It is proposed to take No. 33, Spring Economic Statement, April 2015 (resumed) and No. 1, Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2014 [Seanad] - Second Stage. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders that the postponed division on the motion for the Second Reading of the Industrial Relations (Members of the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces) Bill 2015 shall be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business today and that the Dáil, on its rising today, shall adjourn until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 6 May 2015.
Order of Business
There are two proposals to be put to the House today. Is the proposal for dealing with the postponed division agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for the adjournment until Wednesday, 6 May agreed? Agreed.
I wish to refer briefly to promised legislation, the first of which is the health (miscellaneous provisions) Bill. The Irish Times reported today that thousands of X-rays and scans were reviewed resulting in hundreds of patients being recalled, causing huge distress to them and their families. Errors were discovered when three locum doctors were employed. I ask the Minister to confirm that he is satisfied with the governance arrangements currently in place in Irish hospitals where locums are employed. If not, will the aforementioned Bill address this?
In the context of the Health Act 2007 (amendment) Bill I ask the Minister to outline to the House when we can expect the report from HIQA on maternity services in Portlaoise. I also wish to ask about the social welfare Bill which is listed on the schedule. We have spent all week listening to Government Deputies talking about all of the money we have to give away but the Government is still going ahead with cuts to the one parent family payment on 1 July for one-parent families where the youngest child is over seven years of age. At the same time, the Government is saying that we have the fastest growing economy in Europe. Will the social welfare Bill stop the proposed cuts that are due to take effect in July?
That is not relevant on the Order of Business.
Finally, I wish to refer to the consumer protection (regulation of credit servicing firms) Bill. As the Minister knows, the majority of the 300,000 families paying penal standard variable interest rates on their mortgages are paying that money to banks that are owned by the taxpayer and controlled by the Government. If the Government feels that it does not have the power to issue directives to the banks that it owns and controls will it include such power in that legislation?
The health (miscellaneous provisions) Bill was the first of the two health Bills the Deputy raised. I am not sure if that Bill would address the issues he went on to discuss. Regardless of whether it does, I do not have a date for that Bill for him at present. Similarly there is no date for the legislation to amend the Health Act 2007.
The Social Welfare Bill has completed all Stages in both Houses of the Oireachtas and it awaits signature by the President.
The consumer protection Bill has passed Second Stage and is now awaiting Committee Stage.
Low pay and underemployment are entrenched in the economy. Currently 50% of workers are earning less than €25,000 a year. Internationally Ireland is becoming an outlier with regard to the level of low pay. At the heart of this is the imbalance between the relationship of the employer and employee. For a long time the Government has promised to rebalance this and has promised legislation on collective bargaining. This should be a red-hot topic and one would think it would be front-ended in the process of the Dáil, but we are seeing the Government drag its heels on it. Do we have a date for it?
My understanding and hope are that both those pieces of legislation will come to Cabinet shortly - in a period of weeks.
I ask for brevity as many Members are offering.
When will the apprenticeship Bill be introduced? Throughout the country there is a dire need for apprentices to be trained in different areas. The issue needs to be moved on rapidly for our nation to prosper because the more we train, the better it is for people getting back to work.
The Minister will be able to give me a clear answer on the second issue, the energy (miscellaneous provisions) Bill. From what I have heard in recent days and through the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications the Minister told us that he would be approaching the EU to get clearance for rolling out broadband from 16 to 20. Is it true, as I have heard, that has fallen behind? We have nothing from the EU yet and it may take six months which would delay the whole process. Is that correct?
Although it is in my remit, I do not know the particular energy legislation about which the Deputy is speaking, but I will certainly check it for him to see. There is no Bill or actual legislation along the lines he describes. However, I will talk to him afterwards and seek to assist him in that regard.
He is absolutely right about apprenticeships, which are extremely important. Great work is going on. In my area there are new apprentices in Eircom and the ESB. The deadline for receipt of submissions in respect of that process was the end of March and the Minister of State, Deputy English, is hoping to come to the Cabinet some time before the summer. It is critical, very important.
I ask about the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill. We all recognise that An Garda Síochána has an unblemished record of being impartial in referenda and in election campaigns throughout its history. What action will the Minister for Justice and Equality take with the GRA and certain members of the GRA, namely Mr. P.J. Stone?
I ask the Deputy not to name people.
His name and comments have come out on one side of the referendum with very strange language. It is tarnishing the reputation of An Garda Síochána.
