It is proposed to take No. 12, motion re membership of committees; No. 16, statements on the pre-European Council meetings of 18 and 19 October 2012; and No. 4, Education and Training Boards Bill 2012 - Order for Second Stage and Second Stage. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that No. 12 shall be decided without debate; and No. 16 shall be taken immediately following the Order of Business and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 65 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: the statements shall be made by the Taoiseach and by the main spokespersons for Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Technical Group, who shall be called upon in that order and who may share their time and shall not exceed 15 minutes in each case, and a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed five minutes; and the order shall resume thereafter with Topical Issues. Private Members' business shall be No. 64, motion re home help cuts.
Order of Business
There are two proposals to be put to the House. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 12 agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 16 agreed to? Agreed.
Will the Taoiseach state the number of commitments that have been followed through in legislation, particularly in respect of the overhaul of TLAC? Is it the case that the chairman and majority of members are drawn from outside the public sector? If not, when will this occur? Shall all appointments at principal officer level and above be open to external competition, and at least one third-----
To what legislation is the Deputy referring?
It is No. 1, regarding the public sector reform commitments. It was committed that at least one third of such appointments would be reserved for candidates from outside traditional Civil Service structures for a five-year period. Has this been honoured? If not, what is the timeframe?
Can the Taoiseach indicate when legislation to introduce social impact bonds will be brought before the House? The legislation is promised.
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform met members of TLAC yesterday. He reviewed the first year of its operation, the impact of the lay majority thereon and the consequences of having an external majority. I suppose the results will be published in due course.
They are quite happy to go to a committee-----
Perhaps we could discuss this in another way rather than on the Order of Business.
What is the position on social impact bonds?
I will have to come back to the Deputy on that.
It is a clear commitment in the programme for Government. Your lack of knowledge of the programme for Government is startling. It is a clear commitment.
I know it is in the programme for Government but I will have to come back to the Deputy on the timing.
You did not know about it.
I know well about it.
You had no notion.
Would the Deputies mind having conversations through the Chair?
Tá ceist agam faoi reachtaíocht atá fógartha, the local government reform bill. The Government committed to reorganising local governance structures to allow the further devolution of decision making to local people. As I understand it, there was an announcement today on the abolition of town councils. There is real hunger for more democracy but there is considerable fear that this is just about costs. Could the Taoiseach tell us when the local government reform Bill will be published and brought before the Dáil?
Today's announcement refers to what is probably the biggest shake-up of local governance since the foundation of the State.
It is an attack on local democracy.
The details are already published.
Has Deputy Healy-Rae read it?
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform would, of course, agree with it.
This will be carried through to effect for the 2014 elections. This will mean a number of Bills will have to be brought before the House by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. This will happen as soon as possible. The information is now available to the Deputy in detailed form.
Gerrymandering in Dublin.
Bring back James Tully.
The proposal is to reduce the overall number of councillors, councils and regional authorities, saving €45 million.
It will not save anything.
It will give greater cohesion and clarity to elected councillors-----
Perhaps we will circulate the statement.
The Deputy will have ample opportunity to debate his area here.
The Government is shooting a lot of its own lads in the back.
It looks after Labour in Dublin.
If the Deputy does not mind-----
It is the biggest gerrymander I have seen in a long time.
Deputy Adams was asking a question.
The question, which the Taoiseach studiously avoided, was when the legislation will be brought forward.
Have we any idea?
As I said, there are three or four Bills involved. They must all be implemented before 2014. It will probably be next year before the bulk of these Bills appear. It will be important for the Deputy and his colleagues to read the documentation and figure out what it means for them.
Given the considerable fear and anxiety among many over the prospect of the knife of austerity being stuck further in-----
Hold on, we have been through austerity for the past hour. Could the Deputy mention the legislation?
A debate has been promised. When will the Government allow the pre-budgetary debate on the economy that the Opposition asked for?
Next week.
How will the debate be arranged?
That is a matter for the Whips.
May I suggest-----
The Deputy may not make a suggestion.
I have not finished.
The Deputy has finished as far as I am concerned because he is not dealing with promised legislation.
