The reports yesterday implied the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, said the Government was pulling back from the already agreed commission of inquiry into Project Eagle. The Tánaiste is no doubt aware that we have had motions in the Dáil on the matter and it was agreed that a commission of inquiry would be established into the activities around the sale of Project Eagle and that its terms of reference would allow the said commission of inquiry to add modules should other revelations emerge. The PAC is completing its work in the coming weeks in terms of the examination of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on Project Eagle. Could the Tánaiste indicate that the Government is still committed to holding a commission of inquiry, as agreed by the House, and could she please give that commitment today?
Questions on Promised Legislation
There were detailed discussions on this matter between the relevant spokespersons yesterday. I understand the PAC hopes to produce a report on the matter very shortly. It would be sensible to wait for that report to be published. Deputy MacSharry's own colleague suggested the same. We should wait for the report to be published and consider its findings before any further decisions are taken.
That is a terrible answer. In 2015 the Government agreed to take the case of the hooded men back to the European Court of Human Rights. That was the right decision. Last night Channel 4 revealed that papers uncovered by the Pat Finucane Centre in Derry exposed at least four known cases of waterboarding by the British army and RUC. The Tánaiste is aware that waterboarding is an horrific method of torture which terrorises a victim and simulates drowning. The papers also revealed that the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, raised one case with the then British Prime Minister, Ted Heath. That is a very serious matter which demands the fullest investigation by the Government. Will the Tánaiste instruct officials in the Department to examine its files to determine if the Department of Justice and Equality has information that could shed more light on those claims? Could she raise the matter urgently with An Taoiseach and ask that he too instruct his Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to do the same? Will the Taoiseach investigate and report back to the Dáil on what steps have been taken to pursue this matter? Will the Taoiseach release the minutes of the meeting between Jack Lynch and Ted Heath on those matters?
I take the point the Deputy made about the details that have just emerged. Whatever about the accuracy of the reports, they are a reminder of the very dark history of the Troubles on this island and everybody must face up to their responsibilities in that regard. It is clear there is a special obligation on any state to act at all times within the rule of law but we must also reflect on the many barbaric acts that were committed by others, which included torture and not even allowing a decent burial for people who were killed or disappeared. There is a legacy for all of us to reflect on, and we must continue to find ways to address the legacy issues. I hope the House will agree that what we should do is give priority to maintaining the Good Friday Agreement so that we do not return to those dark days.
Of course, the Government takes these reports very seriously and is looking very carefully at the issues raised in the programme.
In view of the challenges posed to our society by Brexit and the executive actions of President Trump in his first couple of days as US President and in respect of the programme for Government, will the Minister for Education and Skills agree to restore history to a full place in the curriculum of Irish schools so that today's students are not besieged by alt-right and alt-left material and alternative facts but that we go back to history and looking at what its lessons may teach us? Could we see the development of language learning at primary level?
The Deputy can only raise one point.
I will ask the Minister for Education and Skills to respond.
We had a very useful debate in the Seanad on the role of history and I think there was unanimity around the motion passed. The position is that we are developing much better curricula in history and it is part of the junior cycle reforms. At present, compulsory history only applies in voluntary secondary schools - 52% of schools - but 90% of pupils take it up. One of the problems is that they fall away very rapidly thereafter so the junior cycle curriculum has not been a satisfactory curriculum and is being reformed. It is not very different from when I was in school and is based on trying to retain huge volumes of dates and events, which is not the true type of history instruction we need. We should be equipping our young people to have the critical skills to which Deputy Burton referred. We had a very good debate and are reforming the curriculum and it will be very good for history in Ireland.
In respect of the promised review of A Vision for Change, the period ran out in January 2016. It is more than a year later and given all the debate in the Dáil on the absence of mental health services, where is the promised review, which was urgent?
I will ask the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people to come back to the Deputy with the details of the review. I beg your pardon. I did not realise the Minister of State was here.
We should have a final report on the review in the coming weeks. The review is looking at best practice - what has worked in Ireland and other countries. It will inform us moving forward in terms of the next step. That will be in the coming weeks.
In the coming weeks.
Housing is a priority in the programme for Government and we have a housing Minister. The reply to a parliamentary question I tabled about the number of local authorities that have applied for fast-track funding - the one-stage process - was that only two local authorities had applied to build 15 housing units with a value of under €2 million. What is going on?
That is a parliamentary question issue. It is not appropriate to the Order of Business.
It relates to promised legislation and is a keynote of the Government.
It is not appropriate to the Order of Business.
It is very appropriate because the programme for Government was built on the housing programme, the homeless and a housing Minister. What is going on with the local authorities and the Department that they cannot get it right? Two local authorities have applied to build 15 housing units when we have a housing crisis.
There was very detailed engagement on a range of issues. A total of 1,250 houses were built last year and there are detailed plans to deliver far more this year. A huge number of houses that were not available before the focus on that with the local authorities and that in the social programme were brought back into use. I will ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to communicate with the Deputy about that issue but he has already put a parliamentary question on the matter to the Minister.
I again put it to the Tánaiste that she needs to provide clarity on the need for a commission of investigation into NAMA because it was promised and committed to. The Tánaiste's response is inadequate. Yesterday, the Minister for Finance and Fianna Fáil put forward a straw man argument in respect of the Committee of Public Accounts.
