It is proposed to take No. 12, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (Effective Date for Certain Bodies) Order 2015 (back from committee); and No. 13, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (Exempted Public Bodies) Order 2015 (back from committee). It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that: Nos. 12 and 13 shall be debated together and shall, if not previously concluded be brought to a conclusion after 25 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: the speech of a Minister or Minister of State and of the main spokespersons for Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Technical Group, who shall be called upon in that order, shall not exceed five minutes in each case and such Members may share their time; and a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed five minutes; and the Dáil on its rising today shall adjourn until Wednesday, 15 April 2015 at 2.30 p.m.
Order of Business
There are two proposals to be put to the House today. Is the proposal for dealing with Nos. 12 and 13 agreed?
It is not agreed. These matters, which were presented by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, came before a committee yesterday. One is of particular concern and relates to the refugee applications commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. This matter requires further discussion, consideration and debate. I do not think it should be rushed through in this manner. The Minister is bringing forward the proposal at the behest of the Minister for Justice and Equality and it is a very negative development. I object to the proposal and the manner of its handling.
The debate is due to commence immediately after the Order of Business.
I will have five minutes.
The Deputy will have an opportunity to debate it with the Minister.
Is the proposal that the Dáil on its rising today shall adjourn until Wednesday, 15 April 2015 at 2.30 p.m. agreed? Agreed.
The Order of Business under this Government could be described at the very best as an oxymoron, because on a fairly regular basis we have looked at our screens to find that the Dáil has suspended after running out of business.
The Deputy was not here.
The Deputy knows how it works around here. He has been around here a long time.
The noise pollution Act is coming.
The Deputy was not here either.
I was here.
Please. Deputy Kelleher has the floor.
Despite the fact that the Government consistently takes credit for extra sitting days, many of the days are quite unproductive because we simply do not have business before the House. Could we have a commitment from the Tánaiste that in future the ordering of business will be done in such a way as to run seamlessly from one item to another, as opposed to having adjournments and suspensions?
Nobody from the Opposition turned up this morning.
I remind the Deputy that he is the deputy Whip.
We have the Bills. Does the Opposition want them?
Not one person turned up.
The Deputy will have to have a chat with his deputy Whip because he seems to be incapable of organising the business of the House.
On the picket lines.
I refer to the Tánaiste's intervention today on the commitment to bring forward legislation very quickly on collective bargaining. Will employers be obliged to enter into collective bargaining discussions? In the context of discussions today on zero-hour contracts and the current strike by Dunne's Stores workers, will there be separate legislation to deal with such contracts? When does the Tánaiste intend to bring such a Bill to the House? The Minister of State sitting beside her was involved in setting up the commission.
On the Order of Business and the time allowed for debate on the Bill, the Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill was scheduled today and concluded within ten minutes because there were no Opposition Members in attendance.
I was here.
Where was the next piece of legislation?
When the schedule is being prepared it is normally-----
Can we settle down, please?
-----anticipated that for a significantly important Bill like that, the Opposition parties would be represented.
It is not our job to have a quorum.
I remind the Tánaiste that the Labour Party has more Deputies than we have. They might make an effort.
On collective bargaining, where there is a similar case to Dunnes Stores and the employer does not engage with the industrial relations machinery of the State, the court can make a recommendation under the proposed collective bargaining legislation which can then be enforced by the Circuit Court. The answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes".
We are back to where we were.
Deputy Keaveney's party was in office for 14 years before he joined.
Is the Minister working for Brussels or Ireland?
Could we have order, please?
As we rise for the Easter break, I want to return to the water services Bill or legislation which will allow the Government to deduct - essentially to pickpocket - water charges from wages, social welfare payments and pensions. When might we see it? The Minister, Deputy Kelly, has clearly signposted it. The Tánaiste was somewhat equivocal the other day on her position, but we know she supports these measures.
No proposal has been brought to the Cabinet by the Minister. That normally happens first, and if there is to be legislation it would happen thereafter.
Why the delay?
There is no delay.
It is not going to do it. How interesting.
The Tánaiste nicknamed the cuts introduced by Charlie McCreevy the "Dirty Dozen", but there have been at least 20 cuts to social welfare. I refer to the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and carers. Applications for carer's allowance will no longer involve a family GP, but will instead be done by a civil servant.
To which legislation is the Deputy referring?
The Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. It is another sneaky cut which was introduced in the budget. The Tánaiste will have to face up to the issue because carers are waiting long enough for assessments, which can take from 15 to 18 months. A family GP knows the most about the needs of families or people being cared for.
There are a lot of details we could get some other way.
The Deputy will know that the only discussion on carers in the context of the current legislation and its implications for lone parents is that lone parents who care for their child and receive the domiciliary care allowance and a carer's allowance will not be affected in any way by the legislation, nor is there any impact on lone parents who are caring for other people or family members.
What about family carers?
