The Order of Business is No. 1, motion re increasing membership of An Bord Pleanála, to be taken without debate; Nos. 2 and 3, motions re the protection of young persons in employment in licensed premises and bar apprentices, to be taken without debate; No. 4, motion re the Flood tribunal, to be taken without debate; No. 5, Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill, 2001 – all Stages, with the contributions of spokespersons on Second Stage not to exceed 15 minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed ten minutes; No. 6, Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial Offices and Oireachtas Members (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2001 – all Stages, with the contributions of spokespersons on Second Stage not to exceed 15 minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed ten minutes; No. 7, Adventure Activities Standards Authority Bill, 2000 – Second Stage, with the contributions of spokespersons not to exceed 20 minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed ten minutes. Senators may share time.
Order of Business.
The Order of Business is agreed to. I thank the Leader for providing an explanatory note on the changes regarding the Flood tribunal and this explanation is satisfactory.
The report on the Arms Trial will be published today. Will the Leader make time available tomorrow for a debate on the matter? Such a debate will be held in the Dáil and there is a long-standing commitment that the House would hold a short debate on the issue.
On a more serious matter, we all thought the days were over when we would have to condemn one sectarian murder after another in Northern Ireland. However, sadly and tragically we have to do so again this morning following the brutal murder of Ciaran Cummings, an innocent and decent young man who was brutally murdered in cold blood solely because he was a Catholic. The loyalists who carried out this foul deed must be brought to justice and placed behind bars with no prospect of any future amnesty. This will be cold comfort for the relatives of Ciaran Cummings, but it is the least we can ask of the authorities in Northern Ireland.
The Taoiseach and the Prime Minister have our good wishes as they face into another wearying set of negotiations. The scene is not hopeful. The recent Westminster elections showed a society which is more sectarian than, perhaps, ever before – even at the beginning of the troubles. In many ways this sectarianism has become politicised and institutionalised. The centre ground of the political scene is smaller and less fashionable than ever and there is evidence of loyalist terror and republican racketeering. There has been no move to hand over illegally held arms and the Good Friday Agreement is unimplemented in many key areas. The prospects are bleak.
The Taoiseach and the Prime Minister deserve the support of every Member of both Houses and all the people on this island as they face into a daunting, difficult and wearying task. The task will not be easy and, no matter what happens, is thankless. However, we must wish them well.
Senator Manning's words remind us that there are those in Northern Ireland who do not want peace. The fact that a teenager was so brutally done to death in such a planned and contrived manner is a reminder to us all that we must strive harder in the days, weeks and years ahead. This is particularly the case this week as the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister meet. Our hearts are with them and they have our support. Almost everyone on this island is with them in their efforts.
Will the Leader inquire about the census which was delayed or postponed because of foot and mouth disease? It has been mentioned that the census will be held next year instead but economists value the usefulness of regular censuses. In the 1970s it was decided to cancel one census for economic reasons but it would be of more benefit to hold the census this year rather than next year. It was interesting to hear the Northern Ireland Minister, Mark Durkan, talking about the benefits of their census information in trying to decide upon designating areas of deprivation and how they can change. It can be of huge value to have such information readily available. The Leader should urge those responsible not to delay the census unnecessarily. I make this request not for the sake of history but for sound economic reasons.
I wish to add my voice to the good wishes that have been expressed to the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister in the talks that are now reaching crisis point. As we have seen in recent days, the situation has deteriorated ever since the resignation of the First Minister, Mr. Trimble. It comes at the worst possible time with the marching season upon us. We are at the height of a crisis with violence, marches, parades and now fatalities. We are at one of the most serious stages since the Good Friday Agreement. I add my support for the work being undertaken. I hope we will be able to come to a satisfactory resolution without further deterioration into outright violence.
