It is proposed to take No. b5, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the final report of the sub-committee on Dáil reform; No. c5, motion re Standing Orders 143, 143A, 143B, 143C, 143D, 143E and 143F; and No. 7, statements on the report of the O’Higgins Commission of Investigation (resumed). It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that Nos. b5 and c5 shall be decided without debate.
Order of Business
There is one proposal to put to the House today. Is the proposal for dealing with No. b5, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the final report of the sub-committee on Dáil reform, and No. c5, motion re Standing Orders 143, 143A, 143B, 143C, 143D, 143E and 143F, without debate, agreed to?
I have tabled amendments.
Yes, we will come to that. Is it agreed to take the motions? Agreed.
I call Deputy Michael Moynihan on the Order of Business.
I wish to raise a number of issues. First, I understand that in recent days the Tánaiste met with community groups in Dublin Central, as did the leader of the Fianna Fáil Party, Deputy Micheál Martin. One of the issues that has arisen concerns the mini-CAB that has been piloted in some places. In view of the escalating situation and the fear on the streets, does the Tánaiste plan to bring forward a mini-CAB and empower the Garda Síochána with more resources to try to tackle the serious issues on the streets there? Will a task force be established to deal with prescription and other drugs which are freely available? Is there an urgency within all Departments to tackle the escalating crisis in that regard?
Second, there was a general discussion at the Whips' meeting yesterday but from reports we have received from the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party meeting last night, it seems to have been confirmed to that meeting that the House will rise on 7 July this year. Is that set in stone and has it been confirmed? How can that be justified with the amount of work required and the amount of business that needs to go before the Dáil concerning a whole variety of urgent areas that I could mention?
Third, one of the recommendations of the O’Higgins commission was to transpose an EU directive that deals specifically with the rights of victims of crime. Can the Tánaiste confirm when the criminal justice (victims of crime) Bill will come before the House?
Fourth, the programme for Government contained proposals for the dairy forum. In light of the crisis in the agriculture industry, when will the dairy forum meet next?
I thank the Deputy for his questions. As regards the development of what is termed mini-CAB, that is in the programme for Government. I can confirm to the House that the Garda Commissioner again confirmed last night that there are already what are called asset profilers operating in the north inner city area, as well as in other areas of the country. This is important because we want to be seen to interrupt drug dealing and give a clear message to local communities that we are supporting them in interrupting this trade. The Garda Síochána is continuing with its prosecutions but is also looking at the assets of drug dealers in that area and in others. I will also urgently examine the legislation underpinning this in order to make it stronger.
Drugs legislation is a priority for the Minister for Health and will be brought forward as soon as possible. The Deputy will appreciate that the reason for a delay was that a Supreme Court case was being heard on the issue. We will also have a new national drugs strategy and work is advanced on that. There will be a lot of consultation on that in the course of the next few months and it will be published this year.
As regards the Deputy's point on the recess, I can confirm that the summer recess is a matter for the Dáil. A new business committee will be established over the next few weeks as a result of recommendations made in the report of the Dáil reform committee, which is chaired by the Ceann Comhairle. The new business committee will seek to work through a process of consensus. I suggest that the Dáil business committee should be given time to consider this issue. Any discussion of dates at the moment is speculation until those discussions are held and concluded.
I can confirm that the legislation on victims' rights is a priority. It will be published this term. In fact, the implementation has already started on the EU victims' rights directive since November last year. The gardaí have established an implementation programme as far as the directive is concerned. As I said yesterday, we need to have a sea change across the criminal justice system concerning victims. Victims need to be at the heart of that system.
I will ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to liaise directly with the Deputy concerning the dairy forum.
Yesterday, the Taoiseach indicated that a briefing would be provided for other political leaders in respect of the Tánaiste's meeting with the Garda Commissioner. Can she please indicate when that meeting is scheduled to occur?
Can she also give us a sense of the proposed terms of reference, or even the process she envisages, for establishing a task force for the north inner city? The Tánaiste will recall that I raised this matter with her some weeks ago. We now need to know how precisely she proposes to go about establishing that and what input local stakeholders and communities will have in that process.
I also understand that the Taoiseach is to visit the north inner city. Can the Tánaiste tell the House when that visit is scheduled as well as any other information or details she has on the matter?
I welcome the fact that the Tánaiste proposes to strengthen the legislation underpinning the Criminal Assets Bureau and local CAB functions, including asset profilers. I have no doubt the ambition is to disrupt drug dealing activities in the north inner city and elsewhere. The truth is, however, that such activities are carried on undisrupted across the north inner city and beyond.
I also wish to raise the issue of the Dáil recess.