The amendment was introduced to clarify that point. I saw the e-mail to which the Deputy referred; it was a round robin to many Deputies. I did not understand it because the legislation already excluded carers who were acting as carers for their children and in receipt of domiciliary care allowance. The legislation clarified that lone parents in receipt of a carer's allowance and caring for anybody outside of their children would retain in full their half-rate carer's allowance for as long as their caring situation continues.
The Government is now into its last year in office. Practically all of the reforms required of Ireland by the EU-IMF bailout have been carried out, except those reforms which exclusively affect the most powerful in society, such as reform to increase the deterrent for corporate crime and reform of our legal profession. I accept that ordinary people in society are not in a position to bring Cabinet Ministers to lunches and dinners, on Constitution Hill or elsewhere, or to visit the Benchers' Room and be bowed to by eager young barristers. I appreciate that could turn a person's head. Where is the Legal Services Bill? When will it be introduced? When will we see reforms which will affect the most powerful in our society?
I understand the Bill will come before the House in the third week of April.
My question relates to institutes of technology, such as the Institute of Technology, Sligo, and their ability to merge into new technological universities. When can we expect the technological universities Bill to be brought before the House for debate?
I hope it will come before the Dáil this session.
Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur faoin farm safety scheme. So far this year there have been three fatal accidents on Irish farms. These deaths account for 60% of all fatal work accidents since the start of the year but farming accounts for less than 6% of the workforce. Last year was the worst in more than two decades for farm deaths, with 30 people, five of them children, dying on farms. That was an 87% increase in the number of fatalities in 2013. The high number of fatal accidents is a clear reflection of the difficult working conditions farmers must endure. Despite this, the Health and Safety Authority has indicated it intends cutting the number of inspections this year.
Thank you.
Commissioner Phil Hogan has repeated his threat to reduce farm payments for non-compliance in the farm safety area. Will the Government support this? When will the new farm safety scheme be introduced in 2015?
Fair play, Deputy McLellan. That was a fine speech.
It is happening at the grassroots.
There is much work and promotion to try to end the tragedy of the many fatal farm accidents that have happened to young people, children and people at work on farms. I know the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister of State, Deputy Gerald Nash, together with the Health and Safety Authority, have been involved with an enormous range of initiatives throughout the country and particularly on family farms. As the Deputy knows, the biggest dangers are slurry pits and the risks they pose for farmers and children. I am not clear to what legislation the Deputy is referring.
I was referring to farm safety schemes.
There are no legislative plans but there are plans being actively implemented in the form of safety programmes and awareness campaigns. As the Deputy knows, all the media have been giving much coverage to the issue of farm safety. I am thankful as it is very important.
Before calling Deputy Stanley, I remind Members that they should be brief as many Members are offering to contribute.
I ask about the EU's part-time worker directive. There were a few attempts this morning to raise the issue in the context of Dunnes Stores workers trying to secure their jobs and hours of work, as well as fair pay and the right to representation by a trade union.
To what legislation is the Deputy referring?
When will the Government fully transpose the EU part-time worker directive into legislation to provide protection? There was a long discussion today but the workers still need protection. This EU directive, if fully transposed, would help to protect Dunnes Stores workers and secure their hours and terms and conditions. Will the Government give a clear answer, as there has been no answer yet this morning?
I do not have a date for that as it is secondary legislation. I will ask someone from the Department to revert to the Deputy.
I refer to two pieces of legislation. The Tánaiste mentioned the collective bargaining legislation that will be brought forward. The reference to Marie Antoinette may be a little unfortunate. If the Tánaiste or the Taoiseach could lift the phone today to Ms Margaret Heffernan, they might be able to do more about this dispute than any legislation.
Hear, hear.
Will the Tánaiste consider doing so? I also ask about the patient safety licensing Bill, which is to provide for a mandatory system of licensing for public and private health care facilities. We are well aware of the work the Health Information and Quality Authority has been doing, but the public is concerned about what has been disclosed in respect of a number of facilities. I am aware in my constituency, not of poor quality care of patients but rather interference with the meagre financial resources of some residences.
We cannot get into detail now.
When will that important legislation be brought before the House?
The establishment of a patient safety agency is being reviewed in the context of the strategic reform of health services and the measures taken to strengthen patient safety, including advocacy and related services within the Health Service Executive. This review will allow the Minister for Health to decide on a course of action that will be in the best interests of patients. As the Deputy knows, this Government introduced the inspection by HIQA of units or locations catering for people with intellectual disabilities. It was because of that reform by this Government in extending HIQA oversight to such institutions that the dreadful scenes we saw in the coverage of Áras Attracta came to light. It is a priority for the Government and the Minister to address what has been a very distressing case for the patients and relatives.
Will the Tánaiste lift the phone to Ms Heffernan?
With respect to social welfare legislation, a problem throughout the country has come to my attention. Under Tús and other schemes, there are certain criteria for qualification. I welcome that the criteria applying to those aged between 18 and 25 has been adjusted to four months. There is a problem with voluntary groups, however, so will the Tánaiste consider bringing all the criteria back to four months? There is a scarcity of people to fill these positions.
