It is proposed to take Nos. 12, 13 and 14. It is also proposed subject to the agreement of the House, that (1) business shall be interrupted at 10.30 p.m. tonight; (2) the sitting shall be suspended today from 6.30 p.m. to 7 p.m.; (3) the proceedings on the Committee Stage of No. 12, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion at 7 p.m. by one question which shall be put from the Chair and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only amendments set down by the Minister for the Environment. Private Members' Business shall be No. 28.
Order of Business.
May I now ask if the proposal for an interruption at 10.30 p.m. tonight is agreed?
The Workers' Party have no particular objection to sitting until 10.30 p.m. tonight. However, in view of the fact that the Government have failed and neglected to restore the Broadcasting Bill to Second Stage to allow for a proper debate on it, as promised by the Taoiseach in the House last Thursday, we wish to record our opposition to the Order of Business in the absence of the Broadcasting Bill.
Shall I put the question?
On the Order of Business, may I suggest, in relation to No. 12, since the debate will conclude at 6.30 p.m. with a sos between 6.30 p.m. and 7 p.m. that it would be more logical to put the concluding question at 6.30 p.m. rather than 7 p.m.?
Is that satisfactory? Agreed.
Question, "That business shall be interrupted at 10.30 p.m. tonight", put and declared carried.
The only other question relates to the proceedings on No. 12. Are the proposals for dealing with No. 12 agreed? Agreed.
On the Order of Business, may I ask the Minister for Justice if he has any intention of taking steps to regulate what will undoubtedly happen next Sunday when large numbers of Irish soccer fans will want to watch the match in their local licensed premises? On a previous occasion we had people outside pushing on open doors. Would the Minister take steps to regularise this next Sunday and possibly, on similar occasions?
I am anxious to facilitate the Deputy but perhaps this is not the best time to raise the matter.
I am asking the Minister if he is anxious to facilitate the fans?
An Irish solution to an Irish problem.
(Interruptions.)
I seek clarification from the Tánaiste in relation to the 48-hour rule. Given that the European Court has now ruled and Irish courts will not be able to prosecute, will instructions now be given to customs officers that people cannot, under the——
That matter must be raised at another time, Deputy; it is not in order now.
If the Tánaiste is not in a position to clarify the matter——
It is not in order.
——I would like to raise it on the Adjournment.
I will be in touch with the Deputy concerning that aspect of the matter.
I seek permission to raise on the Adjournment the question of access to public transport for handicapped persons.
I will be in touch with the Deputy concerning the matter.
I seek your guidance, a Cheann Comhairle. On a number of occasions I have sought by way of parliamentary question and Adjournment Debate to raise the Garda investigation into allegations of corruption in the planning departments of Dublin local authorities but have been informed that since these matters are sub judice the Ministers have no function in the matter. What I would like to try to do, if you assist me, is to ensure that this investigation is completed as quickly as possible or that some statement will be made to remove the pall or cloud of suspicion which hangs over these officials. Can you advise me how I can be in order?
I will investigate that aspect of the matter so far as my office is concerned and will be in touch with the Deputy.
Would the Minister for Communications indicate how people can send a greeting to the Irish team next Sunday?
I am sure the Deputy will find other ways and means of raising that matter.
I could make a suggestion but I will not.
Let me ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food what he proposes to do or what he can do about the long running strike of agricultural officers in our poultry plants. Is he aware of a widespread strike that is being called for all meat plants and all the other services next Monday morning?
Let me ask the Deputy please to put down a question in relation to that matter.
I would like the Minister to let the House know what he intends to do about it.
Arís tá mé ag iarraidh cead ceist Ghairmscoil Cholmcille in Indreabhán, Contae na Gaillimhe, a phlé ar an Athló agus aire a dhíriú ar an chaoi nach bhfuil an tAire Stáit sásta an gheallúint a thug sé do na tuismithóirí a chomhlíonadh.
Tabharfaidh mé freagra duit ar ball.
Secondly, in view of the long and tedious inquiries we have had on the Order of Business over several weeks, do the Government intend to circulate their position in relation to European political union before we have our set of statements that are supposed to be a debate tomorrow?
While the Chair has allowed a great deal of latitude in respect of this matter, I hope it will come to finality whether by agreement among the Whips or otherwise.
