Will the Ceann Comhairle clarify for the House a point raised by the leader of the Fine Gael Party, Deputy John Bruton? Is it the prerogative of a Member whose matter has been selected for the Adjournment Debate to share time or can the Ceann Comhairle's office dictate that time should be shared between Deputies?
Order of Business (Resumed).
The Ceann Comhairle has complete discretion as to what and who are selected for the Adjournment Debate.
Yes, but that is a different point.
That is a different question.
They are not asked to share time.
I fully accept that. What is the position about sharing time?
Deputies have the facility to come to my office, but there are times when two or more Members submit the same question. If at that stage an offer is made to share time, it is completely at the discretion of the Ceann Comhairle. If they disagree, one is then selected.
Yes.
The person who submits the matter first is selected.
Why has Deputy Ring been suspended?
We will not enter into any further discussion. The Chair has complete discretion on this matter.
Deputy Ring tabled his question before anybody else.
The Chair has complete discretion on this matter.
He does not.
The Chair will not enter into a debate in the House.
Deputies Quinn and De Rossa rose.
The Chair is on his feet. The Deputies should resume their seats.
I have no wish to be unruly, Sir, but it appears that in your absence a new precedent was created. I merely ask that you investigate the matter as it has led to the unnecessary suspension of Deputy Ring. You should report back to either the Committee on Procedure and Privileges or the House. An injustice has been done.
The Deputy should not make those allegations. The matter is closed. There will be a division tomorrow morning.
On a point of order—
There can be no further points of order. We must proceed with the business of the day.
—Deputy Ring was the first to make a request. He is entitled to raise the matter on the Adjournment.
The Chair has complete discretion.
To decide on who can share time?
On a point of order, in the last two weeks the Chair allowed two Deputies from the same constituency to raise the same issue and they did not share time. Does that not establish a precedent?
The Chair has complete discretion in the matter and is as impartial as one can be.
On a point of order—
There can be no further points of order. We must proceed to item No. 8.
You stated that if two Deputies seek to raise the same issue, they can be requested to share time and that if they choose not to, you can select the person to raise the issue. Are you saying that the Deputy who seeks to raise an issue first will not be selected automatically? You may be leaving yourself open to a charge of administrative favouritism.
The Chair has complete discretion in the matter. I invite Deputies to examine the record.
This has not happened before.
An injustice has been done to Deputy Ring who was the first to raise the issue.
I have ruled on the matter. There can be no further discussion.
It may help if I clarified the matter. I handed in my request personally on Friday last and find it incomprehensible that another Deputy could have handed in a request before me.
Deputy Ring was thrown out for doing this.
I was informed by the Ceann Comhairle's office that I had been selected to raise the matter on the Adjournment and would share time with Deputy Kenny. I fully accepted this. I understood that we would have two and a half minutes each.
We must proceed to the Order of Business.
On a point of order—
There can be no further points of order. Will the Deputy, please, resume her seat?
I am entitled to raise a point of order.
Only if it is genuine.
Are you aware that I was asked by your office to withdraw my request to raise a matter on the Adjournment tonight—
That is not a point of order.
It is of interest to the House. You are dependent on the goodwill of Deputies but I cannot be dependent on the goodwill of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to represent the interests of Members such as Deputy Ring who is representing the interests of his constituents and is seeking to abide by the rules of the House.
I have ruled that the matter cannot be discussed further. Will the Deputy, please, resume her seat? We must proceed to the Order of Business.
There will be nobody left if the Leas-Cheann Comhairle has his way.
It is proposed to take No. 8, motion re. joint sitting to mark visit of Prime Minister Blair; No. 9, motion re. arrangements to facilitate joint sitting, and No. 23, statements on the Book of Estimates, 1999. It is also proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that (1) Nos. 8 and 9 shall be decided without debate, and (2) the following arrangements shall apply in relation to No. 23: (i) the opening statement of a Minister or Minister of State and the main spokespersons for the Fine Gael Party and the Labour Party shall not exceed 30 minutes in each case; (ii) the statement of each other Member called upon shall not exceed 20 minutes in each case; (iii) Members may share time, and (iv) a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 15 minutes. Private Members' Business shall be No. 60, motion re. third level education.
Is the proposal for dealing with Nos. 8 and 9 agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 23 agreed? Agreed.
For the past year the Taoiseach has been promising legislation to deal with the decisions being made as to whether asylum seekers are refugees within the meaning of the existing legislation. When will the legislation be presented in light of the difficult and ominous situation faced by many Irish residents whose status is unclear?
I mentioned some time ago that a comparative study had been commissioned of refugee legislation in EU member states. It is being conducted by University College Dublin and is to be completed by Christmas. In light of its conclusions and the experience gained in the operation of the various measures introduced this year, a decision will be made on how we should proceed to deal with the issue.
Is this a delaying tactic?
