The Order of Business is No. 1, motion re the European Union-Australia agreement on passenger name records, to be taken without debate at the conclusion of the Order of Business; No. 2, the Broadcasting Bill 2008 — Report and Final Stages, to be taken at the conclusion of No. 1 and to adjourn not later than 2.30 p.m., unless previously concluded; No. 3, statements on older persons, to resume at the conclusion of No. 2 and to conclude not later than 3 p.m., on which Senators may speak for five minutes and may share time with the agreement of the House, and on which the Minister will be called on ten minutes from the end of the debate for concluding comments; No. 4, the Legal Practitioners (Irish Language) Bill 2007 — Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at the conclusion of No. 3 and to conclude not later than 5 p.m.; and No. 5, Private Members' business, Mental Health (Involuntary Procedures) (Amendment) Bill 2008, to be taken from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. No. 2 will be resumed at the conclusion of No. 5, unless previously concluded.
Order of Business.
I tabled an amendment to the Order of Business yesterday to debate the economic circumstances in which this country finds itself. That request was voted down by Senators on the Government side of the House, quite a number of whom seemed to say that the economic situation we find ourselves in is solely the result of global forces. That view does not stand up to scrutiny and it did not stand up to scrutiny in yesterday's ESRI report. There has been mismanagement of the public finances by this Government under the stewardship of the man who was the Minister for Finance and is now the Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen.
I want to point out to the House some of the waste that has occurred in previous years. We have had a €3.2 billion overrun on the roads programme. We have had a decentralisation programme which at this stage will cost us €1.2 billion. We have had €380 million in unlawful nursing home charges. We have had €19 million in unused accommodation for asylum seekers. That money would provide many front-line services, be they speech therapy services, home care packages or step-down facilities. All those front-line services are being cut as we speak. As I said yesterday, those services are being cut in the absence of any statement from Government on the reality of the situation facing hospitals, many of which are facing serious overruns. They are cutting back outpatient services, laboratory services and we have no plan from Government.
I ask the Deputy Leader, Senator Boyle, to arrange for a debate in this House on the topics of the waste, the economic plan and the Taoiseach's assessment of the financial situation. What is the Taoiseach's assessment of the situation we are in? What are the Government's plans? Will it go into the summer recess, start announcing plans and not come into this House or the Dáil to debate those matters where they should be debated?
The Irish Times asked today if the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, is up to the job. Let us hope he is, for all our sakes, because we need a proper assessment of the situation. The people need to know also because they are trying to deliver services and pay their mortgages. They want to know the Government's plan for the housing market, for example. People are caught in appalling circumstances in the current housing market. We need to have some leadership from the Government on this matter. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business today to discuss the public finances and I ask Members on the other side of the House to support this.
I ask the Deputy Leader to arrange for the Minister for Defence to come to the House because we are all very aware of the dangerous mission currently being undertaken by our Defence Forces. The Minister has recently visited the area. Some comments were made by the UNHCR about the Irish troops. It would be helpful for the House to hear from the Minister the exact circumstances in Chad and whether the Army has the resources and the numbers for such a mammoth task. We should have a discussion before the end of term on the Defence Forces mission in Chad.
I have some sympathy with the point raised by Senator Fitzgerald. If we are not going to deal with this rationally, there will be no gain to be made for this country by arguing in this House over whose fault it is. We need to have clear information. I have tried to see both sides of this argument. We need to know the current economic indicators, the current tax take. We need to know the scale of the problem so that we can come to terms with it. We need to then know how the solutions are to be found. We need to consider issues such as the national development plan and how we can build our way out of the recession or whatever we wish to call the current position. We need to have a clear view and we need to understand the situation.
