The Order of Business is No. 1, State Authorities (Public Private Partnership Arrangements) Bill, 2001 – Committee and Remaining Stages, and No. 2, statements on banking, with the contributions of spokespersons not to exceed 15 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. Senators will have noticed the news that the Referendum Commission was only established last week. It is impossible to prepare information on the referendum in the way in which this body is being asked in such a short period of time. Since the McKenna judgment it has been clear that the Referendum Commission, through no fault of its members, is an unsuitable body for the task it is asked to perform. There should be a debate on how to address this matter in future because the evidence from all previous referenda is that the commission made no impact – sending out two sides of the story interpreted by barristers to enlighten the public does not work.
On the Order Paper there are at least eight Bills from this House before the Dáil, some of which go back as far as 1998. Will the Leader of the House have a word with his opposite number, the Taoiseach, and indicate to him that this House takes a dim view of our legislation being left to wait so long when it arrives in the other House? Will he use his good offices to see if an improvement can be effected?
I am elated to hear the Taoiseach referred to as the opposite number of the Leader of the House.
So am I.
The Leader well deserves such praise. He has that bearing about him.
How does the Taoiseach feel about that?
He is honoured.
Senator Manning has recognised the growth in stature on the far side and I am sure the Taoiseach would be pleased to hear this. I thank the Leader for arranging for a debate on banking this morning.
Participation in democratic politics begins with the casting of votes in elections and referenda. We should have a debate on the political process with a focus on the idea of on-line voting. I cannot see why it cannot be put into operation – we can carry out transglobal transactions so we should consider this idea. We should also examine the idea that a certain proportion of the electorate must participate in a referendum before its conclusions are impacted on the Constitution. This is crucial before we arrive at a situation where three or four people vote in a referendum and change the Constitution. I doubt 30% of the electorate will vote in this unnecessary referendum.
The House should congratulate the Naval Service on its participation in attempts to open up the Irish market in China. It was an imaginative, worthwhile idea and a positive use of the Defence Forces.
I am concerned about the manner in which we are dealing with the referendum. The Referendum Commission has not had an opportunity to do any work up to now and little can be done in three weeks. This should have been done well in advance. We must devise a different format to ensure people are well informed, not just by the cut and thrust of political parties and lobby groups. Certainly, it should not be done by scare-mongering in the Dáil and elsewhere or by the Government's poster teams tearing down Labour Party posters, as is happening throughout the city. A more considered approach should be adopted. I would certainly welcome a debate on the issue.
Again, I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey, to come into this House. Other Senators have already called for him to address the House, and I know that he was here before Christmas. The issue of illegal dumping of hazardous waste is urgent and such dumping appears to be endemic. It is polluting our countryside, rivers, lakes and drinking water. There is no proper waste management policy.
I want to hear the Minister explain how he proposes to address the issue of waste management policy as it relates to householders. Will he do anything to encourage recycling, re-use, waste reduction or composting? These issues do not seem to be a part of his policy. Heavy-handed legal threats are being made to householders who do not pay their waste collection charges. In Dub lin city, 84% of householders have not paid these inequitable charges—
We cannot get into the detail of the debate during the Order of Business.
We need the Minister to come into the House to explain how he could possibly have devised such a useless, hopeless, so-called waste management programme. We need to do something about this issue.
Will the Leader arrange a debate on the problem of missing persons? I have raised this issue before and I am glad that in the budget the Government allocated finance to address some of the concerns which have been expressed on this issue. Since I last spoke on this topic, I have learnt that there are more widespread problems in this area than people have previously realised. We hear of the high-profile cases, because they are featured on advertisements and in the newspapers, but there seems to be an epidemic of missing persons. One can only imagine the suffering that these people and their relatives at home are going through. There is a need for a structured approach to this issue and a discussion in this House would highlight this problem.
I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Fahey, into this House, so that he can set the record straight on certain issues relating to the forthcoming referendum on the Twenty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Protection of Human Life in Pregnancy) Bill, 2001. He could apologise to the women of Ireland in particular for lowering the tone of what should be a reasoned debate between now and 6 March. He would be able to explain himself, and also have the opportunity to listen to people who might know a little more about the subject of abortion than he obviously does.
Following on from what Senators Keogh and Manning have said, if we do have a discussion on the forthcoming referendum in the House, I hope it will be in the same manner in which we discussed it before, quite unlike that in the Dáil yesterday where there was uproar. A shouting match took place and names were called. Most regrettably, the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, described one of the Opposition parties as a pro-abortion party. That is disgraceful, unhelpful and untrue. It should not have been said in a House of the Oireachtas. It is appalling that principally male politicians in the other House have sought to use the misery of women for their own political advantage.
