It is proposed to take No. 6 and, subject to the order being made, the Report and Final Stages of the Domestic Violence Bill, 1995, and Nos. 1 and 7. It is also proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that: (1) subject to the order being made on No. 6, the proceedings on the Report and Final Stages of the Domestic Violence Bill, 1995, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion at 5 p.m. by one question which shall be put from the Chair and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Equality and Law Reform; (2) Private Members' Business shall be No. 15 and the proceedings thereon shall be brought to a conclusion at 8.30 p.m. and (3) the sitting shall be suspended from 12.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.
Order of Business.
There are three matters to put to the House. First, are the proposals for dealing with No. 6 agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with Private Members' Business agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal that the sitting be suspended from 12.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. agreed? Agreed.
Will the Taoiseach give the House an undertaking to publish the Book of Estimates before the Christmas recess? The Taoiseach may recall the publication. A Better Way to Plan the Nation's Finances, his document of 14 years ago in which he outlines the unacceptable procedures he is now following. For many years Fianna Fáil in Government always published the Book of Estimates before the Christmas recess.
Speeches are not in order now.
Unfortunately, we are having great difficulty getting answers from the Taoiseach on this issue. Will the Taoiseach give a clear and absolute commitment that we will have the Book of Estimates before Friday week?
I give an absolute and clear commitment to the House that we will publish the Estimates as soon as they are ready.
This matter should not give rise to argument or debate now.
We want only to debate the Estimates but are not allowed. We will raise this matter today and every day we do not have the Book of Estimates. Is the Government not united on keeping spending within the 2 per cent limit? Will the Taoiseach confirm if that is the real problem?
Wishful thinking.
Once again I draw the attention of the House to the fact that the media is better informed than us. I read in this morning's newspapers that the Government will meet at 8.30 a.m. tomorrow to finalise the Estimates, yet the Taoiseach refused to tell us yesterday when the Government intends to finalise the Estimates. May I take it that on tomorrow's Order of Business the Taoiseach will be able to tell us that the Estimates will be sent to print and published?
No, the Deputy may not take it to that effect.
I am sure I will read in tomorrow's paper what will happen at tomorrow's Cabinet meeting. Will the Government meet at 8.30 a.m. tomorrow to discuss the Estimates? The Taoiseach promised to run his Government like a pane of glass.
That is a different question.
Will there be a Cabinet meeting in the morning?
I am not in a position to go into detail about any matter that may be discussed at a Government meeting and do not propose to do so. However, I can confirm that there will be a Government meeting tomorrow because this Government meets whenever it has business to transact.
In the light of Mr. Justice Paul Carney's judgment yesterday, would the Taoiseach say whether it is the Government's intention to introduce legislation to provide for minimum sentencing in the case of recidivist sex offenders?
I should prefer that the Deputy would refer to specific legislation promised in this House.
The Government, and the Minister for Justice in particular, will be studying that judgment. I have a list of sexual offences here, four to five of which carry a maximum penalty of life but there are some that do not. We will be studying all the relevant judgments in this matter to ascertain whether any legislative changes are required.
Would the Taoiseach accept that it is entirely undesirable that an individual who would be likely to reoffend should be admitted into society in the case of offences of this nature?
This should not give rise to debate now, Deputy.
Is it the Taoiseach's intention to establish contact today with his counterpart, the British Prime Minister, in relation to the critical position vis-á-vis Irish Steel?
The Deputy must raise that at another time.
Some weeks ago when the Minister for Finance took the Order of Business he gave a commitment that if there was any inadequacy in the law in relation to sexual offences against children the Government would deal with it. With that commitment in mind will the Taoiseach consider — when there is a multiplicity of heinous crimes against children, as in the case before the courts yesterday — introducing adequate legislation?
