Enda Kenny
Ceist:6 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the total cost of the recent Cabinet meeting in County Laois; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19977/03]
Ceisteanna – Questions. - Cabinet Meetings.
Enda Kenny
Ceist:7 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach his plans for holding Cabinet meetings outside Dublin in the next year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19978/03]
Pat Rabbitte
Ceist:8 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Taoiseach if he plans to hold Cabinet meetings outside Dublin in the coming months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22160/03]
Trevor Sargent
Ceist:9 Mr. Sargent asked the Taoiseach the plans there are for holding Cabinet meetings outside Dublin over the next 12 months; the estimated costs of such meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24083/03]
Joe Higgins
Ceist:10 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Taoiseach his plans to hold Cabinet meetings outside Dublin over the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24883/03]
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Ceist:11 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Taoiseach the plans he has for holding Cabinet meetings outside Dublin in 2004; the purpose of such meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25365/03]
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Ceist:12 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on social inclusion and drugs last met. [20278/03]
Trevor Sargent
Ceist:13 Mr. Sargent asked the Taoiseach the Cabinet sub-committees currently established under the auspices of his Department; and when each last met. [20410/03]
Tony Gregory
Ceist:14 Mr. Gregory asked the Taoiseach the number of meetings held to date in 2003 of the Cabinet committee on social inclusion and drugs. [22017/03]
Pat Rabbitte
Ceist:15 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-committee on drugs and social inclusion last met; and when the next meeting is planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23911/03]
Joe Higgins
Ceist:16 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-committee on drugs and social inclusion last met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24886/03]
Enda Kenny
Ceist:17 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on drugs and social inclusion will next meet. [26243/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 17, inclusive, together.
The costs arising to my Department for the Government meeting in Emo, County Laois, are estimated to be in the order of €4,000. The Government intends to continue having meetings outside Dublin from time to time. In addition to the meeting in Emo, meetings have been held in Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon; Knocknaheeney, County Cork; Faithlegg, County Waterford; Ballymascanlon, County Louth; Killarney, County Kerry; and Glenveagh, County Donegal. The holding of Government meetings outside Dublin is very much welcomed by communities in the areas visited. There are no specific further meetings planned at this stage.
The following are the Cabinet committees established by the Government and the dates they last met: Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion, Drugs and Rural Development, 22 October 2003; Cabinet Committee on Housing, Infrastructure and Public Private Partnerships, 5 November 2003; Cabinet Committee on Children, 1 October 2003; health strategy, 29 May 2003; Cabinet Committee on European Affairs, 29 October 2003; Cabinet Committee on Information Society, 9 September 2003; and Cabinet Committee on Asylum, Immigration and Refugee Matters, 13 June 2003.
The Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion, Drugs, and Rural Development has met on eight occasions to date in 2003 and is scheduled to meet again on 19 November 2003. The next meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Asylum, Immigration and Refugee Matters, which meets every six months, is scheduled to take place tomorrow.
I am not sure that the meeting in Ballaghaderreen impacted to any great effect on the spend in the BMW region. It generated an amount of comment and local coverage and meetings were held on the margins but I am not sure they had a great impact.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul indicated that an allocation of about €2.8 billion in the budget will be needed to deal with the poverty issue, excluded groups and those who are below the poverty line. Does the Taoiseach agree that the Cabinet committee on social inclusion should organise hearings to enable groups such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to get its message across directly to Government?
When the new e-Cabinet meeting table is in place will that mean that no further Cabinet meetings can be held outside Dublin because the technology cost involved of €42,000 will not be available?
Being a politically aware person, I am sure the Taoiseach has assessed the impact, in publicity terms, of holding Cabinet meetings outside Dublin. Between next January and June the Taoiseach will be tied up with the European Presidency, but will he give a guarantee that, in Cabinet meetings the Government will hold outside Dublin during that period, there will no electioneering on the margins of those meetings, whether they are held in Faithlegg, Pollathomas or wherever, and that they will not be turned into a slick Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats operation whereby they say they are back in town and anything the people want they will deal with provided the people come across with the readies before the middle of June?
The Dublin Port tunnel would be a good venue.
The Government will continue to meet in the regions and that is a good practice because its members can meet the various groups and organisations who seek such meetings. They are a good utilisation of time. As Deputy Kenny knows, many of the regional groups like to have the opportunity of being listened to in their own bailiwick, area or region, and that is a good practice. I do not know why people did not do this down through the generations. Perhaps Governments in the past were Dublin orientated and it took a person from the middle of Dublin to take a different view. Whatever the reason, it is a good practice. Organisations such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul should have an opportunity to make a case. In recent years the Minister for Social and Family Affairs has held open sessions in preparation for the budget where all of these groups have the chance to put their views forward and to make a pre-budget submission in advance of the new financial year. That has happened this year and is an important part of the process.
