The Order of Business for today is item No. 1, which is a short item and should take no more than three or four minutes and item No. 2, the Criminal Justice (No. 2) Bill until 6 p.m. That will be followed by a sos from 6 p.m. until 6.30 p.m. At 6.30 p.m. until 8 p.m. we will take item No. 12, motion 94 (resumed). The Industrial Credit (Amendment) Bill, item No. 3 will be taken from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Order of Business.
I presume item No. 1 is simply leave to introduce the Bill.
Absolutely.
Could the Leader of the House tell me if any progress has been made towards arranging a debate on the developments in the European Community which has been mentioned over the past number of weeks. Could the Leader of the House also tell me if any arrangements have been made for the accommodation of Members of this House in the other House for the speech of Mr. Mandela next week?
I would like the Leader of the House to indicate the plans for the House for the next number of months. It is important from the point of view of ordering business that people know when we finish. I do not want any smart answers from the far side of the House. We can sit through autumn as far as I am concerned as long as we decide now what we will do. I am proposing that we sit until August, break for August and meet again in September. This nonsense of going on from week to week not knowing if we will be here the following week or the week after is no good for anybody. We should just have a clear operational procedure, organise our business and assess when we will finish. I do not care when we complete our business but we should decide this week when that will be. There is no need to rush Bills through before August; the Government seem to have that intention. It makes far more sense to come back in due time in September. I propose that we decide this week what date we will finish in July or if we are going into August——
I am satisfied you have made your point, Senator.
The other issue I wish to raise, which has been referred to on a number of occasions by Senator Mary Jackman and the Leader of the House, is the question of a committee to look at the extension of the franchise to third level graduates. We would welcome that and we have been pressing for five years on this matter. We want to extend it far beyond county councils. We want teachers voting on the educational section, farmers voting on the agricultural section and fishermen on their section. Just in case anybody on the other side is being smug about it, it is time we changed the operation of the House so that it becomes more representative. This is the ideal opportunity, so let us not be afraid to change the orders.
(Interruptions.)
It will take more than Senator O'Toole to change the orders here.
A voice from the past. I looked to see if the Senator was there.
That is not a matter for the Order of Business.
We have raised on a number of occasions the matter of North-South communications links, rail and otherwise. I ask that the Government would support the idea, perhaps next week, of a discussion on this matter. Members of the House have agreed to take it but I ask that time be made for it next week.
At the outset, may I beg your indulgence to express my very good wishes to the Irish soccer team for next Saturday night, particularly to the two people who come from Dublin south-central——
You can put down a motion on the Order Paper about that.
——Kevin Moran and Niall Quinn.
What hypocrisy.
Will Senators allow Senator Upton to continue without interruption.
May I ask the Leader of the House if he proposes to make time available for a debate on poverty and when can we expect to have the Broadcasting Bill debate here?
In view of the goodwill that is emerging from all sides of the House, could I ask the Leader what plans the Government have to confer honorary Irish citizenship on Jack Charlton and does he know where I could get a ticket for Saturday?
I wish to support Senator Manning in calling for a debate on developments in the European Community. Momentous events have been happening in recent months and Ireland has been fortunate to have been in the driver's seat. I want to couple with that the views I have expressed previously here, as have many other Members, in relation to the necessity for a foreign affairs committee. The reason I say this today is because I believe it is pertinent because given the huge amount of public activity there is in the foreign policy sector we are way behind the times in that we are apparently the only country in Europe without a foreign policy committee.
That matter has been raised repeatedly here.
I want to make one pertinent point. The Government's reason in recent months for not pursuing it was because they were so busy with the Presidency of the European Community. That will be completed this week. I would respectfully suggest that you convey to the Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs the desirability, now that the six months is ended——
There is a formal outlet the Senator can use and it is by way of putting down a motion. He should use that formula.
