It is proposed to take No. 10, (Votes 29 to 33) inclusive. By agreement, the debate on Votes 29 to 33, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion not later than 5 p.m. and the Minister for Education shall be called on to conclude not later than 4.45 p.m. Also by agreement, if a division is challenged on any Estimate today, the taking of such division shall be postponed until 8.30 p.m. next Wednesday. Also by agreement, the Dáil shall meet at 10.30 tomorrow morning and shall adjourn not later than 4 p.m. and business shall be confined to Estimates for Public Services.
Order of Business.
Apropos a point in the Order of Business, I thought it was a rule of the House that if a division were challenged on a Thursday it would be postponed until the following week.
It would normally be taken on the Tuesday but the proposal is that by agreement it will be taken next Wednesday, and it became necessary to make it an order of the House.
I want to ask the Taoiseach when will the legislation for the abolition of Dublin Corporation and Dublin County Council be introduced?
It could be quite some time, because proposals for changes in local authorities are at a very early stage of preparation and I do not think the legislation will be ready before, probably, early next year.
I wish to ask the Minister for the Environment when the motion to approve of the terms of the Paris Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution will come before the House.
I suggest that the Taoiseach should pay some attention to his backbenchers.
Touché.
(Interruptions.)
I will look after Deputy Allen.
Backbenchers here have their rights.
The reply to the Deputy's question is that it will be taken next week, subject to agreement between the Whips.
The Taoiseach yesterday made a comprehensive statement about the abolition of the Dublin local authorities——
We cannot debate it now.
It is important that as a member of one of the bodies to be abolished I should ask whether this proposal will be implemented before the local elections next year——
The Deputy is under a misapprehension. I said nothing at all about the quality of Dublin Corporation. I was asked by a journalist about our intentions in regard to local government reform and I said I could make no statement with regard to that but that looking at the structure of the local authorities in Dublin it is fairly evident that any change in local government structures would be likely to involve changes affecting Dublin County because of the increased population there and the divergence of interests in different parts of the county. I said that the matter had not come before the Government and that obviously it would take some time before it would be brought to fruition. The Deputy was probably misled by the form in which my remarks were reported.
We cannot have a debate on this. We have ordered five Estimates for today and if I were to allow discussion of a report of a speech by the Taoiseach our time would be shortened.
With the permission of the Chair, I wish to raise on the Adjournment the refusal of the Minister for Finance to provide me with the details I requested concerning ministerial pensions.
The chair will communicate with the Deputy.
With regard to the matter to which the Taoiseach referred, will he give an assurance that there will be discussions with the elected representatives and the staffs in the local authorities before a final decision is made and before the changes are put in the form of legislation? Can he give the House an assurance that the Government will have discussions and negotiations on this matter?
That does not arise on the Order of Business.
The Deputy may not be aware, but such discussions have been ongoing for some time.
I am sorry, but I cannot allow any further discussion on this matter. I am calling No. 10, Vote 29.