With the way it is shaping up, I am not sure that there will be much time for travelling around during the Presidency.
The e-Cabinet process will take time to develop but over time it will help. The advanced technology can be put to use in the regions as part of the decentralisation programme, and will be of assistance in many decentralised offices throughout the State.
The Minister for Finance and the Minister for Agriculture and Food do not seem to have to use e-Cabinet.
On the issue of e-Cabinet, I am reminded of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform saying, when he was on this side of the House, that a Fianna Fáil committee examining a complex instrument from Europe was like giving a monkey a screwdriver behind a television set. I do not imply that about the e-Cabinet table, I am impressed by the level of sophistication. I wish the Taoiseach to understand that that statement came from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, not me.
The Deputy would not dream of saying that.
I would not and the Minister also sings a different tune these days. Does the Taoiseach think that Cabinet meetings are too Dublin focused? Would he consider holding a Cabinet meeting in Nenagh where the Minister for Defence has thrown out the Hanly report and have the Cabinet endorse that stance? Would he push on to Limerick, where the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Dea, has come out against the dismantling of the community employment schemes? Southill in Limerick would be a suitable venue for the Cabinet on tour.
Will the Taoiseach direct the Cabinet committee on social inclusion and drugs to examine why, despite repeated commitments that community drug treatment projects would not be impacted by the cuts in community employment, they are being affected? Schemes dependent on a sponsor such as a local authority lose community employment workers when they fall below a certain figure and the community drug treatment projects are being left short of staff because the sponsor has let the numbers fall.
That is outside the scope of the question. The Deputy should submit a question to the Tánaiste on the matter.
I am asking the Taoiseach to direct that the next Cabinet committee on social inclusion and drugs considers the commitment that disadvantaged areas affected by drugs should be ring-fenced from cuts in the jobs initiative or community employment schemes.
The question does not deal with the content of the meetings, it is a statistical question.
I am not dealing with content, I am asking if the Taoiseach, as Head of Government, will direct that the next meeting of the committee addresses this well in advance of the budget.
I will do that.
Will the Taoiseach go to Nenagh?
The Taoiseach mentioned one location in his reply and gave a figure of €4,000 for costs but there have been many other meetings. Was the Government jet required for a Cabinet meeting on any occasion? Was there any question of car pooling for Ministers travelling to Cabinet meetings?
The Taoiseach says there will be no time for going around the country during the EU Presidency. Is it also correct to say there will be no money available to do so? Is it false speculation that we have heard about ECOFIN meetings being held at Punchestown? Is it just idle speculation that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, will host a Council of Ministers meeting in Tullamore or the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, will do the same in Waterford? Is there any basis to this?
Will the Taoiseach correct his reply of last week when I asked about the emergency planning society report that said that a single emergency planning agency was needed? Will the Taoiseach revise this statement because the Minister for Defence, Deputy Michael Smith, has told The Irish Times—
That does not arise from these questions.
It does as it is a Cabinet sub-committee.
It does not arise from these questions. The Deputy can submit a parliamentary question to the appropriate Minister.
I have no doubt I will and do more about this issue. However, as the Taoiseach is answering questions on Cabinet sub-committees, I wish him to correct what he told us last week.
This is a statistical question on the date of meetings and not on their content.
The Minister for Defence seems to be playing a different tune to the Taoiseach on this matter.
The Deputy should submit a question to the Minister for Defence.
I want to clarify the Government's position on emergency planning.
The Emo Cabinet meeting was the only one outside Dublin in the course of the year. The breakdown of the costs are as follows. Overnight accommodation, a staff cost, came to €210 and catering costs were €1,675.96. Travel and subsistence costs came to €800 and telecommunication costs came to €1,270.92. This was the only expenditure at the Emo Cabinet meeting.
The Deputy asked about other Cabinet meetings held outside Dublin in other years. I recall one meeting where transport was used because there had been a meeting on the previous day on another matter in another location. Some Cabinet members did use transport for that meeting. However, on this occasion it was not used. Normally it would not be used.
Do they pool transport?
Ministers regularly pool transport when they are going to the same location for meetings. This was done at Emo as well.
What about emergency planning zones?
Has the Taoiseach initiated any appraisal of what the Cabinet sub-committee has achieved? After six and a half years of Government, heroin availability, addiction and marginalisation continue to be significant problems in many communities. Does the Taoiseach believe the committee's work has been successful, or does he agree that new and fresh—
The Deputy is going well outside the scope of the questions.