Broad brush strokes are no good and neither is blaming the other side. We need to be specific. It is all very well to talk about pay freezes, take-home pay and profits but we should also discuss the people at the bottom end of the scale, those on the minimum wage. There are issues to be dealt with. People either have the moral and political courage to deal with these issues or they have not. Politicians do not like taking unpopular decisions. Some of us have spent our lives selling unpopular decisions to the people who elected us and this can be done again. However, we cannot blame Libertas if we get this one wrong; it is a problem for us to deal with. We need to have the information put in front of us in a calm manner about the Government's view on where interest rates, inflation, unemployment figures, are going, and the Government's decisions on the possible options for dealing with the situation. This must be done and there is no other way to do it. The Deputy Leader has been studying these matters for the past five years and I trust him to come back with a proper response.
We are faced with a strike in the Bank of Ireland. This is another good example of how we never hear anything about industrial relations problems until a strike is threatened. A strike in the Bank of Ireland was narrowly avoided some years ago. The unions and management along with the various State support groups, the National Implementation Body and others, became involved and came to a conclusion. The subsequent deal cut 2,100 jobs, saved the bank €147 million a year and gave the workers in the Bank of Ireland a 6% share pay-out each year. This deal was hard won for the staff.
The bank has now decided, without any consultation, to reduce the 6% share payment to 3%. This is unacceptable and it is no way to run a business. Bank of Ireland has plenty to answer for in other spheres of its activities. It is a company making a €1.7 billion profit per year and the amount in question is less than 1% of that total annual profit. These people are walking all over their employees and also their shareholders and others. The bank has a lot to answer for. The greed of the Bank of Ireland senior management, of the court of the Bank of Ireland, as it pompously calls it, is unacceptable.
I agree wholeheartedly with Senator O'Toole's comments on the Bank of Ireland, whose behaviour is not justified. It is a sign of the times when the bank takes such actions.
We need clear information on the country's finances, as other speakers have said. I made my comments yesterday on what action was needed. I wish to return to one issue, the upskilling and reskilling of manufacturing, construction and textile workers. They are quite vulnerable when jobs are lost. There is a need to allow for investment in programmes to upskill and reskill these workers. We also need to consider those working in administrative jobs. This country has significant exports of high value goods in the areas of risk management, finance, IT, insurance, for instance. The announcement earlier this week by Hibernian Insurance of its intention to cut more than 500 jobs is worrying. With global communications, administrative jobs can be located anywhere in the world. Pioneer Investments, one of the largest investment firms in the world, stated that it is quite difficult to find employees in this country who are suitably skilled in certain sectors.
A few years ago, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, said the financial services sector should have a centre for skills. Nothing was done but it is now high time that something is taken. We must face the reality that if we are to compete we need to compete in the high value areas of business and we need highly skilled individuals. With regard to administrative work, I do not know if we will be able to compete at the same level as a number of years ago. I ask the Deputy Leader to address this issue.
It is clear that the Government will be examining the national development programme. I suggest that the examination includes the provision of broadband and the prioritisation of the broadband strategy within the NDP. This is the number one infrastructural issue for the country and the Government needs to state that priority. It is above and beyond everything else.
Lessons need to be learned from the Lisbon treaty. I am a member of the sub-committee on European scrutiny. I was taken by the comments of Senator McFadden yesterday about turf-cutting and I have great sympathy for the fishing sector. We need to stand up and say that rural Ireland in particular is being affected by some silly overburdening legislation that comes down from the EU from time to time.
Hear, hear.
I refer to the legislation on health and safety which is necessary but which puts up barriers of entry to people working in farmers' markets and also the issue of food labelling. Why does a man or woman making 12 tarts need to obtain scientific analysis of the ingredients of a tart such as jam?
Hear, hear.
This is ridiculous. They have to print the information in font size 12 on the jars, which is also ridiculous. As a country we need to say we have had enough. Rural Ireland is being affected both socially and economically. We need to dismiss such legislation.
I agree with many of the comments made about the rules and regulations and directives coming from Europe. There is a public perception that we are being ruled by Europe. While the issues of enhanced co-operation and democracy were discussed with reference to the Lisbon treaty, the perception is that there are too many regulations, too many directives. I agree we need to consider this issue because the public do not like it. We need to drive this point home in Brussels.
