The Order of Business is item 2, Statements on Banking. The statements of each spokesperson should not exceed 20 minutes and all other Senators 15 minutes. Members may share time.
Order of Business.
Item 2 is agreed to. I draw the attention of the House to figures published yesterday which show the makings of a public scandal. It now appears that for the first time in six years the figures for Irish development aid are falling below the target long agreed by all parties in both Houses. This is happening at a time of unprecedented famine, pestilence, hurricanes and natural disasters, and at a time when this country has never been better off. Will this happen during the period of office of the first and only member of the Progressive Democrats Party to be responsible for development aid in this country? The House would like an assurance that the agreed targets will continue to be met.
I also draw the attention of the Leader of the House to a survey published today which shows that, in recent months, the level of pollution in the River Shannon has increased to dangerous levels. Whether this is because of the measures put in place by the Minister as indicated by the Leader or that no measures have been put in place I do not know. This highlights how serious this side of the House is about having the Shannon River Council Bill moved at an early date.
I restate my concern about the Shannon River Council Bill. The Leader of the House gave me a commitment over the last week that there would be a report on developments so I will hold back today and see what he has to tell us over the next 24 hours.
The last time we met the question of General Pinochet was raised and the Government's attitude to the matter. I have heard individual comments but this is an issue which should be discussed in this House unless there is a clear indication of Government policy. The forces are aligning on each side: Salvador Allende's daughter arrives in Britain today to make the case for one side and relations of Pinochet are making a case for the other. It is time people made their positions clear and I would like the Government to do that.
I support the remarks made by Senator Manning. There should be a full scale debate on the issue of overseas development aid as soon as possible. The previous Government, over the course of five years, substantially increased the amount of GNP contributed from this State with the aim of reaching the required UN figure — 0.7 per cent of GNP. The figure has dropped this year, the first full year of the present Coalition Government, from 0.31 per cent to 0.29 per cent. Clearly we are going backwards although the economy is expanding. There have been a number of catastrophes and the level of poverty in the Third World is still rising. Having received so much money from the EU, we should be seen to be dispersing some of the largesse created by the economy. It would be a shame if we went backwards on this issue. The debate should also cover asylum seekers who come mainly from Third World countries. In my constituency a family who had been in Ireland for five years was incarcerated in the middle of the night without any deportation order. All these matters are interrelated and should be debated.
Will the Leader provide time this afternoon for statements on the closure of Tarkett Ireland in Mullingar? This closure was announced last Friday week and sent shock waves throughout Mullingar and north-west Meath. I will not pre-empt the debate but will the Leader provide time this afternoon for statements on this serious situation?
Will the Leader provide time this afternoon for statements on the recent shock announcement of the closure of Krups with the loss of almost 500 jobs? This announcement was greeted with shock in the mid-west, particularly in Limerick city.
Will the Leader provide time for an urgent debate on assistance for the handicapped? I will table a motion if I am not successful in arranging such a debate. The Irish Wheelchair Association has requested £17 million in the budget to provide some kind of meaningful life for those in wheelchairs. Every Government is guilty of paying lip service to the handicapped when they protest outside this House. The amount requested is small. To my shame I recently met adults who relied on their elderly parents to wash them, and this is happening when the economy is buoyant. I will not need a debate if the Leader gives a commitment that the money will be given. I do not know if he is able to give such a commitment but will he arrange for an urgent debate?
Will the Leader arrange for a debate on the consultants' report on Iarnród Éireann? This report highlights many deficiencies in the company, particularly on the Sligo line, the Westport line, which passes through Roscommon, the Mallow line and other blackspots. The report should be debated in this House as it has serious infrastructural consequences for the west. It is appropriate that the House has an opportunity to debate this matter in the lead up to discussions on Objective One status and other developments. The Leader might also invite the Minister for Public Enterprise, Deputy O'Rourke, to attend the debate and respond to the report; she has always been willing to do so.
I support Senator Manning's call for a discussion on Ireland's contribution to overseas development aid. I regret the worrying diminution indicated by the Senator. We had a target towards which all Governments were moving. We had not reached that target but our position was quite good in comparison to other European countries. This may be an oversight and a little pressure might bring the Government back on track.
