Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 3 Dec 2015

Vol. 899 No. 2

Order of Business

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Alex White)

It is proposed to take No. 12a, motion re leave to introduce Supplementary Estimate - Vote 38, and No. 12b, motion re referral of Supplementary Estimate - Vote 38 to the select sub-committee. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that No. 12a shall be decided without debate, and subject to the agreement of No. 12a, No. 12b, motion re referral to select sub-committee, shall be decided without debate and any divisions demanded thereon shall be taken forthwith.

It is also proposed that as all other business listed for today has already been brought to a conclusion, the sitting shall be suspended on the conclusion of No. 12b until 2 p.m. and Topical Issue matters shall be taken at that time.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is the proposal for dealing with Nos. 12a, motion re leave to introduce Supplementary Estimate - Vote 38, and 12b, motion re referral of Supplementary Estimate Vote 38 to select sub-committee agreed to? Agreed. It is the proposal for dealing suspension of the sitting agreed to?

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

It is not agreed.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is it the Deputy who is going to speak on behalf of his party?

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

Yes.

Deputy Sandra McLellan

We were here until 11 p.m. last night.

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

Surely the Whip has other legislation that can be introduced today. It is not acceptable that the business for today will be collapsed because we finished it yesterday. Is there no other pressing legislation that the Government can introduce today?

Deputy Mattie McGrath

It is a joke.

Deputy Sandra McLellan

We will probably be sitting until all hours next week.

Deputy Peter Mathews

There is the legislation providing for a one-year term for bankruptcy.

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

The House is sitting late next week and additional days have been added to the schedule, yet the business for today will be collapsed at 2 p.m. because the Whip could not be bothered finding a Minister to come into the Chamber to discuss some pressing legislation. We have had guillotine after guillotine imposed and now today we have no business.

Deputy Sandra McLellan

We were here until 11 p.m. last night.

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

There must be legislation on the priority list that the Government can bring in today.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

We need a new Whip.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Go raibh maith agat. I call Deputy Troy.

Deputy Robert Troy

I agree with the previous speaker. It is unbelievable to think that we are closing the House early today due to the absence of legislation to be debated. Where is the bankruptcy legislation that was published earlier this week and agreed by Cabinet? Where is the schools admissions policy legislation that was published a number of weeks ago, legislation which has direct and real consequences on the lives of the people who we represent here on a daily basis. The previous speaker is right, this is because of the ineptitude and the lack of co-ordination by the Government Chief Whip-----

Deputy Mattie McGrath

And lack of respect.

Deputy Robert Troy

-----who does not want to organise in conjunction with the other Whips of this House.

(Interruptions).

Deputy Robert Troy

I can assure the Chief Whip that if his office wants to telephone our Whip's office that we would be more than willing to come in here and debate some of the serious issues which need to be debated here today.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Thank you, Deputy.

Deputy Robert Troy

It is unbelievable to think that we are going to close this House due to the lack of debate and lack of legislation coming to the House.

Deputy Emmet Stagg

You were not even in the House to debate-----

Deputy Robert Troy

It is another sign of spin over substance.

(Interruptions).

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Minister will now reply.

Deputy Robert Troy

The Government is great on spin but very poor on delivery and very poor on substance.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Thank you, Deputy.

Deputy Paul Kehoe

Donie will not be disappointed. Did he give the Deputy that script this morning?

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We will now hear the Minister's reply.

Deputy Alex White

The Deputies are well aware that there was legislation ordered for this House this morning. The climate change legislation finished earlier than expected, presumably because there were no speakers. Deputy Troy was not here to make his big points about climate change on that occasion.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

Hear, hear.

Deputy Alex White

Perhaps he was leaving that to somebody else to do but he was not here. There were some colleagues here for that debate and it finished before it was expected that it would.

Deputy Robert Troy

We know it finished before it was expected that it would.

Deputy Alex White

Then there was the Dublin Docklands legislation debated before the House and there was nobody here from the Opposition in respect of it.

Deputy Emmet Stagg

Where were they?

Deputy Alex White

There was nobody.

(Interruptions).

Deputy Barry Cowen

The Minister did not see me on the monitor. I was sitting right here.

Deputy Alex White

This is legislation that the Deputy claims-----

Deputy Barry Cowen

Withdraw that remark.

Deputy Alex White

-----has direct and real consequences-----

Deputy Barry Cowen

Where are the Bills to which the Minister referred?

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy Cowen, resume your seat.

Deputy Alex White

The Deputy's performance is not persuading anybody.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

The Minister should withdraw that lie.

Deputy Alex White

This is the legislation, the docklands legislation, that the Deputy tells us is of direct and real consequences.

Deputy Barry Cowen

I was here; is the Minister trying to say I was not here?

Deputy Alex White

I am not talking to you; I am talking to the-----

Deputy Barry Cowen

Do not make an allegation that you cannot stand over.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputies, please.

Deputy Alex White

This is legislation that Deputy Troy claims is of direct and real consequences to the people he represents, but neither he nor any of his colleagues could be bothered to be here to debate it.