I agree with the position taken on Zimbabwe by the United Nations Security Council when it condemned the campaign of violence and intimidation by the Government of Zimbabwe. It is understandable that the Opposition leader had to withdraw in light of what has been happening there. I acknowledge the support from the international community. The Minister for Foreign Affairs should attend the House to give us an up-to-date assessment of how our NGOs and other agencies are dealing with the humanitarian crisis. In the 2006-07 period we provided some €17 million in aid to Zimbabwe. This year, through channels including Trócaire and Concern, we have provided over €4 million in funding. It is only right that we should get the updated position to see how far we can go in helping the situation. We should support any EU measures to help stamp out the awful violence that is taking place there. The Deputy Leader should ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to outline the awful situation that currrently exists in Zimbabwe.
I wish to second the proposal by Senator Fitzgerald for an amendment to the Order of Business. One of the points she forcefully made concerned examples of public moneys being wasted by the Government. An unfortunate example of this will take place in August when a new barrier system comes into operation on the M50. This House should examine where large amounts of Exchequer funding have been invested in semi-State bodies, and how that money was spent. We should also examine examples of where semi-State bodies are levying charges that are adding to the cost of living, thus hampering our economic competitiveness. During August, a new M50 barrier system will commence, which has cost the Exchequer €488 million to purchase. The new scheme will ask each user if they want to buy into the new plant, paying €52 to participate. The scheme will cost the Exchequer €25 million annually, despite the fact that the State will have spent almost €0.5 billion buying out what is in operation at the moment. We will see further examples of where the Exchequer will be asked to pay out more and citizens will also be asked to pay more to participate in the new scheme. We need to challenge this kind of thinking as we move into a new economic environment. We must ensure that public moneys are being spent well and that taxpayers do not face further rises in the cost of living.
In recent months, other speakers have raised issues concerning homelessness and the rental sector. I have frequently raised these matters myself. Last week, a Government strategy was published to make more use of the rental sector for homeless people and drug addicts. New rental regulations are urgently required, together with a new local authority scheme to improve management of conditions in the rental sector, otherwise we will be putting even more taxpayers' money into a sector that is not regulated or run properly.
I commend Cork City Council on passing a motion by Councillor Chris O'Leary of the Green Party, which places a moratorium on all planning decisions for mobile phone masts within the city until evidence is produced that they are not harmful to people. The moratorium will not be lifted until the council is satisfied that the European environmental protection agency's precautionary principle is applied. That principle is that we should err on the side of caution when it comes to public health. If it is believed that mobile phones and masts cause cancer, we should apply the highest possible precautionary principles to them. I have received information from Genevieve Maul, Communications Director, University of Cambridge on the link between mobile phone usage and cancer. Last year, a Swedish study showed that one has double the risk of contracting a brain tumour if one uses mobile phones for over ten years. In light of this growing evidence, I call on the Deputy Leader to ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to implement the recommendations of the Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in the last Dáil. That committee's wide-ranging recommendations were not implemented but they should now be introduced in light of the growing evidence I have cited.
I endorse the call by Senator O'Toole and others for a debate on the economy. The issue of how banks deal with employees was mentioned, but we should examine the extraordinary job they have done in damaging the economy in the last few years. It ought to be realised, if it has not already been, that Irish banks in particular are disgracefully run because they are run for bankers and nobody else.
Correct.
They are run for the board and the management. That is why they have been lending recklessly and irresponsibly to people who are now in the sort of misery to which Senator Fitzgerald referred. The banks set themselves extremely undemanding, short-term targets which depend on them lending to people who cannot afford to pay them back. They get their short-term performance bonuses while the debtors are unable to repay what they owe. It is a disgracefully structured system which is a particular shame here in Ireland. It is worse here than it is anywhere else that I can think of.