May I also raise the issue of bullying? It appears that the majority of calls to Parentline concern bullying of teenagers by teenagers. This understated violence being perpetrated by youngsters on each other is becoming increasingly worrying. It is also becoming increasingly more apparent because in the past it was not a matter that was spoken of; it was almost a secret infliction of suffering imposed on vulnerable young victims. The Leader should bring this matter to the attention of the Minister for Education and Science.
I am concerned about the number of motions coming before the House daily without debate. Some of them are extremely important. The Leader of the House has begun to circulate a memorandum explaining the information he has concerning these issues. However, these motions are ideal opportunities for us to discuss issues such as increasing the number of members of tribunals or regulations concerning young people working in public houses. Such regulations refer to matters of current public concern. Trotting through these motions every morning without any debate does not do justice to the issues involved.
Yesterday Senator Costello queried the rise in the television licence fee. I would welcome a debate on the value of RTÉ's programmes and particularly the mess it made of the recent "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" programme. I read in today's newspaper that there is a question over whether the answer to Shane O'Doherty's question last Sunday night was correct. We should also discuss the cost of sending Charlie Bird around the world on unnecessary trips or missions. Are they justified?
Some of these points can be made in the debate the Senator is seeking.
If we are to believe one tenth of what is being said in the press, and by the media generally, about Aer Lingus we should have a debate on the subject. Last week I sought a discussion on Aer Lingus. I realise we are coming to the end of this session but serious questions must be asked about what is going on in that company. If it is not possible for this House to discuss it, then the relevant committee should do so. The House has to state what needs to be said. The press is informing us but the relevant Minister does not seem to be doing anything and neither do we, although we represent the public. It is very serious.
Eircom is another example. The House pushed strongly to make sure that extra benefits would be given to the workforce in Eircom. However, for the past week we have seen extra offers being made to make sure that prices will increase generally for the shareholders. I am not carrying a flag for any shareholders but it is a serious matter. The House pushed for the Eircom workforce to receive an extra 5% as individuals, yet 14.9% of the shareholders are now dictating their commitment to Valentia which has already admitted it is quite prepared to sell it again. I find that very disturbing because this House gave the benefits to the workforce. I do not wish to knock them but it would be wrong not to mention this matter on the record of the House.
Will the Leader arrange a debate at an early date on politics and where the political system is going? There is a need for us to address the problems we have as politicians and the public perception of politics. We should have a debate on this matter to get across to the public what politics means and what the policies are. There is a measure of public cynicism which is not being addressed by politicians or the Houses of the Oireachtas. We should have a good overall debate on this subject which does not concern party politics but policy. We should address the reasons the public has become so cynical about politicians.
We passed the Standards in Public Office Bill yesterday.
Senator Quinn mentioned the problems in the North, including murders. We must equally address the fact that we have quite a number of cowards in this jurisdiction who direct many of the actions in the North of Ireland. We must condemn them if we condemn people who live in the other jurisdiction. The people who are dictating much of what happens in the North are living in the safety and comfort of this jurisdiction. We must condemn them absolutely.
I endorse everything Senator Manning said concerning the horrific murder. I wish the Taoiseach all the best in his negotiations on the sad situation in Northern Ireland.
We have had guidelines for bullying in schools and it is now time to have a debate on the issue in general, particularly bullying in the workplace. It is unfortunate that the summer recess is coming and we will not be able to discuss it until we resume.
I have constantly raised the need for a debate on the National Roads Authority which is a hot issue. We should include in the debate the question of funding public private partnerships and what the Government's position is on tolls. Who exactly has the power to impose tolls? Where do the responsibilities of local authorities lie in this matter?
Will the Leader ask the Tánaiste to attend the House to provide an update on what the State agencies under her control are doing for employment in County Donegal, particularly in my constituency of South-West Donegal? The Minister has done tremendous work in trying to correct what happened in Fruit of the Loom, but the concentration has been solely on Letterkenny and Inishowen up to this. There was an announcement yesterday that 85 workers are to be laid off in the Herdsman factory in Ballybofey in three months and that some of their co-workers in Sion Mills, just across the Border, are also to suffer the same fate. A loss like that to Ballybofey would be equivalent to over 1,000 jobs—
We cannot tour every town in Donegal South-West.