A Cheann Comhairle, I am asking about the parameters of a Cabinet sub-committee.
The Deputy can submit a question to the appropriate Minister.
The Taoiseach is the appropriate Minister on this occasion since this is a Cabinet sub-committee and he is head of Cabinet.
No, I do not believe that this is the case.
The Taoiseach answers to the House for the Cabinet sub-committee. It is quite within order to ask in a general way—
No, Deputy, it is not appropriate to ask about the content of the Cabinet sub-committee on social inclusion. The questions, including the Deputy's, ask when the Cabinet sub-committee on drugs and social inclusion last met.
When it next meets, will the committee consider some of the points raised about its work and success, or otherwise, over the last six and a half years?
The committee has done so all the time. Deputy Joe Higgins should put down a parliamentary question to the appropriate Minister. He will then have a full discussion on the issues on the agenda of the committee, both now and in the future.
Is it not time that the work of the Cabinet committee on social inclusion and drugs was stepped up? Is the Taoiseach aware that there is growing concern among communities, particularly among those at the coalface of tackling drug addiction, that there has been a disastrous increase in cocaine use?
Deputy Joe Higgins referred to heroin abuse, but there is a growing epidemic of cocaine use and abuse. It is more easily accessible, affordable and is openly available on the streets. It is widely available throughout the country unlike heroin, the supply of which was generally confined to the more marginalised in our community.
Your question must be related to the question submitted.
Is the Taoiseach aware of these growing concerns and problems? Would he not urge the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion, Drugs and Rural Development to up the ante given its responsibility to address these issues?
The Taoiseach said he was enthusiastic and looked forward to further Cabinet meetings outside these buildings. Would he consider going to Punchestown, where one of the items on the agenda could be the pet projects of Ministers? The Cabinet could go to the Red Cow roundabout to address the disastrous transport situation. The people in my constituency in Monaghan would welcome a Cabinet meeting to address the growing deficiencies in health care and the health service. Given the position of the Minister for State, Deputy Noel Ahern, on homelessness, the Cabinet could go to a hostel because in his view there are so few people homeless that there is considerable room in a hostel for the Cabinet to meet.
They would all be very interesting places to have a Cabinet meeting. The Deputy should table a question to allow the Mini ster concerned to give him an up-to-date briefing on the heroin position and where it is coming from. I have heard his briefing at the meeting. If an appropriate question was tabled to the Minister, this could be addressed in full.
What about cocaine?
Has the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion, Drugs and Rural Development considered the efficacy or otherwise of the State issuing methadone to young people less than 20 years of age?
We cannot discuss what took place. As I already pointed out a question of that nature should be submitted to the Minister with responsibility.
I am not asking whether it was discussed. Has that committee made proposals to address that? Has the committee considered, or has the Taoiseach given it his imprimatur to consider, what the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform described last night as “stomach churning hypocrisy” when asked about crossBorder activities?
These questions do not arise out of Questions Nos. 6 to 17, inclusive.
Will the committee be empowered to deal with this effectively?
We come to Questions Nos. 18 and 19.
The Taoiseach wants to answer.
The committee deals with those issues. If an appropriate question was tabled, the Minister would answer, particularly about methadone.
I will do that.
Would the Taoiseach agree that the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion, Drugs and Rural Development either needs to meet more often or to have its remit reconsidered, given the failure to bring about social inclusion, particularly as it relates to children?
You are going well outside the scope of the question.
We are asking about the frequency of meetings of the committee.
The question you are asking is the responsibility of another member of Cabinet. I suggest you table a question.
The Taoiseach should let us know if he considers the committee is doing valuable work, given that it is failing to tackle social inclusion.
A sub-committee of Cabinet is subject to the same Cabinet confidentiality as the Cabinet.
Why is the Taoiseach allowing it to take place if it is not dealing with the issue?
In his earlier response, the Taoiseach made reference to heroin, but did not refer to cocaine.
We cannot go into a discussion on it now.
Does the Taoiseach recognise the health boards are getting no additional funding to address the cocaine epidemic?
As has already been pointed out you should table a question to the appropriate Minister.
Will the Taoiseach encourage the sub-committee to ensure that additional funding is provided to address this very serious problem?
Deputy Ó Caoláin, I ask you to obey the ruling of the Chair. This is a matter for another Minister.
The Taoiseach is prepared to respond.
The Taoiseach would be out of order if he answered a question that is appropriate to another Minister.
It would be very helpful if he were to respond to such an important issue.