It is proposed to take No. 22, Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad] — Order for Report, Report and Final Stages; and No. 23 — statements on further and higher education, to be taken following the announcement of Matters on the Adjournment under Standing Order 21 and the order shall not resume thereafter. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the proceedings on No. 23 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 7 p.m. tonight and the following arrangements shall apply: the statements of a Minister or Minister of State and of the main spokespersons for the Fine Gael Party, the Labour Party and the Technical Group, who shall be called upon in that order, shall not exceed 15 minutes in each case; the statements of each other Member called upon shall not exceed ten minutes in each case; Members may share time; a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed five minutes. Private Members’ business shall be No. 55 — motion re school discipline issues, resumed, to conclude at 8.30 p.m.
Order of Business.
There is one proposal to put to the House. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 23 agreed? Agreed.
I thank the Government for agreeing to the simple motion in respect of sending out a clear message about the carry-on on the streets of Dublin last Saturday. I do not believe the Ceann Comhairle can rule me out of order when I mention the legislative programme, which refers to wider business and not just the Department of the Taoiseach. Only one Bill has been initiated in the Seanad this session and all other legislation to come before the Seanad has been amending legislation sent back from here. Of the 17 Bills on the Government's legislative programme, so far only four have been published.
Where is the promised legislation to introduce an independent inspectorate for nursing homes, which has been on the stocks for some time? Where is the promised legislation to clarify entitlements and rights to health services? Where is the promised legislation to establish a register of persons deemed unsafe to work with children? These are three fundamental areas. It increasingly appears in the past two years in particular that there is a blockage in the legislative procedure, either in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government or elsewhere. While it is important for us to be able to take statements here, a paucity of legislation is coming through. I ask the Taoiseach to comment on this issue and refer to the three Bills of fundamental importance, which have been promised for some time.
The nursing homes legislation is due this session. The hospital Bill will be ready in the summer and will be taken in the autumn session. We do not have a date for the legislation relating to the register of persons who are considered unsafe to work with children. The Departments of Education and Science and Health and Children have been in discussions about the establishment of pre-employment consultancy services. That legislation has been caught up in the North-South Ministerial Council. I have raised the matter with the council and with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to try to move it on. However, we do not have a definite date for its progress.
Will arrangements for discussion of the Neary report be announced this week? Did the Taoiseach see the report in The Sunday Tribune last weekend claiming that the register of electors is inaccurate by up to 860,000 people? Since I previously raised the matter, has the Taoiseach given any consideration to when proposals should be made by the Minister and whether these will include legislation? Even if the inaccuracy is half that level, in a small population it is an extraordinary degree if inaccuracy, which needs to be tended to, especially the way things are going between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche is examining the issue of the register.
Now I am worried.
There are two issues here: what can be done in the short term and what can be done in the longer term. I understand that to do anything major would need primary legislation and also necessitate a fundamental examination of the old system of registers being compiled by local authorities.
The Minister said he would not give resources to local authorities.
The register has always been a problem, as we know. There are issues that need to be addressed in the short term and they are being examined.
I understand the arrangements for debating the Neary report will be discussed at a Whips' meeting tonight. I agree that we have a debate.
Yesterday Deputy O'Donnell described as a joke the failure to regulate the charities sector. It is now a nine-year standing joke that has been passed through four Departments, each of which has failed to produce legislation. Can the Taoiseach be definitive in stating when the charities Bill will come before the House? In light of yesterday's opinion given by the European Commission that fees charged for freedom of information requests here are excessive, when will the Minister for Finance introduce regulations to extend the remit of the Freedom of Information Act? Will amendments be made to the Freedom of Information Act in the light of yesterday's comments?
I do not think there is any amending legislation. I am not aware of the regulations and whether the Minister is extending the scope. As he has extended it a number of times, possibly it is true.
It was promised in October.
I am not saying he is not bringing it forward. I understand the heads of the charities regulation Bill are complete or nearly complete and the work is continuing. This is a very substantial Bill. Earlier the heads were circulated to Departments and they will be submitted to Cabinet on completion of those discussions. Work is proceeding on the drafting of the Bill. It has been given priority in the Department to try to have the Bill this year. We hope to have it on the floor of the House during 2006.
I am sure the Taoiseach saw the headlines in The Irish Times stating that the Garda had a well thought out strategy for what happened in Dublin on Saturday. How does this tally with his prior knowledge of trouble and all the missiles that had accumulated in the back streets adjacent to O’Connell Street? Given the remarks the Taoiseach made yesterday regarding the possible introduction of by-laws and the response of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to questions from me that neither he nor the Government had any formal prior knowledge of the march of up to——
The matter does not arise on the Order of Business.
It does in terms of by-laws.
It does not arise on the question of legislation.
By-laws are secondary legislation. Given that the Taoiseach mentioned it yesterday, does he intend to ensure that with a march of that nature, 1,000 persons——
It does not arise. I ask the Taoiseach whether any legislation is promised.
It is not. The city council turned down the by-laws.
It is a policy decision.
I call Deputy Ó Caoláin.
The Taoiseach has not answered the question.
The Deputy has gone beyond discussion of the Order of Business.
Should the Government not have made a policy decision?
That is a question for the line Minister.
The first the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform knew was what he read in the newspaper.
The Deputy is limited to asking about promised legislation and the Taoiseach has already answered that question. I call Deputy Ó Caoláin.