A loss of that number in Ballybofey is equivalent to at least 1,000 in any large town or city. If the former Senator, Paddy McGowan, God rest him, were here today, Senators would have to listen to much more than I have to say. The Finn Valley area has been totally neglected by all State agencies and I am not prepared to stand by without the problem being redressed.
I share Senator Manning's utter revulsion at the appalling sectarian murder of a young Catholic man in the North yesterday. He was cold-bloodedly murdered because of his religion. A young man at the side of the street waiting for his lift to work was the easiest target the perpetrators could find. It signals how far we have to travel before we obtain true democracy as we understand it in the North.
There is a number of issues outstanding with regard to the post office network, which I understood the Government was showing some willingness to address. However, sadly nothing has happened.
The Leader agreed when Senator Manning and I asked for a debate on the Flynn report, but we have not had it. I again ask the Leader to use his good offices to urge the appropriate Minister to straighten out the matters that urgently need to be addressed before we find the post office network dwindling further in rural areas.
I also wish the Taoiseach well in his talks in light of the latest tragedy. I support the many calls for a debate in the autumn session on the future of the NRA and its relationship to local authorities.
The word "bullying" is being thrown out and it needs to be debated. What does it mean? That matter deserves a full day's debate.
I support Senator Lanigan in his call for a debate on the role of politics today. Coupled with that is our thinking on the role of establishments, including the church and politics. A debate is necessary on why we are being sidelined. That should be one of the priorities. It has been said on the streets but we have not made any effort here to try to tease out what is going wrong.
I join in the call, made yesterday and again today, for a debate on RTÉ before we go into the summer recess, arising from the Minister's decision on the licence fee. A very serious crisis has arisen in this national institution. RTÉ as a public service broadcaster is funded by the State. There needs to be a statement by the Minister. There are calls this morning for the whole RTÉ authority to resign en masse. There are threats that several serving journalists and contributors in RTÉ might do likewise.
There is no fear of that happening.
The people in the benches opposite find this very sensitive for some reason. There is a very serious issue here.
We would welcome a debate on RTÉ.
The Minister should come into this House next week, before the recess, and make a comprehensive statement. I take it she will be making statements in the other House today because she is scheduled to take Question Time.
As a result of the recent referenda, two proposals put to the people were passed. One related to the constitutional ban on the death penalty and the other was to approve the International Criminal Court. Observers of what is taking place in The Hague in recent days are reminded of the value of an international criminal court, albeit one only dealing with the former Yugoslavia. The people have addressed the constitutional issue and it is now up to these Houses to bring forward the necessary legislation so that we can ratify the ICC. The United Nations is waiting for 60 countries to ratify and the road is clear for us to do so. I ask the Leader to speak to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to bring forward the necessary legislation.
There was always significant support for the total abolition of the death penalty in this House. I think legislation is necessary as a result of the referendum decision and I would like to see that brought forward as soon as possible.
The fact that a young man with his whole life before him could be selected at random and brutally murdered just because of where he lived defies human comprehension in any civilised society. This tribalism underlines the difficulty and the supreme challenges facing everybody trying to save the Good Friday Agreement and make it work. This Agreement is the will of the people and it behoves all public representatives to leave their bunkers and stay in their positions of leadership to work on ensuring that this Agreement will not be sundered. As everybody in this House knows, the alternative is absolutely frightening.