My understanding is that a life sentence is applicable to a number of cases of sexual offence. I would not wish to comment, nor would the Minister for Justice wish to me to do so, on any judicial decision without first having had an opportunity of studying it. Obviously, if there are deficiencies in the law, particularly in circumstances where people are released while being a grave danger to minors, we would wish to remedy them. I would not necessarily accept that legislative change is necessary until we have had an opportunity of studying the judgment which was handed down only yesterday and founded on another judgment. We shall have to consult both of those judgments, plus the statutory provisions, in order to decide whether further legislation is necessary. The Minister for Finance was quite right in saying that this Government attaches considerable importance to ensuring that the law in this area affords maximum protection to victims or potential victims.
Given that the Taoiseach, in his past life, was very much to the fore in saying that the House should have adequate opportunity to discuss the Estimates for any given year, has he any proposals to put to the House regarding the Estimates for 1996? Would he adhere to his idea enunciated in the 1980s that it would be a good idea to bring forward legislation to ensure that the delay in their production will not occur?
I remember being a Member of this House for up to 20 years when most of the Estimates were hardly discussed at all in the House. As a result of the introduction of a committee system by a Government of which I was not a member, but of which Deputy McCreevy was, we now have a committee system in place whereby every Estimate is discussed in detail in the House, which was never the case before. It is something for which we can all take credit and a good example of Dáil reform at work.
Was it not always the case that the Estimates for the following year were published well before the Christmas recess to allow some debate on them?
We can have no argument now. I note there are quite a number of Members offering. I will facilitate all of them provided they are relevant and brief.
Would the Taoiseach agree that we have been far too polite with the British Government in regard to the position of Irish Steel? Will he give the House a commitment that he will meet the British Prime Minister to pull out all the stops in an endeavour to save those jobs in Cork? We have been far too polite and the Taoiseach's involvement has been lacking in this issue——
That is not very convincing.
Deputy, that is not appropriate now.
——since so many jobs are at stake in the Cork area.
Members opposite may think it is a laughing matter but it is far from being so.
It is not a laughing matter for the people of Cork.
Deputy Martin, I did ask that Members' questions be relevant. You are not relevant——
A Cheann Comhairle, I am disappointed to hear that apparently Irish Steel is irrelevant. I will ask a different question.
At the right time in this House, when the Chair will facilitate the Deputy.
Since the Taoiseach stated in reply to questions from Deputies Harney and O'Donoghue that he would study yesterday's judgment, is he aware that since 1993 there has been in existence a Law Reform Commission report recommending legislation in areas like this? Since Government has had three years in which to study that report——
Since that report has been in existence since 1993 does the Taoiseach intend to accept a proposal contained therein and introduce legislation in areas like these?
That is not in order now.
Since the traffic position in our capital city is deteriorating almost weekly — some of which may be due to the Christmas rush — will the Taoiseach say when it is proposed to discuss legislation on light rail and the Minister will announce its proposed routes, if the Government is still committed to it and if he and his Government are aware of the grave concern that the city might not survive its construction period?
Is specific legislation promised in this area?
It is our hope that this legislation will be published in March or April next at the latest.
And the routes?
That is a matter the Minister is examining and I do not think it would be appropriate for me to comment.
Is it now the policy of the Taoiseach and his Government to kill off the total industrial base of Cork Harbour in addition to the closure of Verolme Cork dockyard, Fords and Dunlops? Is it the intention to kill off the only remaining industry within the harbour area, Irish Steel? If the viability plan for the company had been put in place, it would have ensured its survival. I note there is silence on the far side of the House. Apparently they want to close down Cork city and county.
I am calling Deputy Wallace.
Do they want to close down Cork city and county——
Please, Deputy O'Keeffe.
——where 350 jobs are at risk?
Would Deputy O'Keeffe please desist? The Deputy knows there are ways and means——
Have they any respect whatsoever for jobs in the Cork area?
Deputy O'Keeffe, resume your seat. The Deputy knows there are ways and means of raising such matters.
There are 350 jobs at stake.
Deputy O'Keeffe, you will resume your seat or leave the House. I will take no more of this from you.
