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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 20 Feb 2001

Vol. 530 No. 6

Request to move Adjournment of Dáil under Standing Order 31.

Before coming to the Order of Business, I propose to deal with a number of notices under Standing Order 31 dealing with two different issues. I propose to deal with these topics separately and I will call the Deputies in the order in which they submitted their notices to my office. In regard to the first topic, I received notice from Deputies Quinn, Shatter, Crawford, Bradford and Sargent. I call Deputy Quinn first.

In accordance with the terms of Standing Order 31, I wish to give notice of my intention to seek the adjournment of the Dáil to discuss the following specific and important matter of public interest requiring urgent attention: the need for the Taoiseach to make a full statement on the circumstances of the resignation from office of Deputy Ned O'Keeffe, the former Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, with special responsibility for food, and particularly the need for the Taoiseach to respond to claims made by Deputy O'Keeffe that the Taoiseach reneged on a deal made to transfer him to another Department. In view of the ruling of the Ceann Comhairle's office that a Private Notice Question was not a sufficient vehicle to address the importance of this subject matter, I ask that this matter be granted.

I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 on a matter of public interest requiring urgent consideration, that is, the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Deputy Ned O'Keeffe as the Minister of State with responsibility for food, and in particular the agreement between the Taoiseach and Deputy O'Keeffe to move him to a different Ministry; the pressure placed on him by the Taoiseach's office to resign; and the indecisive manner in which this matter was handled by the Taoiseach which has undermined his position as Taoiseach and caused longterm damage to the food industry.

I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 on a matter of public interest requiring urgent consideration, namely, the background to the resignation of Deputy Ned O'Keeffe as Minister of State with responsibility for food; the discussions which resulted in the Taoiseach agreeing to move Deputy O'Keeffe to a different Ministry which was not honoured; and the damage caused by this issue which has undermined consumer confidence at home and abroad in the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for food and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.

I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 on a matter of public interest requiring urgent consideration, namely, the circumstances which resulted in the resignation of Deputy Ned O'Keeffe as Minister of State with responsibility for food following the breakdown in the arrangement made between the former Minister of State and the Taoiseach to move him to another Department; the efforts made by the Taoiseach's office to force the resignation of the former Minister of State; and the damage caused by this issue to the food industry.

Poor Deputy John Bruton. Who forced him?

Under Standing Order 31, I seek the adjournment of the Dáil on a matter of urgent public importance, namely, the need for the Taoiseach—

There was no opinion poll.

We went to London recently to investigate everything.

Deputy Sargent, without interruption.

The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs is rattled.

Will Deputies, please, allow Deputy Sargent to continue?

The poll is on a hanger.

Is Deputy Flanagan's conscience clear?

Under Standing Order 31, I seek the Adjournment of the Dáil on a matter of urgent public importance, namely, the need for the Taoiseach to ensure the circumstances surrounding the resignation of the Minister of State with responsibility for food, Deputy Ned O'Keeffe, are fully explained by all involved, in particular, the reports of a secret deal between the Taoiseach and the Minister of State to move the Minister of State to a portfolio other than the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.

Having considered the matter fully, the Ceann Comhairle does not consider it to be one contemplated by Standing Order 31. I cannot grant leave, there fore, to move the motion. There is another request to raise a matter under Standing Order 31.

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, will you or your office, please, explain to the House how a request from me and Deputy Noonan for a private notice question—

There is a longstanding precedent in this House that if a Member has a difficulty with the Ceann Comhairle's ruling on a matter raised under Standing Order 31, he or she goes to the Ceann Comhairle's office to discuss the matter.

The Leas-Cheann Comhairle should listen to the question.

There is another request to raise a matter under Standing Order 31 from Deputy Fitzgerald.

The Leas-Cheann Comhairle should do us the courtesy of listening to a Member.

On a point of order, in the 20 years I have been a Member of this House I have never come across a ruling whereby a Deputy has been informed that a matter is too important for a private notice question—

I have already stated that there is a long-standing precedent in this House.

—and too unimportant for a motion under Standing Order 31.

As the Chair is speaking, will the Deputy, please, resume his seat?

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle—

I do not mind what the Deputy thinks. As the Chair is speaking, he should resume his seat.

I think we are entitled to an explanation for what is an extraordinary and unprecedented ruling.

Will the Deputy, please, resume his seat or he will have to leave the House?

On a point of order, I fully accept your ruling. I am not in any way challenging the Ceann Comhairle's ruling. If I want to challenge it, I am free to discuss the matter with him. It is not his ruling that I am questioning, but the explanation given—

Exactly.