The date of 7 July has been floated. It seems this came out of a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting briefing. If it is, as the Tánaiste said, a matter for the business committee, why on earth would her party be briefed on any date? She might clarify that for us.
Having stalled for ten weeks while there were negotiations and no small amount of sham battling between different parties, it would be absolutely unthinkable that the House would rise on 7 July and not return until the end of September. If works need to be done in the Chamber, alternative accommodation should be sourced. Could we perhaps suggest the Round Room in the Mansion House? That would be a most appropriate venue for the Dáil to meet. Business committee or no business committee, we cannot have a situation where we are barely in and just about off to a spluttering start with Dáil business and then we go into recess again. There are too many serious issues to be dealt with to allow that to happen.
For the information of the House, no decision whatsoever has been made in respect of when the Dáil will rise. That is a matter for the House to decide and it is my understanding that while there is important work to be undertaken, such work would not require the House to rise on 7 July. What briefings are given or are not given to any political party are not a matter for discussion here on the Order of Business.
I have absolutely no interest in being privy to the inner workings of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party. However, if this is to be decided by the business committee-----
Yes, it is.
-----it is a matter for the Dáil if the parliamentary party-----
No, the Deputy should resume her seat and I will explain.
------of a party in government is being briefed on a specific date.
The Deputy's point is clearly made. It is not a matter for the business committee; it is matter for the House. The business committee may well and probably will make a recommendation. I call the Tánaiste on the relevant issues.
The Taoiseach will be in contact to arrange the briefings. We will do that as quickly as possible once we find a suitable time. We want to ensure everybody is aware of the extensive work being done in the north inner city and the extensive Garda resources that are being deployed there. We had a useful meeting last night with the Garda Commissioner and her senior officers. They are working night and day to deal with the appalling situation that we face in respect of gangland crime. I know they have the full support of the House in their efforts. The situation we face is unprecedented and the ferocity, intensity and savagery of the gang members who are intent on killing one another is unprecedented but the Garda has faced down criminal gangs and terrorists successfully. With the resources available, with the determination and motivation of all the gardaí patrolling the streets and with the armed response that is available, they will continue to make every effort to prevent, investigate and prosecute. We have seen some of the successes of their work in recent prosecutions.
I confirm that I discussed the task force when I visited the local community last week and met representatives of various community groups with the Garda Commissioner and senior officers working in the area. We met youth workers and others who are working to prevent problem relating to drugs in the area. We met a wide range of community representatives with whom the Deputy will be familiar and we had an initial discussion about setting up a task force. They highlighted, in particular, the need for the housing authorities and social welfare officials to work together to ensure their services are being used appropriately by people. Locals are concerned that there would not be abuse of those services by people who have assets. There was also a discussion about a task force to deal with the broader socioeconomic issues in the area. The way the Government and I intend to take this forward is to ensure the task force is, in the first instance, Government-led and set up in close consultation with local public representatives and community groups in order that we work through a consultative process to decide precisely the best way to deal with the issues about which the local community is concerned. It will be very much a partnership approach. There is not yet a date. We have just had a recent killing and the Taoiseach will decide the appropriate time for him to visit the area.
The Deputy also asked about resources. Extensive resources are being made available and both the Taoiseach and I made it absolutely clear to the Garda Commissioner and her senior officers last night that whatever resources are needed to deal with the current threat will be made available to An Garda Síochána. That is the commitment and the Government stands by that. We have taken action to ensure whatever overtime, resources and support they need will be provided. There will be legislative change in respect of CAB and other areas. I would welcome input from Members in this regard.
The Tánaiste said legislation would be brought forward in respect of CAB. Will she outline a timeline relating to when that legislation will be brought before the House? With regard to the terrible increase in violent crime, particularly in inner city Dublin, I refer to a commitment in the programme for Government to a new intelligence-led police infrastructure that would help to prevent and detect crime, which would involve modern technology and resources but which would also be underpinned by legislation. When will that legislation be brought forward? While there are clearly resourcing issues, there are also issues about sharing of information and the use of modern technology that will make policing more effective.
The other issue that has been raised by previous speakers relates to when the Dáil will rise for the summer and resume in the autumn. I have referred to two crime related Bills. I acknowledge the Ceann Comhairle said this is a matter for the House but if we finish in early July and come back in late September, we clearly will not have appropriate time for legislation. We have also been promised a new budgetary process in the programme for Government whereby Members and committees of the House will be involved in preparing the budget. If we are going to do that, we need enough time between the summer recess and the announcement of the budget for the House and its committees to do that. I add my voice to the others in respect of not having an overlong recess. As Deputy McDonald said, I understand the work to be done in the Chamber is not major. While other work needs to be done around the House, could we not sit in the Chamber while this work is being carried out and find accommodation, if necessary, for us in other places?