I also support Senator O'Toole's call for a discussion on General Pinochet. It is extraordinary that Margaret Thatcher should appeal for compassion — a virtue for which she is not particularly celebrated. One understands her concern as she was up to her ears with the Argentinian dictatorship just before she started the war for electoral purposes and for which she should have been the subject of the war crimes tribunal discussed in the House a few weeks ago.
This House has taken a consistent interest in East Timor. There are very worrying developments there at present, as highlighted in an article by John Pilger in The Irish Times. There is massive saturation by Indonesian under cover troops and the British Government has recommenced selling all kinds of weaponry, including Hawker jets, in spite of the alleged ethical foreign policy of Mr. Robin Cook.
I support Senator Costello's call for a discussion on the Costina family. I tabled a motion on this matter but it was too late for publication on the Order Paper. Will the Minister come into this House and explain the circumstances of this case and why the will of the Oireachtas, expressed by both Houses in the passage of the Refugee Bill, is still being flouted through the incomplete implementation of the Bill? This is an important matter which the House should consider.
The mental health Bill has been gestating for almost two decades, although I am occasionally informed by the Department that it is due to be published. Will the Leader find out the current position in regard to the legislation?
Earlier this year, we discussed the 1996 report of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals for the first time ever, even though it is supposed to be discussed by the Oireachtas under the Mental Treatment Act, 1945. The Minister promised that the 1997 report would be published before the end of the year. If it is published, will the Leader arrange for it to be debated in the House?
Some months ago, I asked the Leader if he would consider making time available for a discussion on the PRSI system, particularly in regard to people who were over 56 years of age when mandatory contributions were introduced in 1988——
The Senator is late; the matter has been dealt with.
Will the Minister clarify if it is intended to grant pro rata pensions to these people? If not, the question arises why contributions were required in the first instance.
We cannot debate the matter at this stage.
Will the Leader clarify the position on this matter?
I want to draw the Government's attention to the fact that only 423 days remain before the millennium. There is grave concern that the Government has not yet done enough to remind people of the problems associated with the millennium bug. I am not seeking a debate on the matter as we discussed it before but it is important that we be ready to deal with it.
I would also draw the attention of the Department of the Taoiseach to the chaos in Britain today where the Office of National Statistics admitted confidence in its figures has been dented, particularly in regard to the figures published on average earnings. I hope our confidence in the figures published by the Central Statistics Office is as strong as ever and that the Government is supporting it through the provision of necessary funding and so on to ensure the same kind of thing does not happen here.
I support the call for a debate on the recent report on Irish Rail commissioned by the Minister.
In light of recent publicity and the growth of public relations companies, it is important that this House consider the function of these companies, their involvement with politics and their future. That would be worthwhile in the interests of democracy and would be to everyone's advantage.
Senators Manning, Norris and Costello called for a debate on Irish development aid and overseas development. I will certainly leave time aside for this in the coming weeks.
Senator O'Toole, and in particular Senator Manning, expressed great concern about the high levels of pollution in the Shannon area. Senator Manning and I know who are the big culprits in this area and that they are not too far removed from membership of the Senator's political party.
On a point of order, I am mystified. I ask the Leader to elaborate on the blanket charge he has made.
I have no problem elaborating. About ten years ago I brought to the attention of the House the various people who were polluting Lough Sheelin which goes into the Shannon. The unit established for Lough Sheelin by the then Minister and former Tánaiste, Mr. John Wilson, proved who was doing the damage there.
This is about the Shannon. The by-election defeat has seriously gone to the head of the Leader if he has to start throwing slurry in this direction. If he has a charge to make against somebody under privilege he should make it. Otherwise he should withdraw what he said.
I have no difficulty whatsoever——
Make it.
The person was a member of the Senator's party and of the local government——
If the Leader is going to name somebody under privilege——
Buddy Kiernan made it and was afterwards held in contempt of court.
It is not in order to name people who are not present to defend themselves. I ask the Leader to give his reply to the Order of Business without becoming involved in personalities.