—to Deputy Quinn and me. We were informed that private notice questions were being ruled out of order on the grounds that the Taoiseach would make a statement.

It is my understanding—

You informed me that it was an announcement. On your own ruling, it is not a statement, but an announcement.

—that the questions were ruled out of order on the basis that they were not urgent.

The Taoiseach misled the Ceann Comhairle's office.

A Deputy

We were all told the same.

No, I have the ruling issued from the Ceann Comhairle's office. It stated that the Ceann Comhairle was of the view that as the issue was too big to be raised by way of private notice question, it should be raised by way of substantive motion. That is the reason we tried to raise it under Standing Order 31. It went on to state—

There is no substantive motion before the House.

—that the Taoiseach would make a statement at 4.15 p.m. He has not done so.

It is my understanding that there was an error in referring to the announcement as a statement in the office of the Ceann Comhairle.

(Interruptions.)

The Deputy will not challenge the Chair's ruling.

It was an error, a deliberate error and you will not get away with it.

My understanding is no.

We need to challenge the Taoiseach.

(Interruptions.)

A misquote.

Are you asking us to seriously believe that?

There is no mechanism, therefore, to ask the Taoiseach a question.

We are not having a debate on the matter.

I know there is a great streak of humour in your family, but that is too much.

I ask the Deputy to resume his seat while I am on my feet. I will undertake to ask the Ceann Comhairle to make a statement on the matter tomorrow morning. I will hear no more on it.

Thank you.

We now proceed to the next request to raise a matter under Standing Order 31 from Deputy Fitzgerald.

There is an element of Fawlty Towers about it.

(Dublin West): On a point of order—

I will deal with the Deputy's point of order later.

I seek the Adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to discuss the following urgent and important matter, namely, the revelations in the High Court yesterday that disturbed children are being accommodated in hotels because there are no secure places available for them and the comments of Mr. Justice Peter Kelly that the State's record of care for disturbed children has descended into farce.

Having considered the matter fully, the Ceann Comhairle does not consider it to be one contemplated by Standing Order 31. I cannot grant leave, therefore, to move the motion.

It is not a justice matter.

(Dublin West): I also tabled a private notice question on the previous matter. The whole country is asking who pushed Deputy Ned O'Keeffe to feed with the fishes.

That is not a point of order. I call the Taoiseach on the Order of Business.

(Dublin West): Was it the Taoiseach or one of his consigliere?

Will the Deputy, please, desist?

(Dublin West): I did not get an explanation.

I have called the Taoiseach on the Order of Business.

On a point of order, the Ceann Comhairle is the guarantor of the rights of Members of this House. Is he aware that there is—

That is not a point of order.

You have not heard it, Sir. There is an entire category of Members, Ministers of State, who are, apparently, being besieged by an unknown unelected political assassin.

That is not a point of order.

The Taoiseach does not know anything about it.

I ask the Deputy to resume your seat.

The Minister of State, Deputy Ned O'Keeffe, was forced to resign.

I have called the Taoiseach to announce the Order of Business.

The Taoiseach never heard about it.

I ask the Deputy to resume his seat.

The Taoiseach does not know why he—

I have called the Taoiseach on the Order of Business. Does the Deputy wish to leave the House?

The Minister of State said that he was pushed. The Taoiseach never heard of it.

If the Deputy does not resume his seat immediately, he will leave the House. Will the Deputy, please, resume his seat?

I am concerned about—

I ask the Deputy to leave the House.

They are all targets for some unelected official.

He might strike again.

I ask the Deputy to leave the House.

(Interruptions.)

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle,—

The Deputy was asked. We must have order.

On a point of order—

Deputy Rabbitte was asked to resume his seat when the Chair was on his feet, but he refused to do so.

The Deputy was making a valid point of order.

We will suspend the sitting to enable Deputy Rabbitte to leave the House.

It was on a point of order which you allowed him to make. In the midst of that—

Deputy Rabbitte was asked to resume his seat. He was not in order. It was not a point of order. I ask Deputy Rabbitte to leave the House now.

—you asked him to leave the House.

I am suspending the House for five minutes to call the Ceann Comhairle.

There is no basis for such a ruling.

On a point of order—

The Dáil is being suspended for five minutes to call the Ceann Comhairle.

The Dáil is dull enough without suspending somebody who is witty.

It is not a question of being witty, but of gross disorder.

That is the ultimate.

Sitting suspended at 4.37 p.m. and resumed at 4.47 p.m.
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