That could be raised some other way.
As numbers of people who were unemployed are going back to work, there continues to be a significant fall in the live register, and that will certainly allow us to review the qualification period. I am certainly open to reviewing it. I hope the Deputy understands that when we came into office, before he was elected to the House, the live register was heading for 500,000 people. That is what all the economists were talking about. It is now down to 348,000, which is still very high. The Deputy will understand that the emphasis in the Department has been on offering the opportunities on Tús, community employment schemes and Gateway especially to people who are long-term unemployed. As the number of people on the live register falls, we have opened the community employment schemes and Tús, for example, to people aged 21 to 25, and reduced the time period to four months. I will certainly keep the issue under review as we expect the numbers to keep falling. With Tús and Gateway, we are also allowing self-referral by people who qualify in terms of the length of time on the live register. We get many people seeking places, notwithstanding the debate we hear in the House sometimes where the argument is that no one ever wants to be involved with a scheme.
On legal matters, when is the legal aid Bill likely to come before the House? Have the heads been discussed by Cabinet? Is it likely to pass in the current year? The credit guarantee (amendment) Bill is a proposal to amend the 2012 Act but has it been discussed at Cabinet in preparation for introduction to the House? If it has, when are we likely to see it?
The credit guarantee Bill should come before the House in this session. The legal aid Bill will be later this year.
Will the Tánaiste update the Dáil on the nursing home support scheme (amendment) Bill? It would provide support for women who receive funding under certain schemes and would ensure such funding would not be taken into account under the nursing home support scheme.
That will be this year. On a related note, I am delighted to indicate that a €70 million package was announced today relating to the fair deal scheme and people buying home care packages. That will significantly assist in tackling the issue, as people have been seeking more services than could be supplied.
The health (transport support) Bill deals with individual payments to people with severe disabilities who cannot access public transport.
Can I have an update on the legislation?
It will come before the Dáil later this year.
I wish to make a statement to the whole House and the Office of the Ceann Comhairle in particular. Most days, priority questions drift beyond the allocated 30 minutes, which means many of us cannot get questions in. Can we discuss staying within Standing Orders to ensure priority question time does not drift to an hour? Although Standing Orders allocate 30 minutes for priority questions, it drifts, and today it was 20 minutes over time, which meant at least four or five ordinary questions were not reached.
Stay to it, like the Order of Business.
It is unfair on those of us who go to the trouble of asking questions.
I am being a little more indulgent today. I will take it up with the Ceann Comhairle. Technically, 32.5 minutes are allocated for the first five priority questions, given that half a minute is allocated for an introduction to each question.
Last week, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications discussed bias within the State broadcaster. Later that evening, during the Private Members' motion, the issue was raised again, particularly surrounding the implementation of Irish Water. In this context, when is it expected that the broadcasting (amendment) Bill, which is to deal with the transition from the television licence to a broadcasting charge, will come before the House? Is it expected that the comments in the Oireachtas committee and here last week regarding bias will form part of the context of it?
The Deputy should not bully RTE. It is a free press.
I have no date for the legislation.
What I want to ask, and how I want to ask it, is in an omnibus sense, wide reaching across many areas of legislation. The collective bargaining legislation is coming soon. Three Private Members' Bills have been dismissed and watered down. Could I have the Tánaiste's attention? Our country is still burgeoning with distress over many areas. Some 300,000 variable rate mortgages-----
Which legislation is this?
It is a question on legislation. There is large-scale homelessness and there are deeply distressed mortgages leading to repossession.
A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, please.
The Government has one year left out of a five-year term and the biggest majority ever in the history of the State.
The Deputy left the Government. He should have stayed.
This is not on the Order of Business, and you know it.
It is.
Deputy Mathews had his chance.
Ask a question on promised legislation.
I have a list of A, B and C legislation. I am asking the Tánaiste to turbo-charge and concentrate the effectiveness of what is on the tracks.
Deputy Mathews had more effect when he was over here.
The Government is going at the same pace as if nothing had changed seven years ago. The country is in the work-out stage, like a post-war stage of reconstruction and the methodology of dealing with it is ineffective.
A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, please.
Deputy Mathews is entitled to be heard.
Is there some connection between the way the Government members talk about it and the way they legislate?
The only thing disconnected here is Deputy Mathews.
The Deputy should put down a Topical Issue on it.
Ráiméis.
Deputy Ó Fearghaíl made a very practical suggestion that the Tánaiste lift the phone to Ms Heffernan.
The Deputy will end up in Fianna Fáil.
The Tánaiste should not underestimate her ability. Lift the phone to Ms Heffernan. It would be a new approach.
The Deputy has covered a huge area.
When will the greyhound industry (amendment) Bill be published and brought before the House for debate?
Let the dogs see the rabbit.
It will be out of the traps later in the year.