The Committee of Public Accounts is doing a cost analysis of the transaction. It was not in a position to look at any allegations of criminality or wrongdoing, which as the Tánaiste, the Minister for Finance and Fianna Fáil all know can only be done through a full commission of investigation. I believe we are being primed for a row-back both by the Government and by Fianna Fáil. I ask the Tánaiste to clarify whether the Government is absolutely committed to the commission of investigation promised in November.
I have made it clear that we should await the publication of the Committee of Public Accounts report in the first instance. The Taoiseach engaged with all leaders when the issue came up first. I have no doubt that the Minister, Deputy Noonan, will address the issue again. As the Deputy said, there was detailed discussion here yesterday.
Deer Lodge, a 40-bed unit in Killarney to treat mental health patients, was completed in June 2015. The HSE promised before Christmas that it would open this year.
That is a parliamentary question issue and is not appropriate to the Order of Business. It could be raised as a Topical Issue.
It was in the programme for Government that this facility would open. Is the Government responsible for health or not? The HSE promised that it would open this year. Last week, The Kerryman reported that it will not open this year. Where is the funding going for health or what is happening at all? If this 40-bed unit is not opened this year, will it be knocked down? Will it be sold? What will be done with it?
The Minister of State-----
The Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, will revert to the Deputy on the matter.
In the latest publication of the Government's legislative agenda, the gambling control Bill has been removed as priority. Has the Government kicked this matter to touch indefinitely? The Government's repeated response is that it will engage in public consultation. We need more than that, as it has been going on for a number of years. Is it a personal priority of the Tánaiste's?
The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, has responsibility for this area now. He has done a considerable amount of work on it. He will introduce some urgent amendments in legislation in the near future. It is hoped that drafting will begin on a more comprehensive Bill. I agree with the Deputy that it is needed. This is a largely unregulated area here. The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, has taken responsibility for this. He has a great interest in it and did a considerable amount of work on it when he was Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. He will progress certain elements that he considers to be urgent in legislation in the near future and a more comprehensive Bill on gambling will be drafted towards the end of this year.
When will the family court Bill go to pre-legislative scrutiny? As we know, this will help to streamline family law court processes and will provide a dedicated family court to help all those people going through cases involving separation, divorce, access, custody, maintenance and relocation issues in a very adversarial way. I would like to see this expedited.
It is a priority of mine to ensure we have family courts. Consultations are continuing and I hope we will be in a position to finalise those very soon. We do not need a constitutional referendum to establish family courts. I hope we will be in a position in the very near future to begin the process of examining legislation to establish family courts.
To allow institutes of technology, such as IT Sligo, to merge into new technological universities and obtain the benefits this would bring, can we expect Committee Stage of the Technological Universities Bill to be taken shortly?
The Technological Universities Bill will be restored to Committee Stage. Obviously, issues were raised in the course of Committee Stage that was debated in the last Dáil. We are seeking to work out some of those issues relating to industrial relations and partnerships of colleges so that when we come to Committee Stage it will be easier to progress the Bill.
Work is being done to make sure we can progress that Bill. It is very much our intention to proceed with it. We hope it will be ready towards the end of this session.
Page 58 of the programme for Government commits to reducing emergency department overcrowding. I know from an answer given to my colleague, Deputy McDonald, that those in government are not massive fans of equal pay for work of equal value. They are very lucky that they are not getting paid by results. A total of 601 people were on hospital trolleys yesterday and there are nearly 520 people on trolleys today. What will the Tánaiste do about this that is new because whatever she is doing and however half-hearted her efforts, it is not working? What comfort can she give to people on trolleys now who are likely to be on those trolleys for the next two to three days? What is her plan? What does she intend to do that is new?
I call Deputy Joan Collins on the same issue.
To follow up on that point, the problem is not just affecting people in emergency departments. I have just got a text from a constituent stating that her 16 year old daughter was due to go into hospital to have a kidney removed today but she got a telephone call to say it was cancelled because approximately 42 people were waiting on trolleys and 20 people were waiting on beds. This problem has to be addressed very quickly. It is outrageous.
It is absolutely unacceptable to all of us that hundreds of patients are on trolleys for long periods of time, especially patients who are elderly and vulnerable. It also means extremely difficult working conditions for front-line staff. We heard comments this morning from the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine. The trolley numbers for January are lower this year than last year. Nevertheless, it is an unacceptable situation.
The Minister for Health is determined to break the cycle we have seen previous Governments try to break. He is determined to break that cycle so that we do not continue to see that situation. He has outlined the three areas needed to deal with this problem. The bed capacity review is under way to examine precisely the type of new beds that are needed, whether it is high dependency and so on. He is working with all the relevant organisations. We have to continue to recruit. The Minister is in discussions with the nursing organisations and trade unions to see how we can accelerate recruitment because that is part of solving a very important aspect of the problem. The difficulties in that regard are well documented. Dealing with the new general practitioner contract that is needed is essential because the development of primary care services are part of the answer to this problem.
Thank you, Tánaiste.
Action is under way-----
Sorry, a Cheann Comhairle, I want an answer to my specific question, please.
I am answering the Deputy's specific question.
What is she doing that is new?
That is what is new.
We cannot have a debate.
In order to break the cycle, we have to deal with those three issues. There is an action plan in place-----
That is nothing new.
-----with regard to each of them. It will not happen overnight-----
The Tánaiste to conclude, please.
-----but it is what is needed to break the cycle many Governments attempted to break in the past. To deal with this issue we have to act on each of those areas, and the Minister is doing that.