It is not. As the Deputy is aware, the Refugee Bill, 1996, was enacted on 26 June that year. A commencement order to give effect to sections 1, 2, 5, 22 and 55 was made at the end of August last year. The remaining sections have not been implemented. The procedures were designed to deal with 300 to 400 applications per year and only provided for the appointment of one refugee applications commissioner without the power to delegate. By the end of 1996 there were over 1,000 applications for asylum in hand. This had increased to almost 4,000 by the end of 1997. Over 4,000 applications have been lodged so far this year. The 1996 legislation is, therefore, worthless. The Department is trying to find a way to deal with the matter in a more meaningful way.
The legislation is not worthless.
Is it the case that asylum seekers are being refused provisional driving licences because their status has not been clarified?
We cannot have a debate on the issue.
The refugee applications centre in Lower Mount Street acts as a one-stop-shop for the United Nations officer, the Eastern Health Board, the medical screening unit and the independent appeals authority.
Does the Government intend to introduce amending legislation to provide for the appointment of additional refugee applications commissioners? Has the Government cleared the legislation to amend the compellability of witnesses Act to enable the Comptroller and Auditor General to conduct his investigation into allegations of tax evasion at the AIB? Has the Government cleared the text of the human rights commission Bill provided for under the British-Irish Agreement?
On the first matter, following the completion of the study to which I referred there will be amending legislation. The compellability legislation is being drafted and much work has been done on it. I indicated last week that the timeframe was two weeks. I have no reason to change that but if there is to be a change I will let the Deputy know. The human rights legislation will be ready before Christmas.
Item 10 on the Order Paper refers to a motion to mark United Nations human rights year. It has been on the Order Paper for some time. The debate on the Estimates will be held this week while the budget will be debated from 2 December. Will the Taoiseach arrange to have the motion taken next week?
Does the Taoiseach appreciate that it will be necessary to amend the Constitution if there is to be devolution of powers to the two new regions he proposes in line with the powers held by regions in other parts of Europe? Is he making preparations for a referendum in that regard?
The Chief Whip advises me that the motion on the United Nations human rights year can be taken as soon as there is agreement between the Whips. He has no difficulty in taking the motion if time can be agreed. I agree it would be better to take it next week because the Appropriation Bill, the budget and other issues will be taken before the end of the session, including other Supplementary Estimates that arise.
The Constitution gives this House the sole right to make legislation for the citizens of the State. If devolution of powers similar to those that have taken place in other parts of Europe are to be applied to the two proposed new regions a referendum would be required. Are preparations under way to hold such a referendum?
Is legislation promised?
Not at this stage. I will check if the Deputy's views are correct. I am not aware that preparatory work is under way in the Department of Foreign Affairs, although some may be.
The Attorney General has indicated that my understanding of the position is correct. Will the Taoiseach inform the House on the Order of Business tomorrow if preparations are being made to hold a referendum?
For some time I have asked the position on the promised legislation for direct elections of mayors and chairpersons of local authorities. Will the Taoiseach confirm it will be introduced in the next session? Is it intended that direct elections will be held at the time of the local elections next year or at a future date?
The Local Government (No. 2) Bill and proposals on local government reform will be ready in early 1999.
Is legislation envisaged to give effect to the national anti-poverty strategy? I understand the Minster predicted the Electricity Regulation Bill would be published over a week ago. What is delaying the publication of the Bill?
The Bill should be ready in approximately ten days.
Is legislation promised to give effect to the national anti-poverty strategy?
No.
In view of the growing concern about the manner in which some health boards, especially the Eastern Health Board—
A question on proposed legislation.
My question is concerned with legislation if you would allow me to complete it just for once. In view of growing concern about the manner in which some health boards, especially the Eastern Health Board, are processing applications for assessments for foreign adoptions, will the Taoiseach indicate when the promised legislation to implement the Hague Convention on Foreign Adoptions will be introduced to the House, whether he will give it greater priority than that accorded to it in the Government's published programme in October, whether he is in a position to tell the House when the review group established by the Department of Health and Children to examine the issue of assessments of foreign adoptions will report and whether this report can be expected before the end of this year?
The review group is a matter for a parliamentary question. The heads of a Bill to ratify the Hague Convention of May 1992 have been prepared and it is expected that the Bill will be published some time in the middle of next year.
The Taoiseach indicated that legislation on a human rights commission would be ready for publication before Christmas. He committed himself to enabling the relevant committee to consider the heads of the Bill before publication, but the agendas for the next meetings of the committee make no reference to this. Will the Taoiseach indicate what is happening with regard to enabling the committee to consider the heads of the Bill?
That is not appropriate to the Order of Business.
It was permitted on the Order of Business when I raised it previously — I recall that the Ceann Comhairle was in the Chair. The Taoiseach has no problem in answering the question. It relates to legislation and I am entitled to an answer.
In relation to legislation, yes, but not with regard to the Bills under consideration by committees.
The question relates to the heads of a Bill; the Bill is legislation.
It is not appropriate to discuss the details of a Bill. When will the Bill be put before the House?
When Deputy Quinn asked this question I said it would be ready in the middle of December 1998. The heads of the Bill are in preparation in the Department. I have no control over the agenda of the committee but I understand the Minister was to look at the possibility of appearing before it whenever the heads of the Bill are available.