I reiterate there is no compelling reason for the House to rise in early July.
I have stated previously on the Order of Business that successive Governments have introduced a series of robust anti-gangland Bills. This week, I brought a memorandum to Cabinet for which I secured support to ensure the special criminal justice legislation will be in place for this year again as well as terrorist legislation, which is renewed annually. I hope I will get the support of all Members when I seek the renewal of both Acts in the next few weeks. I ask them for their support. This anti-gangland legislation was brought in in 2009. We have strong legislation.
As I have made clear, if we need a review of some of the legislation - Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked about the Criminal Assets Bureau legislation - we will do that as a matter of priority this term. The Criminal Assets Bureau is working extremely well. If one reads its latest annual report, one will see the amount of assets that are being seized. The bureau is being copied by other countries because it is and has been so effective in seizing assets from criminals and interrupting their deadly activities over the past decade. That legislation and other legislation in the criminal justice area will be prioritised for this term.
An investment in ICT of well over €200 million was made by the last Government. This is to allow the Garda to have the type of ICT structure they need, a matter that has been shamefully neglected over the years. I set up the first committee between An Garda Síochána and the Departments of Justice and Equality and Public Expenditure and Reform so that we could identify the ICT needs. We now have a programme of action relating to that which began to be implemented towards the end of last year and will continue at a rapid pace this year.
In respect of the recess, I reiterate a point I made earlier which was also mentioned by the Ceann Comhairle. The summer recess is a matter for the Dáil. We have a Dáil reform programme and a new business committee that will examine this issue and, no doubt, will make a recommendation to the Dáil. There is no date at present.
The programme for a partnership Government contains a commitment to annual increases in capitation rates for schools. Last week, the Department of Education and Skills published its briefing document for the Minister for Education and Skills. This document was extremely stark and described the serious threat that the low level of funding could trigger school closures due to a lack of heating or insurance cover. The programme for a partnership Government also contains a commitment to allowing schools to hire out their premises to community groups and other groups after school hours. I wonder whether this will be the basis for funding schools into the future. Will schools have to hire out their premises to outside bodies to stay open? That is the worry, and it is not a worry expressed by me; it is a worry expressed directly by the Minister's officials.
I am afraid there is no time to respond. The Tánaiste might correspond with the Deputy on the matter. My apologies to those Deputies who have offered, but the time has elapsed.
I had my hand up ages ago and the Ceann Comhairle acknowledged it and then took a second person from Fianna Fáil.
I took people strictly in the order in which they offered. That is what I have done from the start and that is what I will continue to do. The Deputy should be very clear about that.
I am not so clear about it. That is not how it appeared to me.
If the Deputy is not clear about it, she might like to come to my office afterwards and we can have a discussion about the matter.
I certainly will.
I indicated that I wanted to say something about what the Tánaiste said-----
Many people have indicated. The time has elapsed. I ask the Deputy to resume his seat.
I did not get a chance to say what she was talking about-----
The Deputy should resume his seat.
I wanted to say something regarding what was discussed.
The opportunity did not arise.
What does the Ceann Comhairle want me to do - stand up and shout when the Tánaiste is speaking?
(Interruptions).
I do not want anyone to stand up and shout. Could we have some quiet, please? We are acting in accordance with Standing Orders-----
Standing Orders-----
If I might finish, Standing Orders do not provide for a limitation on the length of time of a Member's question or a Minister's response. When the new Standing Orders are adopted, there will be a clock in operation which will limit the time for both the questioner and the responder, and that will create a situation in which, hopefully, all Deputies offering-----
I have a question for the Ceann Comhairle.
I ask the Deputy to resume her seat.
Do Standing Orders provide for groups to be taken in order of their size?
We are not here for a discussion on those matters.
I am not looking for a discussion. I am looking for clarification.
Will the Deputy resume her seat? We are going to proceed to-----
It is a point of order.
It is not in order.
My point of order is out of order. I am just asking the Ceann Comhairle whether Standing Orders allow for groups to be taken in order according to their size. I am just asking the question. Can the Ceann Comhairle answer "Yes" or "No"?
The Deputy should resume her seat.
Can the Ceann Comhairle answer "Yes" or "No"?
I am not here to be interrogated. The Deputy should resume her seat. If she wants to discuss the matter-----
The Ceann Comhairle is here to clarify and implement Standing Orders.
And I will do so without fear or favour and I will not be pressurised.
I am asking the Ceann Comhairle whether Standing Orders allow for groups to be taken in order according to their size?
I will not be pressurised by anybody into departing from the provisions of Standing Orders. The Deputy should resume her seat.
Do Standing Orders provide for groups to have a spokesperson according to their size?