The Deputy is making accusations and the people are not here to defend themselves.
I withdraw the name, but everyone knows the name. Sure, he has come out a number of times and got involved and given credence to people taking down posters because they think the gardaí will act with impunity. I think the Minister should deal with this.
I will ask the Minister if he has any responsibility. I do not know whether he has.
The Minister for Justice and Equality has.
No. A Bill was passed by the Houses and a referendum is to take place on 22 May on a proposal to change the Constitution.
Without interference.
The House is aware of that.
From today the lifetime community rating provision is being implemented. In effect, from now on people over the age of 34 will be penalised if they do not purchase private health insurance. I ask the Minister to outline the timeframe for the introduction of universal health insurance. The programme for Government commits to publishing legislation to underpin universal health insurance, but as yet we have not seen the ESRI publish the costs of universal health insurance. It smacks of absolute hypocrisy that we are now forcing people to take out private health insurance without knowing when universal health insurance will be introduced. Does the Government still intend to bring about universal health insurance, compulsory health insurance, or is it just a pretence like many other things in the programme for Government?
The Deputy will be aware that the Minister for Health has quite a deal of legislation. Last year's focus was on the legislation to introduce free GP care for children under six. At the time the Deputy was not clear whether he supported it, but now supports it - although Deputy Keaveney is against it. There is further legislation on those aged over 70. That is the Minister's focus at the moment regarding health legislation. In accordance with the development of the policy on universal health insurance, I am sure the Minister for Health will revert to the House.
I call Deputy Ellis.
The Minister, Deputy White, is representing the Minister for Health, as the leader of the Government today.
Deputy, I am sorry. I have called Deputy Ellis.
I have no timeframe for universal health insurance legislation.
There is no date for such legislation.
The programme for Government states quite clearly it must be published before the end of the Government's lifetime.
Sorry, Deputy, I have called Deputy Ellis.
A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I do not want to delay the House.
I do not either.
There is a commitment in the programme for Government-----
I can assist. If there is specific legislation-----
-----that universal health insurance legislation would be published in advance of a general election. We are now less than-----
On the specific legislation about which the Deputy has asked me, there is no date.
The Deputy should submit a Topical Issue request or a parliamentary question. I would be glad to tell the Ceann Comhairle.
Will it be before the general election?
We do not know when the general election will be.
It is an absolute farce.
You and your spring statement.
It is a programme of broken promises as opposed to a programme for Government.
Could we have order? Deputy Ellis has the floor.
The Deputy should discuss that with Deputy Keaveney who has a different view.
We have all experienced at one stage or another unruly neighbours or even a rented house with parties going on into all hours of the morning. The law has been very poor and frustrating in addressing anti-social issues of this nature. The noise nuisance Bill is intended to apply fixed-penalty notices and to provide for mediation between neighbours and other parties. When will this be brought before the House?
I have no date for that Bill at this time.
When Deputy Martin was Minister for Health and Children he set up the HSE and its 99 committees to dodge hard decisions.
He would never do that.
We are making real reform and progress in the health services-----
With 400,000 on waiting lists, how is that making progress?
-----despite less funding and fewer staff. Our objective is to overhaul radically our health system.
Does the Deputy have a question on legislation?
When can we expect to see the health reform Bill come before the House?
It is backwards the Government is going.
The Minister for Health will revert, but there is no specific date for that legislation.
What is the purpose of this Dáil?
There are a few outstanding issues regarding the sale and consumption of alcohol. When will the sale of alcohol Bill come before the House?
I had the honour of bringing the public health alcohol Bill to Cabinet when I was in the Department of Health. That Bill is at pre-legislative scrutiny at this stage.
I ask the Minister to update the House on the family leave Bill, which is No. 57 and No. 67, the landlord and tenant Bill.
I do not have a date for either of those Bills at this point.
The criminal procedure Bill is promised legislation. It proposes to modernise the pre-trial process. Have the heads been approved by Cabinet? When is it likely to come before the House? The mediation Bill will have a very broad impact on a series of other areas outside its immediate area. I ask the extent to which that has been progressed at the moment. When is it likely to come before the House? Many people are concerned that the law be changed in accordance with the proposals in the National Archives Bill. Have the heads of that Bill been approved by Cabinet? When is likely to come before the House.
I will have to revert to the Deputy in respect of the criminal procedure legislation, which is an important area of law.
The mediation Bill will be later this year. I do not have a date for the National Archives legislation.