The debate is next week. It will be set out by the Minister for Finance according to the normal routine dictating speaking time. Deputy Boyd Barrett will have his say.
Deputy Boyd Barrett has had a good go. There are many Deputies who want to contribute.
I have not finished.
On what? What does the Deputy want to know now?
I want to ask about the precise recourse available to a Deputy when another Member of the House has factually misled the House and impugned the character of that Deputy.
I ask the Deputy to resume his seat. I call Deputy Broughan.
Will the Taoiseach apologise for it?
I ask the Deputy to resume his seat.
I can provide him with evidence of the factual misleading of the House and the defamation of the character of a Deputy.
I ask the Deputy to resume his seat.
Deputy Boyd Barrett's dirty little trick backfired on him.
It was not a dirty little trick.
On the promised local government Bills, there will be grave disappointment in the four Dublin county council areas and the Dublin region generally-----
Perhaps the Deputy could express his views when the legislation is before the House.
I am expressing them now to the Taoiseach. We are not getting a real mayor for this city. People were looking forward to some autonomy.
The Deputy knows he is out of order.
I am slightly out of order but the people are looking forward to some autonomy. One or two people in my party will be very disappointed with the decision, if what I have outlined is the decision.
I ask the Deputy to please resume his seat.
I am thankful that time has been kindly allowed for a Topical Issue debate on Priory Hall. However, some 1,000 people are asking me to give the Taoiseach a message. They have had sympathy and now want some action. They want to know when they will receive Mr. Justice Finnegan's report. People are in dire straits.
That is being dealt with by way of a Topical Issue debate.
The Taoiseach knows what I am implying.
People have been protesting regularly outside the Dáil, including today, because a major contract-----
What is the legislation?
I refer to the Construction Contracts Bill. A company in Kilkenny, which was involved in a major project for a school, has disappeared, leaving high and dry hundreds of employees-----
Hold on, will the Deputy sit down, please?
-----and dozens of subcontractors.
Could the Deputy not try to be in order just once?
It is in order. I refer to the subcontractors Bill, which has been promised for so long.
For what reason is the Deputy talking about protests outside the Dáil?
The protestors were there because dozens of subcontractors have been left high and dry. When will the Bill be before the House?
The Construction Contracts Bill is awaiting Committee Stage at the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform.
When will we see it?
Second Stage has already been passed.
The Government messed up the whole thing.
The Government should make the amendments and get it sorted.
Deputy McGrath should not be trying to make a farce out of this process every single day.
I am not.
The Deputy knew the Bill is on Committee Stage. It is not a matter for the Order of Business.
For what is it a matter?
I ask Deputy Healy-Rae to be in order.
I am in order. With regard to the forthcoming constitutional convention, as outlined in the programme for Government, is there a proposal to reduce the voting age to 16 or 17?
The Deputy should table a parliamentary question.
That is the first matter to be considered.
With regard to a matter that is to arise in the Children Court-----
Is the Taoiseach proposing to change the Children Act?
Is there promised legislation?
Will he amend section 267?
Is there promised legislation?
I hope there will be.
A programme has been circulated to the Members. Is there promised legislation?
No.
Regarding promised legislation, the dissolution of the county and city enterprise boards, CEBs, has been discussed for a long time. When will the Bill to overhaul the system and bring it under the remit of local government be introduced in the Dáil?
It should not be in the Dáil.
I wish to make an inquiry about a second Bill, namely, the noise nuisance Bill.
It does not include mobile telephones in the Chamber, by the way.
It should.
There is an amendment for the Government.
The Bill needs to be introduced soon.
There was noise in Kilkenny after the match.
The Bill that Deputy Bannon referred to relates to local government reform and the local enterprise boards. That will be next year. I referred last week to the fact that the noise Bill is still a way in the distance. We do not have it within hearing range at the moment.
I wish to ask the Taoiseach about the €2.6 billion bill for pension tax relief, which predominantly benefits the better off. What about restricting this tax relief to people with incomes below €80,000, as promised in the programme for Government?
That is a matter for the budget.
It has been promised. When can we expect legislation?
I imagine it will be in the Finance Bill.
That is a matter for the budget and the finance Bill that will follow.