May I ask the Tánaiste to be of assistance? Will there be a Government statement? The Taoiseach on a number of occasions has said the reason the statement was not being prepared or issued was that the agenda for the conference had not been completed. The agenda has now been completed. Will the Government circulate at least to the Foreign Affairs spokespersons their set of options in relation to EPU before we enter the debate tomorrow so that there will be a fruitful discussion?
The best parliamentary and democratic way of dealing with this matter is to have a full discussion in this House and this has been arranged between the Whips for tomorrow.
A Deputy
Under pressure.
I see Deputy Howlin nodding his head. There will be an exchange of statements on EPU, a full statement on the matter from the Government side and, I take it, from each of the political parties, and we will have all day tomorrow devoted to that purpose. We can go no further than that. That is the essence of democracy. There is before the Summit a full exchange of each party's views and, more important, of the Government's views on that matter to be heard and discussed in this House tomorrow.
A Cheann Comhairle——
I have given Deputy Higgins every latitude in respect of this matter not merely today but on other occasions quite recently. As I said, we must come to finality. I want to call Deputy Barry also.
I will conclude in a minute. We have raised this matter continuously for several weeks and there were always two components to the issue.
Let us not debate it now.
I agree with the Tánaiste, the time has been arranged. It is unfortunate from our point of view that it is statements rather than a full debate, but the Taoiseach, through you, Sir, told this House the reason for the non-publication of a statement was the non-establishment of the agenda——
We have had all this before and the Deputy is tending to debate the matter. I can hear no more from the Deputy on the subject.
The Tánaiste's reply is extremely unsatisfactory. Since the EC Summit in Dublin last April I have been raising in this House the necessity for us to debate the Government's proposals before the next Summit at the end of June. We got indications from the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs that the Government were contemplating preparing such a paper. The original intention was that we would discuss that paper tomorrow. We are now having a debate without the paper so we are flying blind. We do not know what the Government are going to raise at the EC Summit at the end of June and we have no means of knowing it. All we did was give our opinions what the Government should do, but we do not know what the Government are going to do.
This is all anticipatory of the debate tomorrow or the day after.
(Interruptions.)
The statement will be spontaneous rubbish.
The full statement tomorrow will indicate in outline and detail the Government's position on EPU.
The document is now probably written. Could it be circulated in advance to the spokespersons so that there will be a constructive series of exchanges tomorrow? That is all we are asking. If they have the document written, let them circulate it today.
We are not having glasnost on behalf of the Government.
(Interruptions.)
I am sorry——
Deputy, I am not going back to that subject.
I regret that decision because the Tánaiste has given additional information. Evidently there is a Government paper but we are not going to see it to debate it.
(Interruptions.)
There will be a debate on the matter tomorrow.
Circulate it today.
I am seeking the opportunity to raise on the Adjournment the decision by the Minister for Industry and Commerce to sanction the sale of Cablelink to Telecom Éireann.
I will be in touch with the Deputy concerning the matter.
Has the Minister for the Marine had an opportunity to consider the excellent and constructive proposals in the IFO document on salmon fishing? Does he intend amending the present regulations governing drift net fishing in line——
It is worthy of a question, Deputy.
I am seeking permission to raise on the Adjournment the problems created by the presence of itinerant salesmen in the Little Island area of Cork County.
I will communicate with the Deputy.
I seek to raise on the Adjournment this evening the subject matter of Question No. 83 to the Minister for Education on the Order Paper of 7 June.
I will communicate with the Deputy.
I would like to raise on the Adjournment the frustration of community groups, voluntary organisations, GAA clubs and other sporting bodies arising from the delay on the part of the Department of the Environment in making decisions on their application for aid from the national lottery which has been made for over six months.
I will communicate with the Deputy.
I want to raise two items. The first is for the Adjournment, to address the study launched by the Combat Poverty Agency which highlights that only 13 per cent of maintenance awards awarded to wives by the court are fully paid up. This report is entitled Financial Consequences of Marital Breakdown.
I will be in touch with the Deputy concerning the matter.
I would like to ask the Minister for Education if she intends to publish the report of the Government appointed committee to advise on the future operation of Dublin Zoo. Has that report been received and does she intend to publish it?
Put down a question, Deputy, at the appropriate time.
The Minister might answer it.
Sir, I seek your guidance. If the Minister for Industry and Commerce were in the House he might be able to enlighten us somewhat. I ask your permission to raise on the Adjournment the question of the current trends in the bread price war and whether the Department have fully examined the implications of developments in that regard.