I would like to support Senator O'Toole in his request that the matter of university representation should be looked at and that this brief should be extended. In fact, I believe an amendment has gone in to that effect. One of the items is covered by item No. 7. I would also like to support his request that motion 32 in the names of Senators Shane Ross, Maurice Manning, Avril Doyle and myself regarding the North-South rail link should be taken as soon as possible. I would be glad if the Leader of the House could give us an indication on that. It is non-contentious and it could easily become an all-party motion. It has already been passed by the Dáil on an all-party basis. I would like to join with other Members who sent their congratulations to the Irish team and those congratulations should also go to the supporters. We are very lucky we do not have any soccer hooligans disgracing us.
It does not arise at this stage.
It is a great shame, however, that the political football hooligans in the IRA have not allowed that one night of undiluted triumph——
I must ask the Senator to desist. He is out of order.
In my opinion, the Provisional IRA are political soccer hooligans.
I would like to ask the Leader of the House when we can expect legislation to establish on a statutory basis the environmental protection agency that has long since been promised?
May I support my colleagues on their request to have a debate, as Senator O'Toole put it, on cross-Border communications. I have supported the campaign on the Northern rail link. It is a little bit disingenuous if we do not discuss the huge number of roads that are also closed and that have caused enormous inconvenience to very many people for no apparent security reason other than to cause considerable disruption to the lives of communities who have never recognised the existence of a political Border. We ought to consider the problems of people who live in Border areas and not just one specific case.
The IRA were quite good at cratering the roads recently.
Senator Ryan, without interruption.
As I have said a few times, there are Members of this House who could usefully visit certain areas close to here and find out a little of what actually happens to people.
Given that there is a crisis and there is something happening outside the gates of this House, may I ask the Leader of the House if, as a matter of urgency, he will allow us to debate, hopefully in a nonpartisan way because it is an important issue, the question of homeless young people in this city. This has turned into a crisis in six months and which is beginning to frighten people to an alarming extent. It is too serious to make political capital out of it. I do not believe there is a political monopoly and wisdom on this issue. It seems to me to be an issue on which this House could exercise considerable influence and I would like the Leader of the House to consider having a debate on the matter. I know business is pressing but the welfare of young people is an extraordinarily important issue.
I would like to join with Senator Manning in asking what is the position of Senators who wish to attend the address of Deputy President of the ANC.
I understand there is a letter issuing to all Senators which will outline the position.
May I, in supporting Senator Manning, ask the Leader of the House to do something about a member of his own party who profoundly insulted Nelson Mandela in reports in today's Irish Independent. He has suffered enormously.
It is not a matter for the Order of Business and I must rule you out of order. I must ask the Senator to resume his seat.
I would like to support Senator Ryan in his request to the Leader of the House for time for a debate on the issues in relation to accommodation for young people, which is the subject of the young people from Focus Point engaging in a protest outside the gates of this building over the past 24 hours and to join that into something that has happened since our last meeting here, when a 15-year old boy from Offaly was given three years imprisonment because there was no place for him in existing accommodation.
It is not a matter for the Order of Business.
I ask the Leader of the House to consider giving time for a debate on those important issues. I would like clarification, too, about the Criminal Justice (No. 2) Bill. According to the notification we received from the Whip's office it was intended that Committee and all Stages would be dealt with today.
On which Bill?
On the Criminal Justice (No. 2) Bill. The Leader of the House indicated the debate will terminate at 6 p.m. today. Will he clarify whether the remaining Stages will be taken together? Perhaps it would be best if we completed all Stages today. I do not think it would take much later than 6 p.m., perhaps another half hour or another hour, and we could complete all Stages and get the matter finally dealt with, as we understood from the notification from the Whip's office.
With regard to Nelson Mandela, both Houses of the United States Government have given him a joint hearing but our protocol was seemingly not able to allow that——
It is not a matter for the Order of Business. The procedures which govern the occasion are already laid down.
There is a motion to that effect in my name on the Order of Business.
That is the way to deal with it, but not on the Order of Business.
Will the Leader of the House given an indication what arrangements have been made?
I said a letter will issue to all Senators indicating the arrangements.