Hear, hear.
I am stating the facts. The person was in contempt of court.
The Leader is stating nothing but innuendo and slurry.
He was in contempt of court. The current arrangements in relation to water quality management will be further improved under the major monitoring and management system for Lough Derg and Lough Ree with funding from the Cohesion Fund. This major programme, co-financed at a rate of 80 per cent to 85 per cent by the EU Cohesion Fund, will cover the Shannon and all its tributaries from its source north of Lough Allen to Killaloe, south of Lough Derg. Significant investment amounting to over £39 million has been allocated to upgrade sewerage networks and water waste treatment plants, including phosphate removal, at the main pollution centres. Under this programme a monitoring and management system is being established for both catchments. Consultants were appointed to this project in 1997. It is expected that approximately £2.3 million will be expended over three years in setting up the monitoring and management system. The establishment of the system is being overseen by a steering group on which the Department of the Environment and Local Government, the two leading local authorities, namely, Clare County Council and Roscommon County Council——
On a point of order, I know the Leader means well, but he has no responsibility whatsoever in this matter. We want the Minister who has responsibility to come to the House. The Leader can say all he likes but he is not responsible. He has no executive functions and no policy making functions in the matter. He is not a parrot. If the Minister has something to say to us he should come before us and face questioning. It is irresponsible for the Leader to come to the House and ask us to accept——
That is not a point of order.
——what he says. When he has no function in the matter; he is debasing the Order of Business.
For three weeks I have been asked the same question by Senator O'Toole, namely, to inquire what progress is being made in relation to the Shannon River Council Bill. I sought the information from the Minister. I certainly do not consider myself a parrot and I take umbrage that a Member of Senator Manning's standing should say such to the Leader.
A parrot is somebody who repeats somebody else's words. It is no personal reflection on the Leader.
I am appalled. I do not need to be lectured by the Senator or anybody else.
I would prefer if we could avoid this type of exchange on the Order of Business.
I am not in any way casting an aspersion on the Leader or his personality. A parrot is somebody who repeats somebody else's words.
The Leader should not be interrupted when he is replying to the Order of Business. I ask the Leader to be relevant in his reply to the questions asked on the Order of Business.
I seek the Cathaoirleach's direction in that regard. May I give the answers I receive from the Ministers concerned or am I to pass them on to the relevant Senators and not discuss them on the Order of Business? I seek the advice of the Chair.
That matter can be discussed by the Whips.
That is what I am going to do with any further questions in this regard. I will let Senators know the responses by letter so as not to take up time of the House, as Senator Manning pointed out. Is that what the Senator wanted?
That is not what we said.
The Leader should not be silly.
I can do that; there is no problem whatsoever. Senator Ridge asked for a debate on the handicapped and I will have a debate on that matter at the earliest opportunity. Senators Chambers and Finneran requested a debate on Iarnród Éireann with reference to the Mullingar-Sligo and Athlone-Westport lines. This would be suitable for the Adjournment or it could be taken in Fianna Fáil time; I will look into it. Senators O'Toole and Norris requested a debate on East Timor, with which I agree, and Senator O'Toole also called for a debate on General Pinochet.
Senators Glynn and John Cregan asked for time for statements on the shock closures of Tarkett in Mullingar and Krups in Limerick as a matter of urgency. After careful consideration, I propose to take short statements on the Tarkett issue from 6 p.m. to 6.30 and statements on Krups from 6.30 p.m. to 7. Senator Henry inquired about the progress of the mental health Bill; my information is that it will be taken this session. Regarding the matter raised by Senator Coghlan, he may not be aware that the matter has been dealt with by the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs. I would be happy to clarify this matter further for the Senator by letter. Senator Quinn asked for an in depth debate on the millennium bug; I would be happy to provide time for this also.
Order of Business agreed to.
The Minister is unavailable so it is proposed to suspend the sitting until 3.15 p.m.
This suspension is agreed to with very bad grace. The Minister should be here when the Order of Business ends at 3 p.m. The House should not be treated in this discourteous way.
Sitting suspended at 3 p.m. and resumed at 3.15 p.m.