quality of Irish food is essential. One of the soundings being made in Europe is on labelling food as being from the European Union or outside it instead of listing the country of origin on the ingredients. I do not think that is nearly good enough. A number of Irish companies are already showing the source of their products and I think they are gaining the benefit for it. Let us ensure that we get legislation through our legislative process in Ireland or else that it is covered by the European Parliament.
The new education and training boards set up under SOLAS to deliver skills and apprenticeship training to our young school leavers will meet for the first time this month. The legislation to establish the education and training boards was initiated in the Seanad and significant amendments to the Bill were tabled in the Seanad before it was sent to the Dáil. With the demand for new skills, this is an important time for these boards. Some five education and training boards do not have a training centre under the current structure, and the delivery of courses will be from other education and training boards. We must keep an eye on this. I do not know how it will work out but I ask the Leader to invite the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Deputy Damien English, to make a statement on this matter. I reiterate that the legislation was initiated in the Seanad and we have a very special function in this regard.
Senator Mary White made a rousing speech. It was a pity she did not get a run for the Office of President as she could possibly be there in 2016 to preside over the commemorations. I was nearly getting my old Thompson gun down from the attic and calling on Volunteer Cullinane to come out with me, but then I remembered the words of W. B. Yeats:
Did that play of mine send out
Certain men the English shot?
I decided to rest easy.
Senator David Norris also referred to a line in Yeats' poem Easter, 1916: "A drunken, vainglorious lout." That was a particular reference to an individual, Major John MacBride, not because he was fighting in 1916 but because he stole his bird from him. It was not a general reference to the leaders of 1916.
Both traditions are noble. I would prefer that we reflect on the words of Mrs. Una O'Higgins O'Malley in which she says that Irish people North and South:
Should gaze into the faces of their children
And not their ancestors
While planning for the future.
I concur with Senator Paschal Mooney's call yesterday for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, to come to the Seanad. To quote from the Proclamation:
IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom.
The leaders of 1916 did not have popular support but went not with the will of the people but in the name of God and of the dead generations. If we do not work in the North to get political progress from all sides, we are in danger of those at the extremes taking over and politics being cast to one side. It is dangerous. I agree that we need the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to come to the House and outline what we can do to help keep politics to the forefront in the North.
Bheadh sé tráthúil agus cabhrach dá mbeadh díospóireacht againn ar chomóradh Éirí Amach na Cásca. Tá an díospóireacht seo ag tarlú i measc an phobail agus sna meáin i láthair na huaire. Tá stádas faoi leith ag Seanad Éireann chun a bheith páirteach sa díospóireacht sin.
I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, who chairs the all-party committee that will be dealing with the centenary commemoration of 1916, to update us on the State plans for this commemoration. There is a vacuum which is being filled by leaks from the all-party committee. That is not helpful because the debate that ensues from those leaks is not comprehensive and is creating a lot of confusion among the public. It would be an impoverished nation that would benefit from the fruits of the sacrifices of our patriots and yet ignore their memory, misrepresent them or even worse still, endeavour to trample on their legacy, even if that is part of a great political secret or plan which is perhaps being crafted at present but of which the public is not aware.
I believe every Member, including Senator David Norris, appreciates what the 1916 Rising really meant. It is all there in the Proclamation of 1916. It is possibly one of the shortest charters of Irish independence, yet it is so visionary in so many ways that many of the sentiments and aspirations are still relevant to this day. Anybody with the slightest open-minded interest in history knows full well that the men and women of 1916 went out to fight an impossible fight at that stage. It was certainly a matter of right against might - the might of the British Empire at that time. If we try through some method or deliberately set out to distract from 1916 in the midst of all the other commemorations, all of which are legitimate in their own right, I believe we challenge the morale of our own people. It was quite clear in the ensuing general election after 1916 where the people's wishes were at the time. There is another aspect to this. Not only would we challenge our morale as a nation, we would also diminish the respect in those countries that were inspired by the 1916 Rising. Whatever political views we have or whatever political plans may be hatched to play down the 1916 commemoration, it is important to look at the bigger picture, and I genuinely believe that is what the people want us to do. I am totally committed to integrating North and South further and to having greater interaction. I saw this for myself in Derry, as did Senator Jim D'Arcy, at the Fleadh Cheoil last year. When we went to the Waterside, we met the loyalist leaders and made presentations to them. I will never forget one loyalist who came up and put his arm around me and said that this has been one of the greatest weeks in the history of their city. He went a step further when he said that they will teach those in Belfast how they should behave. To me that interaction is taking place and we can have a commemoration of 1916 and still respect the other traditions on this island. I plead that we do not minimise it to the point that all we are interested in is scoring points or putting forward petty agendas. This would not be worthy of us as a Seanad, a people and a nation and I hope we do not go down that road.