I hope and trust, a Chathaoirligh, that under your guidance and with the assistance of all parties, we will not allow such a situation to develop in this House. It is a desperately serious issue and this House can be used to air matters and to put facts on the record. It is important that we do so because I understand from newspaper reports that the Royal College of Psychiatrists has been grossly misrepresented in Government statements and publications. This is wrong. This House has a role to play in conducting a calm and ordered debate, without the sort of chaos that we saw in the other House yesterday, which brings politics into disrepute.
Senator O'Toole has raised the issue of the forthcoming election. I am not sure what happened to the electoral Bill that was stopped here last year – it was certainly stymied by Senator Ross but it may have gone through.
I am impressed by what has happened in Brisbane, Australia, where the city council has banned the use of any posters during an election campaign, other than on a candidate's own property. In recent days, we have seen referendum posters littering every utility pole, and in a few months' time we will see the same thing happening during the general election. Would the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey, consider suggesting to the Government that they ban the use of election posters other than on the candidate's own property? It might be a very interesting challenge now that there are many other ways of contacting people and advertising and promoting oneself.
That is fine for the Senator with Superquinn.
I was amazed to hear Senator Costello talking about waste management. That is a job for the local authority and he is a member of a county council. County councils are claiming that they are not getting sufficient powers in this area—
Is Senator Farrell trying to tell me that the Minister for the Environment and Local Government has no role to play in this matter?
The local authorities are getting the power.
This morning I saw three young lads aged about 18 supping something from a small container. I could only conclude that they were taking drugs. They were three fine young lads, well cared for, well dressed, and passing a cigarette between them. They had nothing to do. It is a terrible waste of young lives. We need to have a debate on social welfare. Unemployment assistance should not be paid to people under 25 years of age. Rather, they should be paid to attend courses with FÁS or some other State agency, where they would have to turn up every morning and remain until 5 or 6 o'clock that evening, instead of hanging around on the streets with nothing to do.
I ask the Leader to request the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Donoghue, to come to the House and give us an early report on the disturbing story in this morning's media suggesting that gardaí have been reporting unsolved cases as solved. I want to know how widespread such practices are and what the Minister's response to such allegations is. It is a highly disturbing report, which appears to have at least some basis in fact, given that a senior official of the Garda Síochána is investigating the matter. In light of the fact that the documents in question are coming from a division of the Garda which claimed to have one of the highest rates of crime-solving, the Minister must report to the Houses of the Oireachtas on the issue.
I think the Senator has made her point adequately.
It is a matter of great urgency that the Minister should come to this House and give a full report.
Senators Manning, O'Toole, Keogh and Norris have expressed various opinions relating to the forthcoming referendum. I wish the Referendum Commission well in its deliberations in the future. There are two clear political sides in this referendum, fighting their case and making their submissions in the media on a daily basis. All views on this matter are being aired very well and very fairly, although I do accept Senator Manning's point.
I thank the Members, leaders and Whips for their co-operation yesterday in making it possible for us to have the debate on banking today. I also thank all those who made contributions in this House yesterday.
I will make known to the Minister for the Environment and Local Government Senator O'Toole's views on the question of on-line voting. Senator O'Toole's earlier remarks brought to mind the issue of postal voting. The application period for such a facility should be changed to 30 days. It is unfair on the large number of senior citizens, who will not have the opportunity to exercise their vote in the forthcoming election because they cannot travel to a polling station. Such people could number as much as 10% of the electorate. This is something that the Government and the Minister should have a look at.
Regarding the suggestion of Senator Quinn that only those with enormous amounts of property should have an opportunity to make the public aware of their candidacy in the forthcoming elections, it would not be very democratic and the Irish people would not thank us for it. Senator Quinn knows very well that advertising is of the utmost importance, particularly for those candi dates running for the first time. It is all right for outgoing Members but not for new candidates, and people who want to make a change should have the opportunity to do so.
Senators Costello and Farrell called for the Minister—
(Interruptions.)
Well done to the Leader. I wonder who he was talking about.
Senators Costello and Farrell called for the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to address the House in relation to illegal dumping. This is the big advantage of the new one-stop shops. Greater monitoring will be conducted by local authorities as soon as these one-stop shops are set up and I welcome this wholeheartedly. They will have a very strict monitoring role, particularly in relation to building and environmental issues that require monitoring on a daily basis. I know that Senators Costello and Farrell are genuine in their requests and are very experienced representatives at local authority level.
Senator Ó Murchú called for a debate on missing persons. I certainly agree to allow time for this. I can only think imagine the suffering and the hardship caused to so many families by this problem.
Senator Farrell called for a debate on social welfare and the instance which he has highlighted. I agree to have this debate take place and acknowledge the great work that FÁS has done. FÁS has given young men and women, and people without employment, the will to get up every morning because they have something to do. It has given them spirit and determination. It is a matter for which I will allow time before the end of this session.
Senator O'Meara called for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to come to the House to update Members on progress in relation to crime. I can certainly have this take place.
Order of Business agreed to.