May I also send my congratulations to the Irish soccer team on their tremendous victory. They have done us proud, and I send my good wishes for their match in Rome.
I would like to support what Senator O'Toole said. It is not unreasonable of us to ask the Leader of the House to tell us how much legislation we will have before the summer recess and when we will have a summer recess.
(Interruptions.)
I will sit here until October, Senator Kiely, which the Government will not do. It seems there should be some organisation of the business here and we should know what business we are getting. It has greatly improved, certainly.
Secondly, I would like to ask the Leader of the House specifically about the Companies Bill. This Bill was introduced in the Seanad in 1987. I believe it was published not during the life of the last Seanad but during the life of the Seanad before that. It is now in a special committee of the Dáil. I assume that committee will recommend perhaps 100 or 200 amendments to that very comprehensive Bill, which will then have to come back here. Could the Leader of the House tell us when we will get it back here and when we will clear it, because that Bill has been before the two Houses for over three years now. It is a very important Bill; it started here and we have some responsibility for it.
With regard to the item raised by Senator Manning, on having a debate on developments in the EC, in regard to that matter and our Presidency of the EC for the past six months, which was raised here about two weeks ago, I have made very real progress in arranging a debate in the House fairly soon. I will pursue that actively as I have indicated. The Senator also raised the Mandela visit, which has been raised by a number of Senators over the past number of weeks, I indicated what I understood the position to be. The Cathaoirleach has said there is a letter on its way to Members, so obviously that will take care of Seantor Manning's question and the questions of other Senators with regard to the Mandela visit.
Senator O'Toole asked a very important question. He would like to know the programme before the summer recess and he wanted to now a specific closing date. I, too, would welcome a fixed date of when we can conclude. Obviously it is a question that has been made over the years and it is difficult to put a precise date on the closing of the session. It is something I will ask the Whips to take up actively. They will be meeting very soon and I will ask them to endeavour to give us a fixed closing date for this session.
With regard to the question of the franchise in respect of university representation, I propose to raise that at the next meeting of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. I understand that will probably take place next week and it will be a matter which I will ask to be put on the agenda for that meeting,. The question of the cross-Border matters is something that I will ask the Whips to consider. If we can fit it in obviously it will be done but I have no plans for it at this point.
Senator Upton raised again the important question of a debate on poverty. It is something I will consider and let him know as soon as possible. It is obviously an important matter and I will ask the Whips to examine it. On the question of the Broadcasting Bill, it is not for me to say when we will have the Bill. Obviously, when it concludes in the other House it will be brought to us as soon as possible but I cannot say when that will be. Senator Dardis referred to one or two matters which were not relevant to the Order of Business.
Senator Staunton referred to the point made by Senator Manning regarding a debate on developments in the EC. Senator Norris referred to the university representation and the North-South matters which I have mentioned already. Senator Doyle referred to the question of The Environment Protection Agency Bill. I said last week I understood the legislation would be issued fairly soon. I now understand that is not the case. There is a delay in publication and obviously it will not be with us in time for this session.
Senator Ryan referred to the cross-Border areas which I have referred to. He also raised the question of the homeless young people. I have no plans for a debate on that matter now. He referred to the Mandela visit and I explained the situation. Senator Costello referred to homeless young people. My answer remains the same on that. He asked for clarification on the Criminal Justice Bill. By arrangement with the Whips Committee Stage will commence as soon as the Order of Business is concluded and will go on until 6 p.m. If it is not finished at 6 p.m. the Committee Stage and all Stages will come before the House again and it is my intention they will be taken next week. He referred to another matter which is not relevant to the Order of Business.
With regard to the query by Senator Ross, gave a fairly detailed programme of legislation and I will get it for the Senator and tell him what are the proposals. Members welcomed the fact that I gave that information and they know where they are going in regard to legislation. Senator Ross asked about the Companies Bill. The Bill as he indicated, is being dealt with by a special committee of the Dáil. My understanding is that that Bill was concluded last night and I will make inquiries as to when it will be returned to this House. I will let the House know when that happens.
Order of Business agreed to.