I support the good wishes expressed to Mr. David Begg, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. I worked with him for years in the ESB and many years ago I knew he would make it to the top as a professional trade unionist. I wish him success and good health in his retirement.
Last year was a great year for tourism - we all acknowledge the success of The Gathering - but we all wonder whether we can improve on it. I believe 2014 has been the best year for tourism in the past ten years. Thousands of jobs have been created. The recent American football game in Croke Park between Penn State and the University of Central Florida was another tremendous success and around 25,000 American supporters came to Dublin to spend a week or ten days here. I spoke to some of these people this morning as they had returned for their annual summer holidays. It was a major sporting success and we should aim for an annual American football college game in Ireland so we become the European capital of college football.
I congratulate Dún Laoghaire Golf Club on the announcement that it will host the 2016 Curtis Cup, which is the equivalent of the Ryder Cup between Great Britain and Ireland and the United States. The Ryder Cup takes place this weekend in Scotland. I believe in announcing good news and it has also been revealed that the world amateur ladies' and men's golf championships will be held in Carton House, County Kildare, on successive weeks in 2018. This is a significant boost for Kildare and the country as thousands of visitors will attend. We should continue to pursue opportunities to bring international sports events to Ireland. We are bidding for the Rugby World Cup and it has been said that we have the necessary facilities and infrastructure. I am confident that this tournament will come to Ireland in the next seven or eight years.
Significant historical moments have been mentioned in the House this morning and culture has been referred to also. Yeats has been quoted liberally and next year we will celebrate what would have been his 150th birthday. Senator Susan O'Keeffe and I are heavily involved in the preparations for this event and last night we won a significant victory in this House on this matter. In 2009 the ancestral home of Yeats, Thoor Ballylee in south Galway, was severely flooded. Though it is under the remit of Fáilte Ireland, the house has since remained closed. It would be a shame, locally, nationally and internationally, if the house was not opened to mark what would have been his 150th birthday. Senator Susan O'Keeffe attended a meeting of the Yeats Thoor Ballylee society chaired by me ten days ago in Galway. Last night I engaged in an Adjournment debate with the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Michael Ring, and he has granted us a licence to take over Thoor Ballylee for one year with the right to engage in fundraising. Fáilte Ireland cannot afford to open and run the house and neither can Galway County Council, but we are confident, based on the number of approaches we have received nationally, from the United Kingdom and the United States, that we will raise enough money to reopen the house and run it into the future. We may require up to €1 million. We will then hand it back to the relevant State agency to run it in conjunction with the local community group. This is an historic moment for Seanad Éireann as Yeats served in this House from 1922 to 1928. This is a good news story and I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Michael Ring, for his vision on this issue. I thank Fáilte Ireland for working with us. I hope all Senators will join us for the reopening of Thoor Ballylee next year, in time to mark what would have been the 150th birthday of Yeats. I know Senator Susan O'Keeffe will be there. As I have debated many Adjournment matters without a positive outcome, this is worth noting. Like many others, I ask that the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, come before the House to discuss this significant year. We should brief her on what we are doing and hear the Government's plans.
Senators Paschal Mooney, Ned O'Sullivan, Terry Brennan and others marked the retirement of Mr. David Begg from his position at the head of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, and I wish him well, too. He made a very good speech in this House last year and we all wish him the best in his retirement.
Senator Paschal Mooney raised the question of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, reviewing the leaving certificate programme and asked her to come before the House today to address the subject. I know that she will come before the House next Tuesday to debate the Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, but her schedule is too busy for her to address the matter raised today. There will, however, be an opportunity to do so next week.