We should point out that this is a serious matter. The head of the UK's financial services authority has said that bankers' pay is now so excessive that it is a factor which may contribute towards the destabilisation of the banks themselves. This has been echoed belatedly by our own Financial Services Authority. These people are running a bank for short-term gains for themselves. I should declare that, to my cost, I am a shareholder in the Bank of Ireland. They are the worst offenders of the lot; one person got €4 million last year. These people are running it for themselves. They are the beneficiaries while shareholders, employees and consumers are suffering.
The Senator has made his point.
I will finish with another matter which is relevant to the Order of Business and was raised by Senator Kelly. I still maintain that the broadband issue is not appreciated by Members of the Oireachtas. For some time, I was a voice in the wilderness on this matter but I am delighted to hear Members of this House who are now very vocal about it. However, a document was leaked — and I have to say that I am not professionally against leaking——
We will not talk about any leaking. The Senator should speak to the Order of Business.
I am sorry, a Chathaoirligh, that was an aside. A legitimate and authoritative document was leaked to The Irish Times yesterday, stating how well the Government was doing. A very good Green Party Minister is involved in this. The document said the Government was proposing a paper on broadband and that it was somewhere in the Department. This was to give us the impression that something was being done about broadband. There is a consultation paper in the Department which was prepared by a forum of global people who were flown in for the day to give advice, which anybody in this House could have given years ago. It was irrelevant. There was then going to be some sort of an open day when all the vested interests could come in and bellyache, and then there was going to be a proposal. As far as I know, however, there is no Bill and no money for broadband either. There are no proposals. We should have tackled this five or six years ago.
Quite right.
The Deputy Leader should ask his parliamentary colleague if he is prepared to take the Bill I have placed on the Order Paper concerning broadband, if I do not push it to a vote. It contains many of the things of which he and his party approve, as well as many of the things in the leaked document, as a basis for discussion and moving this matter on. We should not just sit back and talk about it.
I support my colleagues who have raised the issue of over regulation. When regulations come down the track from Europe we, as a country and as a people, seem to automatically accept them. We should have a debate on this issue and I ask the Deputy Leader to facilitate that. For example, a farmer can produce 50 free-range eggs. I know a particular family which produces free-range eggs and they had to devise a system whereby the husband, wife and two children were each able to get a quota. It is ridiculous. The colour and size of the eggs must conform to all of these regulations coming from Europe.
I met a group called Slow Food which is involved in organic farming. In west Cork, and I am sure in other counties, there are Saturday and Sunday farm markets for home produced foods. There is so much regulation tying these down, rather than supporting activities such as cheese making in rural Ireland. One of the big complaints of fishermen when they meet me is that there is so much regulation from Europe and we, as a country, seem to be so anxious to accept this. Sometimes we should say "Hands off Europe, we will do some regulating ourselves".
That might not be enough.
Senator O'Donovan is two weeks too late with that message.
Senator O'Donovan without interruption.
That leads me to a point on planning permission. The area of planning in rural Ireland is another on which I also ask for a debate, although not before the end of this session. I have discovered in the new county development plan that three quarters of my entire electoral area, the Bantry electoral area, which has 16,000 to 18,000 people, covering all of the peninsulas, can never be built on because there are mountains, valleys, etc., yet that entire area has now been regulated as scenic and tourism related making it nigh on impossible for somebody living in a rural area to get planning permission. I am not supporting second homes or holiday homes but I do support cases where a farmer's son or daughter or somebody wants to stay in their home community, get involved in sport and look after their kin. That is becoming impossible and it is all driven by EU regulations. It is time to say "hands off".
I fully support the remarks about the banks, particularly those by Senator Ross who is probably more eminent and capable of making them, and some of whose remarks were veiled. Let us be real here. The leader of the Opposition has rightly called for a debate on the economy, but the banking institutions have a significant role to play. It is not that long ago that some of my children, who are now young adults, got letters asking did they want to borrow more money and within a year or two they are getting letters stating the banks want them to pay back.
That is correct.
There is a credit crunch taking place that we have not yet even seen where the banks are squeezing and squeezing, and yet, as Senator Ross has stated, some of the directors are being paid annual earnings of €4 million plus. They are thinking selfishly. If the banks do not play a role in the economic recovery it is time the Government told them to come on board on this one or else the ship will go down entirely.