Mr. Ryan
I share the views on this horrific murder. The victim came from a mixed area and therefore it is most likely that those who killed him must have known who he was, and he was not picked out at random. This makes it even more horrific. Of course we wish the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister well. However, the one Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas who could influence a decision by a body that has promised to decommission arms should be requested and instructed by the two Houses of the Oireachtas to carry out the mandate about which he and his party talk so much and deliver on a promise they made. I say that as one who worked very hard with people associated with the republican movement in Northern Ireland in the 1980s when it was unfashionable to do so. They have got 90% of what they wished for and it is time they delivered something that they no longer object to in principle. They have accepted the principle of putting arms beyond use. I suspect they want to keep their little army in abeyance to use it as an enforcer for their law and order nonsense down here. How can they threaten criminals all over the Republic if they no longer have arms? It is time they delivered on that issue.
We desperately need a debate on the public sector, not necessarily just in the Houses of the Oireachtas, but it would be a good place to start. I no longer understand what is Government policy on the public sector. One of the country's most successful public enterprises has been humiliated by the Government – we had the debacle of Eircom and now RTÉ, chaired by one of the country's most successful businessmen, is being told by civil servants that its business plan is not up to scratch. If Mr. Wright is not capable of putting together a business plan, having been a successful executive of Smurfit for the past 20 years, nobody is capable of it. The future of RTÉ desperately needs to be debated.
Enterprise Ireland's annual report was published recently and Mr. Dorgan states it will establish areas of excellence throughout the country. Is there a change of Government policy on the BMW region whereby it will be favoured by new enterprises? That seems to be at variance with what Mr. Dorgan said. I, therefore, call for a debate on Enterprise Ireland, its future policy, Government policy and the BMW region and request that the Leader ask the Tánaiste to attend.
I did not intend to intervene because I have had a private rule for many years not to respond to individual tragedies and what we used to call the politics of atrocity. However, I was moved by Senator Manning's remarks. I would have been content to leave it at that but as I live in the area, I express my thanks to fellow Senators for their deeply felt concern for the worries, troubles and sufferings of the people there.
Peace has a very difficult birthing and we do not expect to move from conflict to absolute calm with ease. Like everyone else, I commend the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister and wish them well but, as Senator Ó Murchú said, there is a need for people to lead, not rely on legalistic interpretations of agreements, the meaning of which we all know. The republican movement has had difficulties. I know what it has meant to it to open up its arsenals to inspection but the one thing that would utterly transform how things stand would be a definitive declaration that the war was over and the putting of weapons out of use permanently. I hope that degree of leadership is shown.
I am surprised and amused to hear Members calling for a debate on politics and the political system in view of the fact that for the last two days this House debated the Standards in Public Office Bill, 2000. That was a golden opportunity for Members to make their views known but regrettably very few contributed.
We cannot but be affected by the moving statement made by Senator Hayes. As someone who lives in Northern Ireland, it had an effect on him. The rest of us come from other parts of the island and one can only hope the comments made here today will carry some weight with those who have the decisions to make.
In the context of Senator Burke's remarks about the BMW region, will the Leader convey some good news to the Tánaiste? It has been announced that those over 50 years of age will be allowed to continue on community employment schemes. This issue has been exercising the minds of those of us from the BMW region, and those from Dublin, and there have been many calls for action in this House. I was particularly critical of the Tánaiste's Department in this regard but we have yet another indication that the Government listens whenever it gets the message coming from rural Ireland. I had to take this opportunity to acknowledge the Tánaiste's initiative and say there are many in the north west and the midlands who will be very pleased this morning to find that their dignity will be preserved. They will not be subject to the behest of civil servants at some remote location, unaware of and insensitive to the environment in which people live.
I ask the Leader of the House to indicate when it is planned to hold the debate on the Nice treaty. Will he convey to the Minister for Foreign Affairs the absolute horror and resentment many of us on the "Yes" side felt at Mr. Prodi's remarks to the European Parliament yesterday? What is this gentleman trying to do? Is he trying to totally disrupt—
These are points which can be made during the debate which has been sought on the Nice treaty.
They cannot wait for the debate because it is important that this House—
The time for the Order of Business has been exhausted.
Allow me ten seconds. With perhaps one or two exceptions, the 60 Members of this House fully support the "Yes" side and it is important that the second chamber of the Oireachtas sends a strong message to the President of the Commission. He cannot continue to interfere in what is happening in this country.