As the writs for the by-elections have been moved, there will be by-elections in the areas mentioned, with a Seanad by-election. It is specified by law that by-elections must be held within six months; therefore, there is no question of dragging out the process over a year or two, as the previous Government did. We await the decision of the people.
Regarding water charges, as I said yesterday, with the troika, the previous Government signed off on a €400 flat charge, which would have come into force two years ago. There is no point, therefore, in the Opposition trying to fool the people because they copped on to the last Government eventually.
Senator Susan O'Keeffe and others mentioned the independence referendum in Scotland. We wish the people of Scotland well in their deliberations and hope they will make the right choice for it.
The Senator also mentioned the alleged activities of the special investigation unit of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This is a serious matter that must be brought to the Minister's attention. Perhaps the Minister might come before the House to discuss it.
Senators David Norris, Mary White, Jim D'Arcy and Labhrás Ó Murchú, among several others, raised the matter of celebrating the Redmondite tradition and the Irish Parliamentary Party, given that today is the 100th anniversary of Home Rule. The tradition of parliamentary democracy shared by Grattan, Parnell and O'Connell should be celebrated and there is such a celebration taking place today in Woodenbridge. The mausoleum of John Redmond in Wexford is to be opened to the public next year and it is only right that we should celebrate the achievement of Home Rule which was included in the Statute Book. Irish men fought for it and parliamentary democracy for many years.
I listened with interest to Senator Mary White and certainly would not call any of those involved in any of the events mentioned a traitor. I certainly would not call MacNeill a traitor and would be reluctant to call-----
I did not. The wife of Thomas Clarke who was the first person to be executed by the British Government said so in a recording-----
Please allow the Leader to speak, without interruption.
I would be reluctant to call Parnell, Redmond, Pearse, Collins and de Valera traitors either. They all did their best in their own way for their country.
I was quoting Mrs. Thomas Clarke-----
I do not think we should use emotive words.
The woman said it in a recording broadcast on radio the other day.
Please allow the Leader to continue, without interruption.
Senator Hildegarde Naughton inquired about the Forestry Bill. It has reached Report Stage in the other House and is expected to be brought before this House in early October. I also note the Senator's points about the importance of education on diabetes. Perhaps we might invite the Minister to come to the House to discuss the matter.
Senator David Cullinane raised the issue of water charges. We had a long and comprehensive debate on the Water Services Bill and I am sure many of the points the Senator raised came up during that debate.
Senator Aideen Hayden referred to the PRTB rent index and the need for rent certainty for tenants. I agree with the point she made and will ask the relevant Minister to come to the House to discuss the matter. I understand the Government will make an announcement on a comprehensive housing policy in the near future.
Senator Michael Mullins raised the issue of so-called petrol stretching, which involves the mixing of kerosene with petrol. There is a need to curb this new activity which is causing problems for many motorists. I agree with the Senator that a system of inspection is necessary. I will try to ascertain from the Minister responsible what efforts are being made to curb this despicable activity.
Senator Sean D. Barrett referred to the recent OECD report and the importance of defending the 12.5% corporation tax rate. He also stressed the importance of Ireland fully co-operating with the OECD in combating tax fraud. I believe all Members share these sentiments. The Senator also welcomed the appointment of the new American ambassador to Ireland.
Senator John Whelan called on the Minister for Health to publish alleged reports from the HSE and outline Government policy in that regard.
Senator Terry Leyden referred to Roscommon County Hospital. I assure him that all he needs to do is contact the consultants there who will tell him about the many additional facilities which have been provided since the Government took office. Patient safety is of paramount importance at all times and Roscommon County Hospital is a much safer place than it was three years ago.
Senator Paul Coghlan outlined Government policy on water charges and referred to the success of various economic policies.
Senator John Crown complimented the cancer care research conducted in Ireland into radiation oncology and referred to the fact that a paper would be delivered at a plenary session in San Francisco. It is a wonderful achievement which highlights the success of cancer researchers in Ireland who deserve our compliments. The Senator also highlighted the need for more specialists in the field of obstetrics. I am aware that the Government is trying to fill a number of posts. I assure the Senator that Government policy on universal health insurance has not changed.