Hear, hear.
It will be like hitting the——
Fastnet.
——iceberg and holing the ship. The banks cannot selfishly walk away from the situation which they are responsible for creating over the past decade.
Let us hear what the Government will do with the banks.
I also support the calls for a debate on the economy. Listening to all sections of the House, it is clear that there is a deep interest in what direction the Government wants to take and what direction we, as Oireachtas Members, want to take to face the challenges ahead.
I reassure Senator Ross that the roll-out of broadband is one of my high priorities. I agree with him that we are hearing much talk about it but seeing little in the way of tangible efforts so that it reaches the necessary areas. It is an area on which we should have further debate. It is will help the economy, if we prioritise and give clear leadership and direction on where the priorities for investment should be as we go forward.
I would also support Senator O'Donovan. He has made numerous calls here in support of the fishing industry, which is another sector under serious pressure. I regret to inform the House today of another sector facing serious decline, that is, the poultry industry. In west Waterford in my constituency the well recognised brand of Cappaquin Chickens is under serious pressure to survive. Mention was made of the regulations coming from Europe. Given the labelling regulations, the company is not playing on a level playing pitch. It is trying to compete with importers who are not complying with the same regulations and it is putting the company at a serious disadvantage in a competitive market. The company also faces significant overhead costs. The price of feedstuffs for the poultry sector has increased by over 50% in the past year.
Cappaquin Chickens has a wide remit in supporting the rural economy. We have had debates here on how we should support and sustain rural areas. This is an indigenous enterprise operating in rural west County Waterford. It is reaching out to farms that the Government agencies would never reach. These are the real industries that are operating in rural areas and they need to be supported. I call on the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, who I believe has a deep interest in the poultry sector given the constituency from which he comes, to recognise it is an area that needs assistance. For example, I am aware that there are seven full-time Department inspectors working in Cappoquin Chickens at a considerable cost to the company when I, and many in the industry, would consider that possibly half as many would suffice to keep the industry regulated. I call for an urgent debate on this matter. It is one of the indigenous industries we will lose unless we pay attention to it. All Members from all sides of the House should take an interest in this area.
I listened with interest to a number of the speakers, including my good friend and colleague, Senator Denis O'Donovan, on over regulation and I must concur with what has been said. I visit the village of Kilcrohane where Senator O'Donovan is from. I have very good friends in the village who run an Irish farmhouse bed and breakfast. The Senator mentioned the regulation of eggs. My friends have hens and they are not allowed serve the eggs from their farm to their customers. Poultry and other products, including their own home-grown potatoes, all must comply with regulations. The eggs must be stamped, etc. It is crazy. One goes into this small village to a beautiful farmhouse bed and breakfast which is not able to serve certain produce because of regulation, and we sell this as an Irish farmhouse experience. I look forward with interest to see what we in the Seanad can do to make changes in that area.
I have listened to many people speak about the recent ESRI report. People seem to be cherry-picking certain aspects of the report. I look forward to a good broad debate on the report and the direction the country is taking.
Senator Callely can cherry-pick any part of it for himself.
I look forward to the steps that we will take in this turbulent period due to the international situation that prevails. When I reflect on where we are, I am delighted to say that I was somewhat responsible in bringing to this country one pharmaceutical company which in the past number of years has trebled its production and employment in this country. Ireland has some of the biggest and best pharmaceutical companies involved in considerable employment in all of the areas that we would wish such as manufacturing and research and development.
Point made.
I read recently that of the top ten drugs manufactured in the world, six of them are manufactured in Ireland.
Mention was made of the financial services industry. When I look across the river, close to my constituency, I see what we have done in the area of financial services. The banks are dealing with a credit crunch but we should acknowledge that they have done Trojan work in fuelling the economy and they are well capitalised.
Senator Callely's point is well made.