The Government promised to introduce a planning and development Bill and a housing Bill. When are these Bills likely to come before the House and if they are not imminent will the Government provide time in the near future for a debate on housing? I ask this question in the context of a statement released today by the Dublin Simon Community which asserts that the Government's emergency housing response is not providing any light at the end of the tunnel for people in need of emergency accommodation. Nearly 2,000 adults and 1,000 children are in emergency accommodation and that emergency accommodation is becoming long term. We have 151 people sleeping rough in our capital city. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government provided 271 beds after Christmas, following the tragic death of Jonathan Corrie but the crisis still needs to be addressed urgently. What does the Government propose to do about it?
The first Bill, which was previously called a planning and development Bill and is now to be called the urban regeneration and housing Bill, is expected to come before the Cabinet before the end of May. I think the second Bill to which the Deputy referred is the housing (regulatory and approved bodies) Bill, which will be introduced later this year.
In regard to the industrial relations Bill, is the Minister aware of the threat of industrial action next Wednesday in the Cadbury's chocolate factory in Coolock in response to proposals to outsource the electrical department in the factory and to undermine the staff's pensions and working conditions? Is he also aware that the parent company, Mondelz International, is in breach of European legislation? Companies which operate in multiple European countries are obliged to engage with their staff but the company is refusing to do so. I urge the Government to intervene because this plant provides hundreds of jobs in the northside. People are being pushed around and bullied. Common sense needs to be brought to the issue.
I cannot comment on the specific issues raised by the Deputy. The collective bargaining legislation will be introduced this session and the Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is hopeful that it will come before the Government within a short number of weeks.
Most Members will be aware of the damage that gambling causes to society but fewer will be aware that no bet is legally enforceable. If I win a bet, I cannot enforce payment on it. The former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, prepared the general scheme of a gambling control Bill in 2013. What is the position of that Bill and when will it be published?
In the context of the spring statement, an issue has arisen this morning that is causing considerable concern in County Clare, with news of a threat to the rehab unit in St. Joseph's hospital.
The Deputy should raise that in the context of the debate on the spring statement.
Ordinarily the Opposition would raise this issue on Leaders' Questions but given Fianna Fáil's dismal performance on health in County Clare during its term in government, that party is not in a position to raise. That is why I have to raise the issue.
I do not know if the Minister can answer it.
I can only deal with the Deputy's question on the gambling control legislation, which is currently being drafted. I do not have specific date for its introduction.
In regard to the planning and development legislation, one of my constituents was made homeless this morning along with her children. She presented to the homelessness unit in Parkgate Street but there was no accommodation for her. She is one of 60 homeless families who have not even been able to secure emergency accommodation. Deputy Ó Fearghaíl outlined the overall numbers. Every morning between 60 and 80 families cannot even find emergency accommodation. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government appears to be in a state of paralysis. Where is he? The legislation is not being progressed and there was no reference to housing in the lengthy statements by the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform. Is it not time that the Government took a similar approach to the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, legislation to housing by taking urgent action today? This situation cannot be allowed to continue.
The Deputy is right that it is a pressing matter but he is totally wrong to say that the Government has not taken action on it.
Sixty families.
It flies in the face of the facts of our investment in the housing programme and dealing with homelessness. The Deputy is completely wrong about that, as he is aware. The urban regeneration and housing Bill is to be introduced before the end of May. It is being worked on as a priority because it is extremely important.
I ask the Minister to update the House on the Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014, which was one of the most important pieces of legislation introduced in this House. We have been awaiting regulations under the legislation for quite some time. The Bill regulates the relationship between producers and retailers.
I understand that legislation was enacted last year. An issue arises in respect of the regulations required under the Act. I will get a response for the Deputy on the status of those regulations.
In regard to the Irish Aviation Authority (amendment) Bill, it was reported in today's Irish Independent and Irish Examiner that the leader of Fianna Fáil launched an unprecedented attack on the management and operation of Shannon Airport and what the Government has done for the airport in terms of driving massive economic progress in the region. I ask the Minister to update the House on that Bill. Perhaps he is also be in a position to facilitate a debate on aviation policy so that the leader of Fianna Fáil would have an opportunity to explain why he launched a scurrilous attack on Shannon Airport and the people who work there.
Work is ongoing on the Irish Aviation Authority legislation but I do not have a specific date for the Deputy.
The Government is sitting on its hand while Cork Airport closes.