It is proposed to take Items Nos. 1, 4, 14, 15, 16 and 17. It is also proposed that Item No. 1 be taken without debate.
Order of Business.
May I ask for agreement that No. 1 be taken without debate. Agreed.
May I ask the Taoiseach — in view of the serious concern raised by the apparent ambiguity of some of his remarks in the House yesterday when replying to questions on the matter of devolution — if he would take an early opportunity in the House to explain and clarify his position on that, being, as it is, one of the central concerns that we have about the operation and the achievement of the objectives of the Anglo-Irish Agreement?
It is certainly a matter that does not arise now, whatever about it being raised in the future.
I am not asking that the matter be dealt with now. All I am asking is if the Taoiseach would assure the House that he would take an early opportunity to clarify his position on this.
A Cheann Comhairle, on a point of order — I am putting it as a point of order — I would be very happy, if the Leader of the Opposition would wish to put down questions on the matter, to deal with them fully next Tuesday or Wednesday as the case may be.
A Cheann Comhairle, I have questions down. Can I be assured that the Taoiseach will deal with them himself and not pass them on to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Deputies
Hear, hear.
I will be delighted to deal with them fully and personally.
(Interruptions.)
I take it the Taoiseach does not intend to devolve them to anybody else?
May I raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of tyre slashing in the city and county of Dublin?
Yes, we had hoped to deal with the matter last evening. I will communicate with the Deputy again.
May I give you notice, Sir, of my intention to raise on the Adjournment the question of the attitude taken and to be taken by the Government in relation to the result of Private Members' motions.
More parochialism.
I will communicate with the Deputy.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I should like to raise on the Adjournment the question of the failure to provide funds for the Rutland Centre which leads to medical card holders being deprived of its addiction treatment facilities.
I will communicate with the Deputy.
On the Order of Business might I make a special request to the Taoiseach — I think my sentiments will be shared by many Members of this House — to make time available in this House for a debate to enable this House express its revulsion at the manner in which the Israelis are crucifying the Palestinians in the occupied terrorities. We have seen it on our television screens, have read about it in the papers——
Obviously this is something for the Whips to decide.
It is time this House took the opportunity to express its revulsion, I am asking the Taoiseach — and I am sure there are many in this House who will agree with me — that we should set aside an hour or two to debate the issue and to have——
The Deputy should find some other ways and means of raising this matter. There are many ways and means open to Deputies for doing so.
I would ask the Taoiseach to give it serious consideration.
Might I ask the Taoiseach or perhaps the Minister for Finance in the absence of the Minister for the Environment if he could give the House an indication when the promised legislation for the building societies and the connected legislation in respect of the Central Bank might be circulated?
Unfortunately the legislation will not be dealt with in this session. The Deputy will understand it is quite complex and will take a little time to draft, but we will bring it forward as soon as possible.
I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. Is it expected to have the legislation enacted — with the co-operation of the House — in 1988?
That would be the hope.
The Deputy says it will be hoped to do so.
The real Taoiseach.
A Cheann Comhairle, I am seeking your advice and assistance. Yesterday I tabled a question to the Taoiseach for oral reply and it was transferred to the Minister for Industry and Commerce; I accepted that. I then received a reply to an oral question I had submitted to the Minister for Industry and Commerce which sought to elicit the number of leather footwear and sheepskin and bovine hides imported into and exported from the Republic of Ireland for the year ended 31 December 1984 and if he would make a statement on the matter. The Minister's reply was that the statistics requested by the Deputy are published by the Central Statistics Office and are obtainable from the Trade Statistics of Ireland series. I regard that as a disgraceful reply from the Minister for Industry and Commerce.
I am anxious to help the Deputy to elicit information of this kind. He must know that. My office will be as helpful as possible to him. But I want to make it clear to the House again that the Chair has no function whatsoever in respect of the transfer of questions from one Minister to another, never had and, I hope, never will have.
A Cheann Comhairle, you are responsible for the good running of this House.
That may be so, but because a letter emanates from my office to Deputies it should not be taken that the Chair has any real function in the transfer of questions. He has not.
I should like to ask the Taoiseach if he will report to the House on the meetings he is to hold today with the teacher unions on the confusion obtaining following the largescale applications for voluntary redundancies? Failing that, will he say if he will take questions next week on this subject and not transfer them to the Minister for Education? Can I have an answer from the Taoiseach?