I ask the Deputy Leader to arrange a debate on one area in which I have an interest, that is, the motor industry. The motor industry is experiencing serious turbulence and requires a much-needed lift. The car sales market is down over 15% and there are significant problems with second-hand and used vehicles. The problem is that there is a large number of vehicles being imported into this country. We need to be innovative in introducing an escape valve to encourage the export of some of our second-hand and used vehicles, particularly in light of the new emission-based tax regime being introduced on 1 July.
I am not sure whether there can be a bit of a credit crunch. It is like a bit of an earthquake. Either there is a credit crunch or there is not.
Will the Deputy Leader arrange a debate on criminal justice in light of the three shootings in Dublin in the past 24 hours? Shockingly, one of those shootings took place at 1 p.m. yesterday in Drimnagh and one took place last night very close to where I live in the Coombe area of Dublin, the south inner city. We all should be deeply concerned about this. What we have learned from past experience is that knee-jerk reactions in terms of mandatory sentences for firearms offences, etc. do not have the desired effect of preventing these appalling shootings. We need a more measured debate on alternative responses to severe crimes such as these and more long-term solutions in the criminal justice system.
I have attended the fourth annual North-South criminology conference in the Dublin Institute of Technology over the past two days at which very measured academic presentations were given and which provide useful insights for policy makers on approaches which could be taken in the criminal justice system. These include simple matters such as changing and streamlining the way in which we run our criminal justice statistics gathering system. That is vital and I would like us to debate it.
On a slightly related matter, I welcome the announcement by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that he will not abolish early houses. Anyone who has frequented early houses will know they are generally fairly quiet places to which people go for a pint after a night shift. It is important that he has taken on board the recommendations of people who know the system of early houses and who have been able to advise him that there is not a public order issue. That is useful because it shows that knee-jerk responses do not always work. It was a knee-jerk response to real and serious problems arising from alcohol abuse which led to the suggestion that early house licences should be extinguished. The Minister is now taking a more measured approach to this by saying that the existing 50 licences in place will be retained.
I am delighted there have been so many contributions on the Order of Business on excessive regulation emanating from the European Union. We are not only talking about excessive regulation but about nonsensical regulation. Even during the campaign on the referendum on the Lisbon treaty, it was raised on the doorsteps.
I remember a time when the local housewife could make apple tarts and scones, bring them to the local shop and sell them. We knew they were wholesome and what the ingredients were. However, we are not quite sure how wholesome many of the mass produced products we now buy are.
There is also excessive regulation of bed and breakfasts. I fully agree with Senator Alan Kelly that we need to have health and safety concerns. However, I forecast that within the next three or four years, there will not be a bed and breakfast left in this country because approximately 50% are already gone owing to excessive regulation.
I refer to the small farmer. If a chicken dies, one cannot bury it on one's land. One must then try to explain how the European project is important to Ireland. I am delighted we are dealing with this issue, even if it is a post-referendum syndrome.
The problem is that directives are brought in for the 27 countries but we all know that the same environment does not obtain in each. There must be some way to recognise that. If we must scientifically analyse everything made in small cottage industries, they will be wiped out and the small operator will suffer.
I refer to the challenges facing the economy on which we should have a debate. It would be surprising if that did not happen. Whether it should take place today is another issue but it should happen soon. I have already noticed that the Economic and Social Research Institute report is now being looked at a little bit more positively than at first, especially on "Morning Ireland" today. I do not know if Members had the opportunity to hear this morning's analysis of what is a recession and of a recession now compared with those we had in the past. I noticed a different tone to the debate.
The patriotism Alan Dukes displayed——
Fianna Fáil never gave him much credit for that.
——has never been fully acknowledged.
By God, Fianna Fáil has some cheek.
Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú, without interruption.
The Tallaght strategy was needed at that time. Nothing like the situation which existed in those days exists now.
The Senator has some cheek.
If I were Senator Jerry Buttimer I would be cheering Alan Dukes and the legacy he left.