Deputies
Hear, hear.
You know you are completely out of order and you persist in being disorderly. Furthermore, you know that these important matters can be raised in this House in a proper manner.
In regard to the Courts and Court Officers Bill, 1995 at present being considered by the Select Committee on Legislation and Security, given the Taoiseach's commitment to the committee system will he say whether the Minister for Justice has informed him that the entire membership of that select committee is in favour of a specific amendment the Government is refusing to accept, to allow solicitors become eligible for judicial office in superior courts? Will the Taoiseach say whether the Minister for Justice contacted her Cabinet colleagues last evening to discuss this matter which goes to the very heart of the efficacy of the select committee system?
The Deputy may not make a speech now. I want to facilitate her——
It refers to legislation before the House.
The Deputy is embarking on a speech.
I make a strong appeal to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to become involved in Irish Steel. It is the most crucial issue affecting Cork at the moment. The Chair indicated that I could raise it at some other time, but that may be too late for Irish Steel. The negotiations are at an impasse.
The Deputy knows when such matters can be raised in the House.
If I may trespass on the goodwill of the Chair, a number of Deputies have raised a concern which I share.
Unfortunately, at the wrong time.
I appreciate that by endeavouring to answer I am placing the Chair in an awkward position, but in response to Deputy Wallace and others, including Deputies on this side of the House who raised this matter with me, I am very concerned about the situation in Irish Steel. I do not believe the attitude of the British Government is justified; it is not based on facts.
I have conveyed this view in the strongest way to the British authorities. My office is in daily contact about this matter with the Office of the Prime Minister, and I have also asked all relevant members of the Government to contact their counterparts who are dealing with other relevant EU matters in which Britain might have an interest, to convey our deepest concern on this matter. It is a tremendous achievement by the Minister to have been able to get such a vibrant investor to come into Irish Steel. It is of great importance to this country that this plant which is now to be privatised should be able to do its work and add to the already very substantial economic investment taking place in Cork. Far from being a depressed zone, as Deputy O'Keeffe described it, Cork is vibrant, and Irish Steel will add to that vibrancy in the future.
Will the Taoiseach meet the Prime Minister?
It was announced on the news at 10.30 p.m. last night that the Government had cleared the Juvenile Justice Bill for publication. When can we expect publication? I did not receive a copy this morning.
The Government has cleared the heads of the Bill. The drafting has now to take place.
The delay is disgraceful.
This is a question of promised legislation. When will it be published?
In regard to the Children Act, the last five Governments failed to make the policy decisions that would have allowed work on the drafting of this Bill to begin. As somebody who has been interested in child care since I was parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Education in 1973, I am particularly proud this Government has at last made the relevant policy decisions on matters such as the age of criminal responsibility so that this Bill can now be drafted.
When will it be published?
We are now proceeding with maximum priority to draft this very comprehensive and detailed legislation——
The Government is engaging in a PR exercise at every turn.
——and in so doing we are clearing an obstacle that previous Governments, including the one with which Deputy Dermot Ahern was associated as a Minister of State, were unable to clear.
I thank the Taoiseach for what he said about Irish Steel, which is what I have been saying for the last few months. The Taoiseach is always upbraiding us for not asking the correct questions. Will he speak today to the British Prime Minister about Irish Steel?
I am proceeding to the business of the House proper. The Order of Business has gone on for far too long, and I would not mind if it was orderly. I will call Deputy Ahern on a final matter.
It seems to be a new practice of this Government to announce the heads of a Bill. When will we see the detailed draft of the Freedom of Information Bill? It is unreasonable of the Government to brief everyone in sight except Members of this House. It is not the practice we follow.
Will the Taoiseach join me in welcoming the long overdue return of Mr. Paddy Kelly to Ireland and agree that his treatment in certain respects was quite indefensible in terms of human rights?
There are procedures for dealing with such matters.
I expect the Freedom of Information Bill will be ready in April in full draft form.