Vol. 340 No. 7
It is proposed to take business in the following order: Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (resumed). Private Members' Business will be No. 23.
I would like to express my acknowledgment of the Opposition's co-operativeness in agreeing to the taking of all stages of Item No. 5 today, as a result of a request put to them before the session by our Chief Whip.
I have a very serious matter to raise with the Chair regarding the privilege of a Member of this House — in this case, myself. However, it refers to the privilege of all Members of the House. I put down a question to the Chair dated 18 February——
Well, now, Deputy——
——and stamped 21 February in the office about the date of commencement of Cavan Hospital building programme. I read a full account of that programme and an answer to my question in the Anglo-Celt of last Friday. I am raising this question to protect the Chair, to see to it that it is above suspicion in all cases. I put the question down in good faith to elicit information. It went to the Ceann Comhairle's office because the Ceann Comhairle is in charge of questions which come before this House and I was a little fazed to read the full answer to my question in the Anglo-Celt, in a letter from the Minister for Health to the Ceann Comhairle. I would like also to mention that when I checked this in the Ceann Comhairle's office, I discovered that a question which I had put down for oral reply had been changed to a written reply in the preliminary printing of the Order Paper. I checked my original document, as put into the General Office and there is no indication on that that I wanted this by way of written reply. I would, in all things, like to protect the Chair from all suspicion and would ask him to let me know the date of his letter to the Minister for Health covering the point of my question and the date of the letter sent to you by the Minister for Health in reply, which appeared in full in my local newspaper.
The Deputy will have noticed that I allowed him to raise this matter fully here. The reason for that is obvious. I had no previous notice that Deputy Wilson intended to raise the matter here and make no point of that. However, I cannot give Deputy Wilson exact dates. However, I can tell Deputy Wilson that I did not write to the Minister for Health about the hospital but that I spoke to him about it. I will gladly make available to Deputy Wilson a full copy of the letter which I received from the Minister for Health in reply to my query. I can tell the Deputy that the letter was in my possession for something like a couple of weeks. It certainly could have been in the newspaper in the week previous to the date on which it was published.
The actual publication did not carry any date.
I know that.
Consequently the question did arise. As I said, when I raised the matter, it was purely for the protection of the Chair and for the protection of my privilege as a Member of the House.
I accept that. Order, please.
I do resent the sniggering of Deputy Begley in regard to that and I want you, Sir, to accept my bona fides in the matter.
I accept completely what Deputy Wilson says. As I say, the letter was sent to the Anglo-Celt in toto with the date on it. Deputy Wilson can inspect it there. But if he will come with me to my office immediately I leave the Chair, I will show him the letter and he will see that it was dated, I would say, a couple of weeks before it appeared.
I accept the Chair's word on that. I cannot leave the House because there is a Bill coming up in which I will be involved but I would prefer it to be stated before the House because it involves not just my privilege but that of each Member.
I will send a verbatim copy of the letter to Deputy Wilson this evening. I am very glad that he did raise it in the House rather than be thinking about it.
Thank you.
On the Order of Business, might I ask the Taoiseach if the Government have given any consideration to the Report from the Committee on State-Sponsored Bodies which recommended that witnesses to the committee should be given immunity from prosecution?
The Government have not taken any decision on that. Proposals for the re-establishment of the committee in the term of this Dáil, their terms of reference and other related matters are in preparation and will be submitted to the Opposition, as proposals, in the immediate future.
I should have said, to clarify the matter, regarding the latter part of the subject raised by Deputy Wilson regarding a question being answered in written form instead of oral form, the Chair personally does not know anything about that.
I wish to raise on the Adjournment the matter of the withdrawal of Power Securities from the development at Merchant's Quay in Cork. I want the Minister to make a statement. Obviously a Government decision had a lot to do with it.
The Chair will communicate with the Deputy.
I wonder if you, Sir, could help us innocent backbenchers with regard to item No. 7 on the Order Paper. Can you tell us if that item will ever see the light of day at all?
Dún Laoghaire): I can answer that. It was included in the Order of Business last week but to facilitate the Opposition we gave time for a debate on the school transport issue. Were it not for that we could have dealt with it more fully. However, to guarantee it some debate this week we have listed it in such a way that if it is not reached——
I hope it will not be for just five minutes on Thursday.
(Dún Laoghaire): No, it must be taken by at least 3.30 tommorrow.