Senator Joe O'Toole was 100% right that, as legislators, we should act as such because neither compassion nor recrimination will give any solace whatever to someone who loses his or her job or if a small business closes. Now is the time to unite because that is what is expected of us as legislators. I genuinely hope that tone will prevail when the debate takes place because that would be the patriotic approach to take to the challenges we face.
The Senator would say that.
Fianna Fáil was very patriotic with the economy for years. It has some cheek.
I was delighted to hear the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, state on "News at One" yesterday that he would take determined, resolute and prudent action in response to the growing recession in which we find ourselves and to the ESRI report. As many other speakers have said, we need to know before the summer recess what he means by that and the action he plans to take. We need to be confident he will not wield the axe indiscriminately and that sensible action will be taken.
Did the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Mary Coughlan, intervene to prevent the loss of 580 jobs in Hibernian Insurance in Dublin, Cork and Galway? These are sustainable jobs needed to service the Irish insurance industry. The chances are that more of these situations are coming. How will she deal with them? The House needs to know the answer before the summer recess because we must have confidence that jobs are being protected. It will take much action by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and IDA Ireland to create 580 new jobs.
The Health Service Executive is not replacing front-line staff who are on leave. For example, if a speech therapist is on maternity leave or annual leave, there is no one to serve a child's learning needs. That speech barrier is preventing the child from learning. I know of a woman with a broken arm and a son with mental health problems who cannot get physiotherapy because the physiotherapist is on leave. There are no social workers to deal with 50 cases of reported abuse in Galway. The Minister for Finance needs to look at that area in which further cuts should not take place. Front-line services need to be maintained. The House needs information on the resolute, determined and prudent action the Minister for Finance and the entire Cabinet need to take prior to the summer recess.
I support my colleague's call for a debate on the economy which I hope will be constructive. Given the number of speakers who called for such a debate, I hope solutions will emerge from it. We find ourselves in an extraordinary situation with the oil crisis. The cost of oil is putting pressure on the various service industries. There is also the problem of the credit squeeze in the banks, which affects everyone. There is the sub-prime lending situation, which is more relevant to America and Britain than Ireland. I believe the banks have been lending irresponsibly and I agree with Senator Ross in this regard. All these factors affect the economy and I hope when we debate this matter we will have solutions.
There are solutions. Some 50,000 people in the house building industry will become unemployed and there is a solution to be found for this. There are new technologies coming on stream which will create new jobs in that industry. Everyone believes the housing industry is synonymous with building industry, but it is only a small part of it. There is the green collar worker which we can introduce with new skills to work with energy ratings which we badly require. If we introduce energy ratings in housing projects, it is another significant area where we can create new and necessary jobs. I hope when we have a full-day debate on this matter that the Minister for Finance will come to the House and outline his plans and views. Recriminations will not get us anywhere. We are elected to this House as legislators to ensure we tease out the problems and find the best possible way out of a situation. Senator Ó Murchú put his finger on it; we need to be a little more patriotic now.
We need to manage the finances.
We need to put our shoulders to the wheel and do the job that needs to be done in a difficult time.
We are under pressure now.
We need to make hard decisions.
I believe we will do this.
I hope so.
I welcome the publication of the general scheme of the civil partnership Bill. While it does not go as far as many would like, we should recognise it as a major step forward and I look forward to debating the Bill in the House. I pay tribute especially to the Green Party for its help in ensuring this Bill sees the light of day.
Hear, hear.
It is clear the Green Party does have a modicum of influence on the Government and I would like to see it use that influence on the very important matter of broadband. As my colleague, Senator Alan Kelly, has said, it is essential we have broadband if we are to dig our way out of this economic crisis. There are two developments we must see. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, does not need a team of international experts. As Senator Ross said, he just needs to read the transcripts of this House. We need universal access throughout the country and we need faster broadband speeds. Japan has speeds some 30 times faster than Ireland and we need to see our speeds improve. Will the Deputy Leader pass this on to his Minister?