The Taoiseach was never informed about it nor was the Cabinet. No policy decision was ever taken on the issue.
That was because the city council rejected the by-laws.
The city council did not reject the by-laws.
It did.
No, it did not.
We cannot have a discussion on Dublin City Council here.
They were brought forward by a small committee of business people, not the city council.
I ask the Deputy to resume his seat.
It is important——
The Deputy is incorrect. They were brought forward by the legal section of Dublin City Council and the council rejected them.
They were brought forward by a sub-committee.
The Deputy will have to find another way to raise the matter.
The sub-committee had no representation from the city council.
The Deputy is out of order.
I am not out of order.
The Chair has ruled.
The Taoiseach has put an inaccurate statement on the record. The city council did not consent to the by-laws.
We cannot have a debate on that here. The Deputy will see the difficulties that arise for the House and himself when he raises matters not appropriate to the Order of Business.
A small sub-committee of businesspeople and city officials with no council representation did it.
I ask the Deputy to resume his seat. The Chair has ruled him out of order.
It is important the Taoiseach does not put an inaccurate statement on the record.
There is great concern among the work force at Aer Lingus and in the wider community that a Government decision is imminent regarding its privatisation. Will that issue be debated in the House before a decision is taken, and is it planned that a motion should come before the House?
That does not arise.
That does not arise.
What is the Taoiseach's answer?
That does not arise at the moment.
What about Aer Lingus? Will it continue to arise as we have known it?
The way he is going on, it is about to sink.
We have saved it several times in the last ten years.
When will the nurses and midwives Bill come before the House? In light of the Neary report and the fact that personnel from Drogheda Hospital made decisions on how Monaghan General Hospital and Cavan General Hospital should be run when they could not even see their own problems——
That does not arise on the Order of Business. I call the Taoiseach on the first question, concerning promised legislation.
——when will the health Bill come before the House so we can discuss the matter?
That has already been dealt with this morning.
The heads of the nurses and midwives Bill are expected soon. Legislation must be drafted, and there are approximately 40 heads.
Following the Neary scandal, I would like to ask about two Bills. When does the Taoiseach intend to introduce legislation to put the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, on a statutory footing? In view of the fact this scandal occurred in part of the health service that is regulated, will he take on board the fact that another part, the pharmacy sector, is not regulated? It is very likely we will see a scandal as a result of the Government's delay and failure to introduce pharmacy legislation to protect patients.
On the pharmacy legislation, I call the Taoiseach.
The pharmacy legislation is due later this year, when the health Bill, which will provide for the establishment of HIQA and the Irish Social Services Inspectorate on a statutory basis and introduce a registration system, is also due.
On the Neary case, concerns were raised about the doctor over a 20-year period. When can we expect the health legislation to which the Taoiseach referred to come before the House? The Medical Defence Union will receive the protection of the courts in not paying out to Dr. Neary's victims. When can we expect legislation on a redress board to come before the House?
Is legislation promised?
A cosy consensus between the three Dublin obstetricians and Dr. Neary leaves a bitter taste for doctors and patients. Regarding amendment to the Medical Practitioners Act 1978, there is cosy consensus between the Tánaiste and the Medical Council. Could the Taoiseach involve the health spokespersons in the House in drafting the heads of that Bill?
That does not arise, since this concerns legislation coming before the House. The Deputy should submit a question.
I have dealt with the health Bill issue, and I also spoke about the Medical Practitioners Act 1978. That legislation will be amended based on yesterday's findings, and the heads of the Bill will be circulated in due course. The Deputy will be able to comment on the heads.
Has the Government had time to consider the implications of yesterday's judgment on the back to education allowance? Might amending legislation be required? How does the Taoiseach propose to reimburse those who were entitled to the back to education allowance during the holiday period?
As I stated, that judgment is being considered in the Department. Based on its own legal opinion, it will decide how to proceed.
Some 100 Irish women are very seriously affected and desperately ill as a result of hepatitis C but have not tested positive. However, they have every other manifestation of the illness and a positive diagnosis from their consultant.
We must confine ourselves to legislation.
There must be legislation, since those women are desperately ill and need help. The Tánaiste has said they cannot receive free health care, but they are dying.
That does not arise on the Order of Business.
I hope some legislation will be introduced to help them.
I am sorry, but we have gone far over the allotted time. I call Deputy Broughan as a final contributor.
I hope that the Taoiseach will intervene.
Regarding the historic vote of the National Salmon Commission, is it intended to introduce regulations or legislation to implement it?
The Taoiseach will remember this time two weeks ago we discussed at length the implications of the Stardust fire. Does the Taoiseach intend to meet the families of the victims in the next week or two? I believe they intend to march on his Saturday clinic.
The second question does not arise. I call the Taoiseach to answer the first question on regulation.
Will he meet them before that?
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I would like to answer.
I gave an undertaking to Deputy Rabbitte two weeks ago that I would meet the families. I cleared my diary to do that last week. I also got the Minister to attend. However, shortly beforehand, I was told the families did not want to meet me but that their legal representative would contact me. I contacted that person, who said he wished to send in a submission first. I agreed that if the families attended this week, I would meet them. Then they said they did not want to meet me this week but would do so next week. I agreed, but then their legal representative said he would not have his report in until then, meaning that it would have to be after St. Patrick's Day. In the meantime, the families decided to march on me. However, I have done everything possible.