The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on the Review of Seanad Éireann (resumed). Spokespersons will contribute for 20 minutes, other Senators for 15 minutes. This matter was debated in June 1998 but with the agreement of the House I propose to allow Members who spoke on that date to contribute again today.
Order of Business.
The Order of Business is agreeable. The Minister for Health and Children, by statutory instrument, has provided that St. John's wort will be available only on prescription from 1 January. That is totally unfair and needless.
I would point out to the Senator that that matter was raised by Senator O'Meara and debated on the Adjournment last week.
Will the Leader ask the Minister for Health and Children and the Taoiseach to re-examine this issue as a matter of urgency before 1 January 2000? The Irish Medicines Board made recommendations in regard to St. John's wort, on foot of which the Minister put in place the statutory instrument.
I have raised the issue of inland waterways on many occasions. I listened to an appalling debate on the radio this morning in which members of the Lough Derg fishing club spoke about pollution levels in the lake. Yesterday, the new inland waterways authority was set up. The Leader has told me for the past two or three years that this issue is dealt with by local authorities in the South. It is not; lakes and rivers are being polluted, our heritage is being destroyed and we are not doing anything about it. I want a clear indication from the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources as to how this issue is to be debated. Should we debate it in the context of the North-South bodies and the inland waterways authority or should we deal with it separately in the South? The situation is disgrace ful and someone must take the rap for it. We must do something about the state of our rivers and lakes. Someone is failing to take action on this. I am not saying I feel more strongly about this issue than Members on the other side of the House. They share my views and the issue should be dealt with.
Appreciation was expressed on yesterday's Order of Business on the signing into force of the new Articles 2 and 3. The six Members on the Independent benches are the only Members of this House who represent people on both sides of the Border. We have constituents throughout the island; people who live in Derry, Belfast and elsewhere in the North vote for me, Senator Henry and our colleagues. It is disgraceful that no representative from these benches was invited to the ceremony yesterday morning. That is not acceptable. It was decided in the Department that no Independent Members would be invited. That is appalling when we are the only Members of this House with all-Ireland representation. Nobody has a greater right than we have to be here. I would not have cared which of us was invited yesterday but it was utterly insensitive and hypocritical not to have invited one of us, given that we have constituents north and south of the Border. On a day when pluralism was of the essence, it was very wrong that there was not any representation from these benches. I would ask the Leader not to defend the Department in this regard but to give us some explanation as to why this happened.
Yesterday was an historic day. The former Secretary of State, Mo Mowlam, was one of the people who carried out trojan work in helping to bring the peace process to a successful conclusion and I was very disappointed that she was not mentioned yesterday. Mo Mowlam's visit to the Maze Prison, during which she spoke to inmates and pulled them together, represented a turning point in the peace process. It is sad that because she was not there on the day, she was not mentioned. I would like to send my regards to her.
It is scandalous that another bank was raided in Dublin and that a window, which was broken 25 years ago, was again broken in this raid. What type of example are banks showing? They make billions of pounds but are too miserly and miserable to put in proper security and repair a window damaged 25 years ago.
Hear, hear.
Senator Farrell should find a different way to raise this matter. It is a very important matter but it is not relevant to the Order of Business.
It may not be relevant to the Order of Business but it is relevant to society in that the banks should show good example and prove they are capable of securing the people's money. It is the people's money which is being robbed, not theirs.
Will the Leader arrange a debate on various aspects of the insurance industry, perhaps using the Insurance Ombudsman's report as a starting point? Consumers are concerned about the various products available and about what they are buying or will benefit from in the future. A general debate on insurance might be useful.
I raise a matter I have raised on a number of occasions with Senator Henry and others. Will the Leader arrange a debate on the report of the inspector of mental hospitals as soon as possible in view of the adverse comments contained in it and the date of the report? It is causing much concern in the psychiatric profession, both in the medical and nursing fields. I ask for a debate as soon as possible. I have very strong things to say about it and on the whole concept of the inspectorate of mental hospitals.
Will the Leader arrange an urgent debate on the new crisis in the child care field? The budget has encouraged women to go back into the workforce but has not given them any child care places. It is a pyrrhic victory for the Minister. People perhaps do not realise how bad the situation is. I am sure the Leader will respond by arranging a realistic and meaningful debate on the matter.
Has Operation Freeflow started or is it still operation free for all? I had the same problems getting into town today. Last week the Leader assured me all would be well on 2 December.
