Vol. 396 No. 9
7 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach when the Second Commission on the Status for Women, which he announced on 25 February 1990, will be established; the names of the members of the commission; if he will outline their terms of reference; the budget they will have; if a deadline will be set for their deliberations and recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Second Commission on the Status of Women will shortly be appointed. The commission will be broadly based, representative of a wide range of knowledge and experience.
The following are the terms of reference of the commission: to review the implementation of the recommendations of the first Commission on the Status of Women as set out in that commission's report to the Minister for Finance in December 1972; to consider and make recommendations on the means, administrative and legislative, by which women will be able to participate on equal terms and conditions with men in economic, social, political and cultural life and, to this end, to consider the efficacy and feasibility of positive action measures; in the context of (ii) above, to pay special attention to the needs of women in the home; to establish the estimated costs of all recommendations made; and to report to the Government within a period of 18 months from the date of its establishment.
It is intended that the commission will be appropriately funded.
One of my queries related to whether a budget would be provided for the committee and asked if the Taoiseach would indicate what it might be. Perhaps the Taoiseach would indicate that? Will he also incorporate as one of the priority areas for investigation, the position of women part-time workers? Most part-time workers in this State are women and most are without the protection of social legislation and they are being extremely badly exploited. This is an area which needs urgent attention. Will the Taoiseach address that question and also the question relating to the fact that there are 280,000 women in this State who are living on £48 a week or less, below the poverty line? Will he include that as a priority for this commission?
The Deputy is raising separate matters worthy of separate questions.
I am raising these matters in relation to the terms of reference. I am asking that they be included——
The Deputy is widening the scope of this question out of all proportion.
——within the terms of reference being given to the second commission.
The Deputy has made his point.
Will the Taoiseach also seek to address the question of child care?
I wish the Deputy would not try to score these political points——
I am not.
——in relation to something which I hope will be launched with goodwill on all sides of this House.
I am not.
You are trying to score political points as usual. You need not think that The Workers' Party are the only people in this House who care about the down-trodden, the deprived or the disadvantaged. That myth has been exploded long ago.
Hear, hear.
We might not flaunt it as stridently——
Would you kindly address the question asked?
I am on my feet——
Please, Deputy De Rossa——
Every day you stand up here and spout total nonsense.
Totalitarian tactics will not work here. You should have learned your lesson——
Instead of addressing the questions I have asked regarding the Commission on the Status of Women——
You should have learned your lesson from Eastern Europe, that worker party totalitarian-type tactics do not ultimately work.
Answer the question.
The Deputy's party should try to attune themselves to modern parliamentary democracy as quickly as possible.
The Taoiseach should show that he is democratic and answer the question.
May I ask——
Please, Deputy De Rossa. The Deputy has asked some questions and he must listen to the replies. Sometimes questions can be provocative and sometimes the replies can be provocative.
Will the Taoiseach answer the question?
I have not finished. The Deputy should not try to browbeat or cross-examine me, he will not succeed.
That is why the Taoiseach is here. We can use Question Time to cross-examine the Taoiseach.
Please, Deputy De Rossa.
The Taoiseach does not like to be cross-examined on serious questions. That is his problem.
Put him out again.
I will call on Deputy De Rossa to leave the House if he persists in disorderly conduct of this kind.
Why do you not call on the Taoiseach to answer the question?
Please, Deputy Rabbitte. Deputy De Rossa asked certain pertinent questions, perhaps of a provocative kind and he must be prepared for an appropriate reply at times.
Perhaps "sensitive" is the word.
At least you agree that they are pertinent.
I believe the terms of reference are broad enough to encompass anything the commission may wish to examine, discuss or recommend on.
What about their budget?
Let us come to deal with questions nominated for priority.
How much is being provided?
As I said in my reply the commission will be adequately funded.
We move now to questions nominated for priority and the usual time limit of some 15 minutes applies to dispose of these questions. I need the co-operation of Members in order to dispose of them within the prescribed time.
I propose to take Priority Question No. 8 and Question No. 13 together.
On a point of order, since Question No. 13 in my name is being taken with Priority Question No. 8 I will not be allowed to ask questions. I must protest in the very strongest possible terms——
That is not a point of order, Deputy. This is the procedure we adopt in this House.
On a further point of order——
There is no such point of order. The Deputy's first point of order was disorderly.
On a further point of order——
No, I will not entertain it.
There are reasons——
No, if the Deputy is dissatisfied with the approach of the Minister in this matter he has a remedy but he may not disrupt the proceedings now by way of a spurious point of order.
It is not a spurious point of order.
Exactly, the Chair cannot decide on that until he hears the point of order.
On a further point of order——
Resume your seat, Deputy.
On a further point of order——
If the Deputy persists I shall have to ask him to leave the House.
You can ask me to do what you like but this is a very important matter, I was the one who was stopped by this UDR patrol. This question deals with a specific incident——
It is customary and appropriate at times that questions be taken together, including a Priority Question. The Deputy protests too much in this matter.
If you were the one who had been stopped by this UDR patrol you would wish to raise the matter——
The Deputy has eroded a lot of the precious time allotted for Priority Questions.
I could not care less. This is an important matter, and the Minister knows it is an important matter——
I shall not allow Deputy Currie to use any further time. If you persist you will leave the House.
I shall probably be ordered out sooner or later anyway if this is the way the Minister is going to——
Please, Deputy Currie, you have made your point of protest. This is quite disorderly.
