Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 24 Nov 2015

Vol. 897 No. 3

Order of Business

The Taoiseach

It is proposed to take No. a14, Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2015 – Financial Resolution; and No. 43, Finance Bill 2015 - Order for Report, Report and Final Stages. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that: (1) the Dáil shall sit later than 9 p.m. tonight and shall adjourn not later than 10 p.m.; (2) No. a14 shall be decided without debate; and (3) Private Members' business, which shall be No. 217, motion re credit unions, shall be taken at 8.30 p.m. tonight and shall, if not previously concluded, adjourn after 90 minutes.

Tomorrow's business after oral questions shall be: No. 43, Finance Bill 2015 - Report and Final Stages (resumed); No. 9, Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2015 - Order for Second Stage, and Second and Remaining Stages; No. 44, Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Bill 2015 - Second Stage (resumed); and No. 45, Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2015 - Second Stage (resumed). It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the Second and Remaining Stages of No. 9 shall be taken tomorrow and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 95 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: (i) the proceedings on the Second Stage shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 65 minutes by one question which shall be put from the Chair; the opening speeches 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 15 minutes in each case and such Members may share their time; a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed five minutes; and (ii) the proceedings on the Committee and Remaining Stages shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 30 minutes by one question which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government.

An Ceann Comhairle

There are four proposals to be put to the House. Is the proposal for dealing with the late sitting agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. a14, Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2015 – Financial Resolution, without debate, agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with Private Members' business agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 9 tomorrow, Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2015, agreed to? Agreed.

Deputy Micheál Martin

The programme for Government contains many chapters. I ask the Taoiseach to indicate whether, even at this late stage, there will be any redrafting or updating of the programme for Government, in particular, whether the entire section dealing with universal health insurance will be formally deleted from the programme for Government and whether there will be a ceremony to announce formally and officially its abolition given that the Taoiseach has been prone to ceremonies for a whole lot of other matters contained in the programme for Government.

Deputy Paul Kehoe

Deputy Martin's party would have got run out of ceremonies.

Deputy Micheál Martin

On a specific issue, delivering equity in education, the programme for Government states, "We will consider recommendations of the review of the DEIS programme and use it as platform for new initiatives to deliver better outcomes for students in disadvantaged areas." DEIS suffered cuts of 15% over two years ago. Those cuts have never been reversed, particularly for DEIS band 2 schools. In the review mentioned in the programme for Government, can that matter be addressed as a matter of urgency in the case of those schools?

There was a commitment to publish a plan in the programme for Government for the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs, EPSEN, Act 2004 to prioritise access for children with special needs to an individual education plan. The priority would be to move to a system whereby necessary supports follow a child from primary to second level and to achieve greater integration of special needs related services. This is the commitment given four years ago. The results have been in the opposite direction. I have not yet seen any plan for the implementation of the EPSEN Act 2004. Could the Taoiseach indicate the sections of the Act that have been fully commenced?

Have all sections of the Act been commenced? If the Taoiseach does not have the information immediately, could he forward it to me? There is major disquiet in the special education community about the Government's lack of engagement and the cutback in resources, particularly regarding assessment, diagnosis and intervention.

The Taoiseach

The Government still has a very clear commitment to introducing a single-tier health system. There will be no ceremony. Last week, I confirmed that the Government will not pursue the universal health insurance model assessed by the ESRI. There will not be any ceremony about it. While I will have to check the figures, I think 42 issues in the programme for Government have been completed, 40 have substantial work under way, 11 have been commenced and two have not been commenced. I will advise the Deputy regarding his question on DEIS band 2 schools and the sections of the EPSEN Act that have been commenced or are intended to be commenced.

Deputy Gerry Adams

I welcome the Government's belated decision to sign the Istanbul convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence, which is a very important framework for tackling violence against women and girls. The Government must fully ratify the convention. It has been five years since the Government promised consolidated and reformed domestic violence legislation, and the Bill has still not been published. The reformed and consolidated domestic violence Bill was cleared in July. When will it be published?

Emergency legislation was promised to deal with the mess surrounding the commission of investigation into IBRC. Can it be published before Christmas? The interim report from Mr. Justice Cregan has revealed a litany of mistakes, bad legal advice and incompetence. While the legal advice from the Attorney General is questionable, responsibility for this shambles rests ultimately with the Cabinet, particularly the Taoiseach. The Cabinet discussed the matter this morning. When will the emergency legislation be published?

The Taoiseach

I have previously told the Deputy that we had a road map of legislation to be dealt with. The Deputy is correct that heads of the domestic violence bill were cleared in July. The recently published Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill, the Court of Appeal Bill and the Children and Family Relationships Bill are all part of the road map that need to be implemented. In this country, we take the view that one should put the legislation in place before signing a convention, unlike other countries which sign the convention without having the legislation in place. There is a deal of work to be done and the Bill will be published in the new year.

I sent the interim report of Mr. Justice Cregan to everybody and asked that Opposition parties, including Sinn Féin, respond in writing by tomorrow. I hope I can have the party’s views on the judge pointing out the difficulties and challenges he sees. I expect to bring to the Government a response taking into account all the parties’ views next Tuesday.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

What is the position regarding the new children’s hospital establishment Bill? Have the heads been cleared and is it likely to come before the House soon? Regarding the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict Bill, the issue has manifested itself across the globe. Has action been taken on bringing the Bill forward in this or the next Dáil session?

The Taoiseach

The latter Bill will be in the next Dáil session. The heads of the children’s hospital establishment Bill have not been cleared, and it will be published in the next session.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill is being debated in the Seanad this evening and the Dáil will review the Seanad amendments on Thursday. The process had been very messy and rushed, due to the Government’s foot-dragging. Nonetheless, we need the small measure of delaying rent reviews. Can the Taoiseach outline the remaining progress of the Bill through the Houses and when it will reach Final Stage, so it can be implemented as soon as possible? Landlords are increasing rents in anticipation of the Bill.

The Taoiseach

It will not be debated on Thursday but next week. We will have Committee Stage as soon as possible.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

It is urgent.

The Taoiseach

It will be taken next week, so the Deputy will have time to examine it properly. We will take Committee Stage as quickly as possible.

Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick

Patient safety and quality is one of the Government’s top priorities. We need to promote and guarantee patient safety. We also need to enhance the power of the Ombudsman and HIQA, improve governance of health information including data matching and support for clinical audits. When can we expect the health information Bill to be published?

The Taoiseach

Although the heads of the Bill have been cleared, it will be published in the next session.