Deputy Robert Troy

Members of my party were here.

Deputy Alex White

Let him not say that the Government is not ready to debate this legislation. Child care legislation was debated here as well.

Deputy Robert Troy

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle------

Deputy Alex White

The Government stands ready to debate these issues with the Opposition but if there is nobody on that side of the House, there is not much we can do.

Deputy Sandra McLellan

I was here.

Deputy Robert Troy

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, on a point of order-----

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is it a point of order? I will call the Deputy in a moment.

Deputy Robert Troy

Yes.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

If it is a point of order, I want the Deputy to be brief and to be in order.

Deputy Robert Troy

On a point of order, I attended a committee meeting this morning with the Minister's colleague at which we dealt with an Estimate. That is the reason I was not here, but my party was represented here. It is a matter of fact that my party was represented here. The Minister should withdraw the remark he made from the record of the House, and the Whip would need to withdraw the remark. Our party was represented here. We are not discussing the debate on the legislation, the legislation has been dealt with. That is acceptable, Minister-----

Deputy Paul Kehoe

More excuses.

(Interruptions).

Deputy Robert Troy

-----but there is further legislation that could be dealt with.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Thank you, Deputy.

Deputy Robert Troy

There is no reason the House should adjourn early today when there is so much more legislation that could be dealt with.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We have got that point. I must call another Deputy. Deputy McLellan has a point of order.

Deputy Sandra McLellan

I want to point out to the Minister that I was here to debate the Child Care (Amendment) Bill with the Minister and I want him to withdraw that remark.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy O'Brien has a point of order.

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

On a point of order, the fact that the legislation went through goes to prove that there was no need to guillotine the debate on the legislation yesterday.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

That is another issue.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Which was a proposal.

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

That was a proposal.

Deputy Paul Kehoe

You were not even here to debate it.

Deputy Robert Troy

Our party was represented.

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

I do not know if your Christmas night out is tonight and you want to have a half day.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Let us not get into that.

Deputy Paul Kehoe

You were not even here to debate it.

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

There is serious legislation to come before this House and you want to go home.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy O'Brien, please, I have to put the question.

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

My party colleagues were here for the debate. The Minister of State should have been in here this morning and organising a revised Order of Business, instead of taking a half day.

(Interruptions).

Deputy Paul Kehoe

You were not here.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy please.

Question put: "That the proposal for dealing with the suspension of the sitting be agreed to."

The Dáil divided: Tá, 52; Níl, 33.

Tá

• Breen, Pat.
• Butler, Ray.
• Buttimer, Jerry.
• Byrne, Catherine.
• Byrne, Eric.
• Carey, Joe.
• Coffey, Paudie.
• Conaghan, Michael
• Conway, Ciara.
• Coonan, Noel.
• Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
• Costello, Joe.
• Deasy, John.
• Deenihan, Jimmy.
• Deering, Pat.
• Dowds, Robert.
• Durkan, Bernard J.
• Ferris, Anne.
• Griffin, Brendan.
• Hannigan, Dominic.
• Harrington, Noel.
• Harris, Simon.
• Heydon, Martin.
• Howlin, Brendan.
• Humphreys, Kevin.
• Keating, Derek.
• Kehoe, Paul.
• Kelly, Alan.
• Kenny, Seán.
• Kyne, Seán.
• Lawlor, Anthony.
• Lyons, John.
• McEntee, Helen.
• McGinley, Dinny.
• Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
• Mulherin, Michelle.
• Neville, Dan.
• Nolan, Derek.
• Ó Ríordáin, Aodhán.
• O'Donnell, Kieran.
• O'Donovan, Patrick.
• O'Dowd, Fergus.
• O'Sullivan, Jan.
• Phelan, Ann.
• Phelan, John Paul.
• Rabbitte, Pat.
• Reilly, James.
• Ryan, Brendan.
• Stagg, Emmet.
• Twomey, Liam.
• Wall, Jack.
• White, Alex.

Níl

• Aylward, Bobby.
• Boyd Barrett, Richard.
• Broughan, Thomas P.
• Collins, Joan.
• Collins, Niall.
• Colreavy, Michael.
• Cowen, Barry.
• Daly, Clare.
• Ellis, Dessie.
• Fitzmaurice, Michael.
• Flanagan, Terence.
• Halligan, John.
• Healy, Seamus.
• Higgins, Joe.
• Kelleher, Billy.
• Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
• McConalogue, Charlie.
• McDonald, Mary Lou.
• McGrath, Finian.
• McGrath, Mattie.
• McLellan, Sandra.
• Mathews, Peter.
• Moynihan, Michael.
• Murphy, Catherine.
• Murphy, Paul.
• Ó Cuív, Éamon.
• Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
• O'Brien, Jonathan.
• Pringle, Thomas.
• Ross, Shane.
• Smith, Brendan.
• Stanley, Brian.
• Troy, Robert.

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Emmet Stagg and Paul Kehoe; Níl, Deputies Jonathan O'Brien and Robert Troy.

Question declared carried.