It is clear that legislation on an ombudsman for children will not be introduced in this session. Will such legislation be introduced in the next session?
The heads of a Bill and the memorandum have been finalised for clearance. The heads will be submitted in the middle of December and legislation will be finalised next year.
Dr. Upton
Will the Taoiseach indicate when legislation on the private security industry will be introduced and will he give a commitment that it will be taken in the next session? Will he give a commitment that Committee Stage of the Children (Juvenile Justice) Bill will be taken before Christmas?
Which Christmas?
Dr. Upton
The coming Christmas.
The Private Security Industry Bill will provide for the establishment of a statutory framework for the regulation of the industry. A report on the consultative group in the private security industry is available. Work is at a preliminary stage.
That report is 12 months old.
According to my information the report is dated 31 August 1998.
It was given to the Minister last December.
It is three months old. I do not have a publication date for the legislation.
It was promised to introduce that legislation before Christmas.
Am I in order, Sir, in inviting the Taoiseach to take the opportunity on the Order of Business to clarify the record of the House. Earlier on Question Time I quoted him as saying that the dynamic towards unity is irresistible. The full quotation was published in yesterday's newspapers. He may have inadvertently misled the House. He was asked if he agreed this was the case and he said he did and that so also did many others. That is not the impression he perhaps inadvertently gave on Question Time and he may wish to correct the record of the House.
The Deputy used the words a number of times. They were not used by me. I answered a question and elaborated for four or five minutes. I did not choose the words.
By saying yes the Taoiseach made them his own.
It would be appropriate for the House to compliment all involved in organising last Friday night's "Late Late Show".
I thought the Deputy was going to talk about the Árd-Fheis.
He is coming to that.
It was probably the most important show we have seen on television and I hope it will inspire all those involved in trying to secure a lasting peace on this island.
On legislation on the security industry, the Taoiseach promised that it would be before the House by Christmas. Last March the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, said in response to a Private Members' Bill that it would be before the House by Christmas. The Taoiseach is now telling us he is not sure when it will be introduced. I would appreciate it if he would clarify the position.
I ask the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for guidance. How does one raise an issue of importance where 120 people will lose their jobs in Southborough in Kells?
That is not appropriate to the Order of Business.
People have been given notice that their jobs are gone.
Deputy Farrelly knows there are ways to raise this matter — for example, on the Adjournment or by way of a parliamentary question.
On a point of order, Deputy Farrelly should have asked his party leader not to make a blunder on the radio this morning as regards the situation in Southborough.
That is not a point of order.
(Interruptions.)
Is it not customary not to interrupt a maiden speech?
It is very unpleasant to be between two Meathmen. Are there preliminary plans to hold a referendum in conjunction with next June's local elections and if so, will the Taoiseach tell the House the subject matter of the referendum?
No such referendum has been promised.
The Healy-Rae amendment.
There has been no final decision.
In view of the economic and social crisis in Central America and the increasing burden debt is imposing on Third World countries, will the Taoiseach give a commitment that the Bretton Woods (Amendment) Bill will be passed by the House before Christmas?
It is the intention that it will be passed by Christmas.
I raised the Equal Status Bill before in the context of the British-Irish Agreement and whether it would be given priority along with the human rights legislation. I understood from the answer I got that it would be given priority. When I raised the matter last week the Taoiseach said the Equal Status Bill would be published after Christmas. Is it being given priority in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform given its context in the British-Irish Agreement?
It will be introduced in early 1999. Advice has been sought on some aspects of the Bill.
Is it being given priority?
Yes.
I am having difficulty getting a simple answer to a straightforward question and that makes me a little concerned. Will the Local Government (No. 2) Bill, to which the Taoiseach referred, deal with directly elected chairpersons and mayors of local authorities? Is that the Bill about which I have been asking?
It is not appropriate to ask about the content of legislation.
The Taoiseach talked about a Local Government (No. 2) Bill. Will that Bill deal with directly elected chairpersons and mayors and will it be enacted in time for the local elections next year?
If the Leas-Cheann Comhairle wants me to take Question Time for the Department of the Environment and Local Government, I am capable of doing so. In the meantime, I answered the Deputy by saying the reform of local government would be dealt with in that Bill. I cannot tell the Deputy what will be in the Bill.
I refer to tax relief for artists. On Vincent Browne's radio programme last night, a former Member of this House explained how he could write articles for newspapers and periodicals without paying income tax because he is an artist.
That is not fair on Willie O'Dea.
Are there any proposals to change that legislation?
Some of the dubious initiatives of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform which the Taoiseach lauded at the weekend, such as mandatory minimum sentencing, are contained in the Criminal Justice Bill, 1997, which was published in October and is still on Committee Stage? When will Report Stage be taken, when will the Bill be passed and when may we expect the Criminal Justice Bill, 1998?
It is not appropriate to ask on the Order of Business about Bills which have passed Second Stage.
It is very appropriate.