Senator Martin Conway and others called for a debate on the forthcoming commemorations with the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys. I note that there are two Ministers called Humphreys, both of whom are dealing with commemorations. The Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, was in the House yesterday when he said he would also be dealing with the forthcoming commemorations. I will invite him to come to the House to discuss the decade of commemorations and the 1916 commemorations, in particular. It is important that we have such a discussion. The former Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan, was in the House not too long ago to discuss the same subject. We had a comprehensive debate with him at the time, but I agree with those Senators who argue that we should have a discussion with either the new Minister or the Minister of State.
Senator Ned O'Sullivan also referred to the commemoration of the 1916 Rising and the fact that we could celebrate both the 1916 Rising and John Redmond's achievements in the case of Home Rule.
Senator John Gilroy referred to the JobBridge scheme and its success to date. He also spoke about the importance of the scheme and the need to combat any undermining of it. I agree with him on that point and will try to raise the matter with the Minister.
Senator Feargal Quinn asked about the Food Provenance Bill. As he rightly pointed out, the EU measures envisaged were not dealt with in the last session of the European Parliament. I agree that there is a need to expedite matters in that regard, perhaps by way of the Bill proposed by the Senator. The issue needs to be advanced either at home or at EU level.
Senator Jim D'Arcy spoke about the Education and Training Boards, ETBs, and asked that the Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation be invited to the House to give a progress report on them. I will issue such an invitation. I note the Senator's wise words on the importance of expediting matters in Northern Ireland. He asked that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade be invited to the House to update us on developments there.
Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú also referred to the plans for commemorating the 1916 Rising. Respect for all traditions on the island has been paramount in this House at all times. We have done our best to ensure respect is shown to all traditions.
Senator Terry Brennan spoke about the major boost to tourism arising from sports events, including the US colleges football games, the securing of the Curtis Cup and the amateur ladies' and men's championships proposed for Carton House. He referred to the need to further progress sports events to provide an additional boost for tourism.
Senator Fidelma Healy Eames spoke about the 150th anniversary of the birth of William Butler Yeats next year. I am glad that the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Michael Ring, delivered good news to Senators Fidelma Healy Eames and Susan O'Keeffe yesterday. I wish the Yeats 2015 steering group and its chairperson, Senator Susan O'Keeffe, well in their efforts in the celebrations next year.
Senator Paschal Mooney has proposed an amendment to the Order of Business, "That a debate with the Minister for Education and Skills on the trade unions' objections to the junior certificate reform programme be taken today." Is the amendment being pressed?
Amendment put:
The Seanad divided: Tá, 16; Níl, 24.
Tá
- Barrett, Sean D.
- Byrne, Thomas.
- Crown, John.
- Cullinane, David.
- Leyden, Terry.
- Mooney, Paschal.
- Mullen, Rónán.
- Norris, David.
- Ó Domhnaill, Brian.
- Ó Murchú, Labhrás.
- O'Donovan, Denis.
- O'Sullivan, Ned.
- Power, Averil.
- Quinn, Feargal.
- Reilly, Kathryn.
- White, Mary M.
Níl
- Bacik, Ivana.
- Brennan, Terry.
- Coghlan, Eamonn.
- Coghlan, Paul.
- Comiskey, Michael.
- Conway, Martin.
- Cummins, Maurice.
- D'Arcy, Jim.
- D'Arcy, Michael.
- Gilroy, John.
- Hayden, Aideen.
- Henry, Imelda.
- Higgins, Lorraine.
- Landy, Denis.
- Moloney, Marie.
- Moran, Mary.
- Mulcahy, Tony.
- Mullins, Michael.
- Naughton, Hildegarde.
- O'Keeffe, Susan.
- O'Neill, Pat.
- van Turnhout, Jillian.
- Whelan, John.
- Zappone, Katherine.
Tellers: Tá, Senators Paschal Mooney and Ned O'Sullivan; Níl, Senators Paul Coghlan and Aideen Hayden.
Amendment declared lost.
Order of Business agreed to.