I am delighted Senator Glynn supports my call for a debate on the report of the inspector of mental hospitals because it is about the tenth time I have asked for such a debate. For the past two years, I have used my Private Members' time to debate this report and I had hoped Government time would be used this year, but I bet we will have to wait until my time comes up again sometime in February.
I congratulate the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on setting up a hotline for the reporting of child pornography on the Internet and on this being the fifth European country to become involved in the network of reporting. Will the Leader arrange a debate on this topic and on the possible monitoring of chat rooms used by children? I know self-regulation is best but the public needs to be advised about the serious risk to children which these chat rooms can pose. The new year will do for a debate on this difficult topic.
Will the Leader draw the attention of the Minister for Health and Children to the worthwhile effort by the Eastern Health Board as regards the anti-smoking campaign in about 35 pubs in this area? This is a voluntary scheme and it is the ideal direction to take. We attempt to solve things by legislation too often. In this case the effort has been made to find pubs that will determine a non-smoking area. If this voluntary experiment works it could sweep around the country and provide a solution that would otherwise be more difficult to achieve. It is also part of the campaign, it is a worthwhile scheme and the direction of it should be recognised by the State.
I will convey Senator Burke's views to the Minister. With regard to Senator O'Toole's point, I heard the programme referred to about Lough Derg. Yesterday, I spoke to the Secretary General of the Department which has responsibility for waterways. The proposed legislation regarding the North-South bodies will come before the Houses next year. I intend to have more up to date information on that after the Government meeting on 14 December. I am conscious and totally committed that this House will use its influence and its power to see what we can do to speed up legislation and to make the Government aware of the serious position of some of our waterways at present. I thank Members for taking such a keen interest in waterways which are a vital asset to the country.
I will also take up the Senator's request and ask the Committee on Procedure and Privileges about the invitation that should have been sent to the eminent leader of the Independent group, Senator O'Toole. I thought he was invited. When he told me he was not invited I thought it must have been an oversight. However, I was invited as the leader of the Fianna Fáil group in the Seanad, not as the Leader of the House. I can take this up with the Department of Foreign Affairs through the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, with the Senator's permission.
I join with Senator Farrell in sending our best wishes to Dr. Mo Mowlam. Yesterday morning the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Andrews, acknowledged in his contribution at Iveagh House that she had made a meaningful and worthwhile contribution. As Senator Farrell has said, she played a major part at a crucial time.
Senator Cosgrave called for a debate on the insurance ombudsman's report and on insurance in general. I will facilitate a debate after the Christmas recess. Senators Glynn and Henry called for a debate on the report of the inspector of mental hospitals. The mental health Bill is due to be published before Christmas and it will get Government clearance at its next meeting or the meeting on 14 December. The Bill will be published before the Christmas recess. In that event we should review the position and the timeframe for bringing the Bill before the House and see whether it is worthwhile having a debate. If the Bill is coming to the House it would be better to deal with it and address the various points on Second Stage.
Senator Ridge called for a debate on child care following announcements in the budget. Many people were pleased with the start of the Government's contribution towards child care. They were also pleased with the new opportunities and incentives given to people to build crèches, run them or lease them and receive a 100 per cent tax clawback in the first year.
We are back to the budget again.
What about the parents?
Any fair-minded Senator would consider what the hotel industry faced ten years ago and how the country has been transformed because of the incentives that were given then.
What have children got to do with hotels?
This is a very worthwhile—
What about George Lee?
If George Lee wants to stand for Fine Gael he should do so. He should put his name before the electorate and not use and abuse the airwaves on RTÉ television to pontificate to the people of Ireland on his impression of the budget. This morning's radio programme will balance that. Any member of the media with an agenda should put his or her name before the electorate as Deputies and Senators do and they could then see what the public thinks of their policies.
Senator Henry congratulated the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on setting up a hotline to deal with Internet pornography. Senator Ridge has mentioned displays of pornography in shops many times and I join the Senators in their condemnation of this.
Senator Quinn congratulated the Eastern Health Board on encouraging pubs to voluntarily introduce no smoking areas. In my experience, fire officers lay down guidelines on ventilation in these public areas and given the growth in the economy and in the numbers of people using these places, ventilation should be borne in mind when annual licences are examined. Problems with ventilation could then be addressed and these places could be transformed in a one year period.
Order of Business agreed to.