Perhaps he is playing half back for the Government.
It is a matter of dealing with questions——
Tá.
Will the Taoiseach take the questions?
I think that should be raised in a more formal manner.
It is clear he refuses to answer.
I should like with your permission to raise on the Adjournment the recent damage to St. Brigid's boys school in Foxrock and the Minister's plans in that regard.
I will communicate with Deputy Kennedy in respect of that matter.
They are a very parochial party.
Look behind you, boss.
(Interruptions.)
He is more at home with that sort of topic. The Taoiseach knows all about that sort of thing.
I put down a question to the Minister for Education concerning an extension to Ballinora national school in my constituency.
(Interruptions.)
It may be a laughing matter over there but I assure the Deputies that if they saw the conditions in which the children are being taught in Ballinora they would not be laughing. Deputy Dennehy should not be smiling. It is not the only school like this.
The Deputy adverted to this matter yesterday. It does not arise on the Order of Business. If the Deputy requires any further elucidation on that matter my office is available to him but raising it persistently in the House is not in order.
In response to my raising it yesterday, you told me there had been no change in the matter relating to questions about individual schools. I have since looked up the record and found that for the past 15 years every Ceann Comhairle allowed and every Minister for Education answered questions about individual schools. Why is there a change now that this Minister is here? Is she being protected in some way?
She has no money.
I resent deeply the implication that the Chair is sheltering anyone.
He should know better, a Cheann Comhairle.
The reply which you received from my office is in strict accord with the normal proceedings in such matters.
I am sorry, Sir, but——
It most certainly is and I will hear no more of it.
I can give you the references to individual schools.
I invited Deputy Barry to come to my office in respect of this matter yesterday. He failed to do so and he persists in raising the matter in the House.
I am sorry, Sir——
That must be the end of this matter, Deputy.
(Interruptions.)
The Deputy had better put down a substantive motion. I will not permit my rulings to be challenged in this fashion in the House by any Deputy.
I am sorry to do so but I——
The Deputy will desist and resume his seat.
You assured me yesterday that there had been no change. I have indicated there has been a change.
I am asserting before the House that there has been no deviation whatsoever from the normal practice of my office in such matters. I reiterate that.
I have the proof here.
I will clear up this matter one way or the other to the satisfaction of this House. I will not allow that cloud to hang over the Chair.
I hope it will be cleared up to the satisfaction of the Ballinora pupils.
Deputy Jim Mitchell.
The Taoiseach said that the Social Welfare Bill would be published on Friday or Monday. Can he confirm whether it will be published tomorrow?
Yes.
Deputy Proinsias De Rossa has been offering for some time.
On a number of occasions I have asked to raise on the Adjournment the question of the continued killing of Palestinians by the Israeli security forces and the abstention by the Irish representative at the United Nations Human Rights Commission on a motion condemning these killings. May I ask to raise this matter again? Can I also ask the Taoiseach if he will indicate whether he will ask the Whips to consider allowing time in the House early next week to discuss this matter so as to enable the House to express its view on it?
The Deputy is adopting the right lines and I wish him success.
With regard to forthcoming legislation, there was a Private Members' Bill on adoption which provided for the adoption of abandoned legitimate children which was opposed by the Government and the Government then introduced their own Bill in the Seanad in July of last year. That Bill has been languishing in the Seanad since July of last year and has not completed any Stage. May I ask the Taoiseach when the Bill will be processed through the Seanad and brought into the Dáil?
I mentioned this yesterday to the leader of the Fianna Fáil group in the Seanad and asked him to expedite it.
Will this Bill be before the House before the Easter recess?
Not before the recess——
Will we have it before the summer recess?
——as quickly as possible thereafter.
May I ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if in view of the hardship being caused to many milk producers throughout the country at present he proposes to revise the quota system in order to obviate this problem in the future?
That does not arise now.
You should have thought of that when you were in Government.
You are the man who is dealing with it now.
You should be sent to France for a few weeks.
(Interruptions.)
With regard to forthcoming legislation and as we again near the end of another Dáil session, may I ask the Taoiseach if the Children (Care and Protection) Bill will be circulated before this session ends?
Unfortunately I have to tell the Deputy it is still with the parliamentary draftsman and it is unlikely to be circulated during this session.
May I raise on the Adjournment the lack of regulations under the Air Pollution Act?
I will communicate with Deputy Jim Mitchell in respect of that matter.