That can be done during the debate on the treaty.
Is he trying to scupper the Nice treaty? Is he trying to scupper the future prosperity of people in eastern Europe? What is he trying to do?
Will the Senator, please, obey my ruling?
Senator Manning inquires about the Arms Trial papers that will be published today. I hope a debate will take place tomorrow about which I will inform the House on the Order of Business.
Senators Manning, Coghlan, Costello, Ó Murchú, Ryan, Hayes and Mooney were shocked and horrified at the brutal murder of the young man in the North of Ireland yesterday. I concur with the sentiments expressed and there were some very touching moments as Members made heartfelt contributions. On the positive side, we have had almost 1,500 days of peace since the Good Friday Agreement but there is, unfortunately, a price to be paid. I hope the Agreement and the institutions will be kept in place and join the Senators in sending good wishes to the Taoiseach, the British Prime Minister and everyone involved in the job to be undertaken in the coming days and weeks. The Agreement and the institutions have been working well for the people of Northern Ireland and the whole island will prosper in the long term. No greater example can be given than that of the foot and mouth crisis when we came together, North and South, and worked as an island, through the Government, Bríd Rodgers and everyone concerned. If the Good Friday Agreement had not been in place, the plague of foot and mouth disease would have been rampant, North and South. There is much to achieve by keeping the Agreement intact.
Senator Quinn inquired about the census. He is quite correct that it was deferred owing to foot and mouth disease. I will have inquiries made to find out when it will go ahead. It is a vital part of our research and, from a political perspective, the change in population, particularly on the east coast, has meant there are certain constituencies where there should be an extra seat to ensure fairness and the proper level of representation.
Senators Costello, Jackman and Ormonde called for a debate on bullying and education. Where it occurs in schools it can carry on into later life – in the workplace and other areas – and I will certainly have time made available for such a debate.
Senator Costello also made a point regarding the motions on today's Order Paper. Regarding No. 1, the purpose of which is to increase the membership of An Bord Pleanála, Senator Ormonde and many others called for a debate on An Bord Pleanála about which there were debates in both Government and Opposition time. This is perhaps being acceded to because of calls made in this House. While I certainly take the Senator's point, it is not the rule of thumb that we do these things. Including the last five weeks, by the summer recess we will have processed 23 Bills. For previous Governments that would have represented a year's work. We are now processing an enormous amount of legislation in the Seanad.
Senator Dino Cregan sought a debate on Aer Lingus and Eircom. I will convey his views to the Minister.
Senators Lanigan, Ormonde and Joe Doyle asked for a debate on politics and the way ahead. I took on board the point made by Senator Doyle on the Bill yesterday. A press council and commission might be the way to deal with the problem.
Senators Jackman and Ormonde asked for another debate on the National Roads Authority. It has already been debated twice. Senator Jackman also referred to public-private partnerships. I will have no difficulty allocating time to debate the matter in the next session. Senator Bonner called on me to pass on his views to the Minister on the difficulties being experienced in the Finn valley area of Donegal and across that county. I will consult the Senator and see if he can be facilitated for perhaps half an hour tomorrow. It is a serious issue and I understand the reason the Senator raises it this morning.
I will convey Senator Coghlan's views to the Minister regarding the post office network. Senators Connor, Rory Kiely and Ryan called for a debate on RTÉ. I look forward to reading the PricewaterhouseCooper report which will be placed in the Oireachtas Library today and perhaps we can consider the matter early next week.
Senators Burke and Mooney referred to Enterprise Ireland and the BMW region. Senator Mooney welcomed the announcement that community employment employees over 50 years of age can continue in employment. A tremendous amount of work has been carried out by these employees in areas throughout the country and I, too, welcome the announcement.
Senator Mooney also asked when the debate on the Nice treaty will take place. It will be held next Wednesday when the Minister for Foreign Affairs will be present.