I will communicate with the Deputy, but my recollection is that we had that subject matter on the Adjournment recently. However I will be in touch with the Deputy.
There have been subsequent developments.
In view of the implicit promise to reduce the levels of VAT and excise duties and the position taken by the Government in the course of the recent European Court hearing on the 48-hour rule, are the Government prepared to take immediate steps by order to make a reduction in these levels of taxation so that we will not have to resort to empty and evasive gestures in the 36-hour rule?
That matter does not arise now on the Order of Business.
It is in respect of promised legislation.
I seek once again to raise on the Adjournment the incidents at Castlebar.
I will be in touch with the Deputy concerning the matter.
(Interruptions.)
Will the Tánaiste or the Minister for the Environment explain a matter or indicate how it will be dealt with in the debate that is to take place tomorrow?
I had gone off that aspect of the matter, Deputy Shatter. This matter, as you know, has been raised successively for a number of days. I thought we had come to finality.
I will repeat nothing that has been raised in the last few days.
Let us see.
At the beginning of January there was a great deal of public relations hype that the Government during the Presidency, were to establish a European environment charter. The Government have gone strangely silent on this issue in the last few weeks. Let me ask the Tánaiste in the context of the agenda being fixed for the meeting that is to take place shortly if the European environment charter appears on it. Have we abandoned this proposal? It was a charter in draft——
The subject should be dealt with by way of question.
There was an environment council meeting last week and the Minister for the Environment engaged in a public relations exercise — another failure for the so-called Green Presidency.
The Deputy should not pursue that too far or he will find out. My success would be a big embarrassment for him. He is out of his depth.
(Interruptions.)
We are still waiting for the Environment Protection Agency.
The bulldozer Minister.
Given that prosecutions are continuing, when will the promised legislation to repeal the rod licence legislation come before the House?
It has been cleared and it is with the Attorney General. It is only a matter of days.
Will we have it before the end of the session?
Yes.
It is not on the list given last week.
Can we take it that prosecutions under the old Act will now cease? Such prosecutions are continuing.
I seek to raise on the Adjournment the illegality, hypocrisy, immorality and partitionism of these continuing devious stratagems to get around EC law in relation to free movement of trade on this island.
I will be in touch with the Deputy concerning that matter.
I wish to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of Question No. 144 on the Order Paper of 6 June.
I will communicate with the Deputy.
I wish to raise on the Adjournment the inadequacy of the provision for homeless young people in Dublin and nationally and the consequent overcrowding of many facilities, with problems for both the facilities and the neighbours adjacent, and the plans which the Minister for Health has to make additional provision arising out of the new responsibilities shortly to be given to him under the Children Bill.
I will communicate with the Deputy.
I seek to raise on the Adjournment the failure of the Minister for Health to introduce his much-promised drug subsidy scheme and the consequent hardship for many thousands of people suffering from long term illnesses.
I will be in touch with the Deputy concerning the matter.
I sought yesterday to raise on the Adjournment the case of an inflight refugee who has been incarcerated in Limerick Jail by the Minister for Justice without trial. I have repeatedly requested the Minister to release this man to the Red Cross or to some other private person and he has refused. I seek again to raise the matter on the Adjournment.
I am aware of the Deputy's interest in the matter and I will communicate with him.
I wish to raise on the Adjournment the serious problem caused by the indiscriminate parking of caravans on public property, which is a major threat to job creation and a matter of major concern to communities and local authorities.
I will be in touch with the Deputy concerning the matter.
I seek to raise on the Adjournment with the Minister for Justice the operation of the Casual Trading Act, 1981.
I will be in touch with the Deputy concerning that matter.
I wish to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of Question No. 89 on the Order Paper for 22 May.
I will communicate with the Deputy.
I again seek permission to raise on the Adjournment the need for the Minister for Education, bearing in mind the fact that 10,500 students failed to obtain a D grade on the ordinary level mathematics paper in the leaving certificate, to introduce a second B syllabus of equal standard but of more practical content, as recommended by the mathematics curriculum committee of the NCAA.
I will communicate with the Deputy.
I wish to raise on the Adjournment the instruction by the Minister for the Environment to Dublin County Council to levy tolls on the Dublin Ring Road, although the matter is a reserved function of the elected members.
I will communicate with the Deputy.