It is proposed to take No. 2, Copyright and Related Rights Bill, 1999[Seanad]– Second Stage and No. 36, Statements on Housing, Planning and Transportation (resumed) to be taken following the announcement of matters on the Adjournment under Standing Order 21, if not reached previously, and the order shall not resume thereafter.
Order of Business.
There are not any proposals to put to the House.
I wish to inquire about the promised Prison Service Bill. Prison officers in Mountjoy will meet at 1 p.m. today. What arrangements has the Government put in place lest the officers decide to take action over their concerns about over-crowding in the prison? Has the Government alerted the Army in case it is needed, given that there was a near riot in Portlaoise Prison in recent days? When will the Prison Service Bill be introduced so that we will know who is taking responsiblity for our prisons? At present, when it suits him, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Donoghue, sends the prison director to deal with the builders in Clover Hill, so he is not taking control of the situation.
The Deputy cannot make a statement on the matter.
When will the Government sort out the problems in our prison service which are being exacerbated because of the lack of action by the Minister?
I will allow Deputy Howlin to ask a question on the same issue. We cannot have statements on this matter.
In the list of promised legislation it is indicated that the Prison Service Bill will not come before the House until well into next year. In light of the facts put before the House by Deputy Owen, that the number of prisoners in Mountjoy Prison last night was more than double the recommended capacity, that two prisons were officially opened by the Minister, one of which is the women's prison where prisoners—
The Deputy should ask a question.
—were brought in for exercise and brought out again. When will this farcical situation be ended? When will we have a legislative response before the House as a matter of urgency before there is a further calamity?
The general scheme of the Prison Service Bill is expected early in 2000.
What?
As Deputy Howlin stated, the Bill is expected to be concluded late in 2000. In the meantime, the Minister has greatly increased the capacity of the prisons and it is expected that the new remand—
There is no one in the prisons.
They are empty. We built them.
The Deputy was in office for two and half years but she did not do much about this situation. The new remand prison at Clover Hill and the new women's prison at Mountjoy are expected to be operational shortly. This will alleviate overcrowding. The Minister is not in the House as he is at the annual Garda mass.
My apologies, I did not know that.
Deputy Owen on a new subject. This is the Order of Business.
I wish to ask about the Attachment of Earnings Bill. At present, 2,500 people go to prison for short periods but they take up spaces. Why has the Government not introduced the Attachment of Earnings Bill so that people fined in the courts can have an alternative means of paying fines rather than taking up places in our prison system? This legislation was promised by the Government but it has failed to introduce it. Where is the Attachment of Earnings Bill and the indexation of fines Bill? Implementation of this legislation would help to relieve overcrowding in Mountjoy which currently holds 782 people – well over 100 more than its capacity.
This legislation is under discussion with the new Courts Service which is being established in the context of major reform in this area. At this stage it is not possible to indicate when the Bill will be published.
On the Prison Service Bill—
We cannot continue to debate this matter, Deputy.
We will be happy to allow the Government to take the Fine Gael Bill.
I have called Deputy Howlin.
On the Prison Service Bill, does the Minister find it acceptable that in light of the need for a long promised radical overhaul of the prison service that a Bill should be long-fingered until well into next year? Is he aware that the governor of Mountjoy—
The Deputy is disorderly and should resume his seat.
—said there are people incarcerated who should not be in prison?
The Deputy should resume his seat. I call Deputy Shatter.
Has the Government a response?
It does not care.
The Deputy should resume his seat. The Minister should not comment as it is out of order.
I wish to raise a matter which is of great interest to a very large number of people. Will the Minister with responsibility for sport make a statement in the House or intervene to ensure the second leg of the European Cup soccer match between the Republic of Ireland and Turkey is shown—
That is not a matter for the Order of Business.
—on our screens next week?
It is not a matter for the Order of Business.
It is a matter in which thousands of people are interested.
It is not a matter for the Order of Business. I call Deputy Gilmore.
The Ceann Comhairle is off side.
I have called Deputy Gilmore on the Order of Business. The Minister should resume his seat. The Minister cannot reply to disorderly questions.
On a point of order, if the Minister, acting in place of the Taoiseach, is offering to give the House information on the Order of Business—
That is not a point of order. I have ruled that the matter is disorderly and it makes no difference whether it is a Minister or a Deputy.
The country has a right to know if the Minister has something helpful to tell us. The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation has a role to play in this issue.
The Deputy should resume his seat.
It appears that it will take several months for the planning and development legislation to be enacted. Will the Government consider extracting the housing portion of the legislation and bringing it before the House as a separate Bill in order to speed up the introduction of the 20 per cent provision of development land for social and affordable housing? Currently developers and landowners are busily submitting planning applications to avoid that provision.
The Deputy may not continue with a statement.
Will the Government bring those provisions separately before the House in order to speed up their introduction and before they are made ineffective?
The legislation in currently in the Seanad. It is an integrated Bill and it would not be feasible to do what the Deputy suggests.
There is a precedent for this. When the Goodman companies were in trouble the then Government brought forward—
We cannot discuss the matter on the Order of Business.
It can be done: the Government just will not do it.
Is legislation necessary to allow the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development pay subvention to the hard pressed pig farmers of the Border region who are currently—
That question is not in order on the Order of Business.
I want to clarify if legislation is necessary.
It is not an appropriate question on the Order of Business. The Deputy must find another way of raising the matter. I call Deputy Owen.
This is very relevant to the Order of Business. Nothing is more important.
The Chair rules on matters, not the Deputy. I have ruled that it is not in order on the Order of Business.
Hard working decent people have had to leave their farms because of the inactivity of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.
The Deputy should resume his seat.
Something should be done for these people.
The matter was raised on the Adjournment last night. The Deputy should resume his seat.
There are people outside the House 24 hours a day.
I ask the Deputy to please resume his seat.
A Ceann Comhairle, these people are constituents of yours as well as mine.
The Deputy should please resume his seat.
It is wrong the way these people are being treated.
On a point of order—
It is a nightmare and a disgrace and it will not be forgotten by the people.
The Deputy should resume his seat. The Order of Business is now concluded.