I welcome a debate on the economy following the publication of the report by the Economic and Social Research Institute. I am mindful that in the past decade there have been two downturns, one following the bursting of the dotcom bubble and the other after the tragedy of 11 September 2001. Very quickly the economy managed to turn the situation around. The report indicates that within 18 months we will be back to very strong levels of growth, which I welcome. I ask the Leader to request the Minister for Finance to attend the House to discuss the report and especially to reaffirm the commitment of Fianna Fáil and the other Government parties to looking after those less well-off in more uncertain and difficult times.
As a "Yes" supporter in the recent Lisbon treaty referendum, I commend some of the political achievements of the "No" campaign which humbled those of us in politics. However, the sight in the European Parliament of members of the UK Independence Party wearing green was disagreeable. It is no friend of Europe, which it denigrates, or Ireland. I commend Ms. Avril Doyle, MEP, on saying what many of us felt; it was a fine contribution.
Hear, hear.
There are at least six more speakers, but I call Senator Eugene Regan.
On the Lisbon treaty, several points have been made across the floor on the Government side. There has been talk of issues decided in Brussels which constitute excessive regulation. The reality is that every measure agreed in Brussels is agreed by the Government and the relevant Minister who attends the Council. One cannot wash one's hands of decisions made in Brussels since we are part of the decision-making process. It is a cop-out for the Government and the representatives of Fianna Fáil to complain about several of these measures. It is the manner of implementation of these measures with which people find fault. This applies to the legislation that is passed in these Houses and the way it is implemented. We have seen this previously with the habitats directive and water charges where there is specific flexibility——
Hear, hear.
——and a discretion left to member states in the way they implement EU regulations. To blame Brussels at this juncture is disingenuous.
I support the call for a debate on the economy. The Taoiseach, in The Irish Times newspaper this morning, denied he is to blame for the economic downturn. We cannot blame the Taoiseach for everything. We do not believe all aspects of the recession are down to the Minister for Finance. However, we believe the management of the public finances is the responsibility of the Government and, in particular, the Minister for Finance. The Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen, said before the general election that his party’s policies were based on responsible budgets that would pass on an effectively debt-free country to the next generation. What is clear from the ESRI report, if nothing else, is that in 2006 we had a budget surplus of €5.2 billion——
Is the Senator requesting a debate on finance?
The forecast for 2009 is for a budget deficit of €7.4 billion which is not good management of the public finances.
It is some mismanagement.
That is the net point and the self-evident responsibility of the Government which cannot be brushed under the carpet.
I call the Deputy Leader, Senator Dan Boyle.
Will those who were not called to speak today be called first tomorrow, as this happens frequently?
Yes. I will call those who missed out today first tomorrow.
Senator Fitzgerald, opening the Order of Business, suggested an amendment to a debate on the economy, which repeats the call from yesterday's Order of Business. As is usual with such calls, it is difficult to get a Minister available at short notice, but yesterday's call has been taken into account. Efforts are being made to make available the Minister for Finance and there is every confidence that such a debate will take place before the House rises for the summer, which will happen in the next two weeks.
Many other speakers discussed the content of such a debate, including Senators O'Toole, Kelly, Donohoe, Ross, Callely, Ó Murchú, Healy Eames, Butler and Hanafin. It is hoped when the Minister for Finance does come to the House that the context of the debate is well placed. Yesterday's report from the ESRI has engendered an initial debate the especial subject of which has been public confidence.
Senator Fitzgerald in her opening contribution today spoke of the local factors which might be involved in the current economic downturn. It is still largely the case that most of the factors are international. Any other performing international economy is in a similar situation. The ESRI report does discuss public confidence, which is sometimes influenced by the tone and tenor of debates in this Chamber and others like it. However, public confidence is influenced also by factors mentioned by other speakers. I refer especially to the contribution of Senator Ross and his comments on the level of personal indebtedness in the economy, which is one of the highest in the world. There would be an open call for a debate in the House on the role of the banking industry in trying to establish consumer confidence which has been badly affected by the type of policies that many of those financial institutions have put in place.
Senator O'Toole questioned the likelihood of a strike at the Bank of Ireland. While this House cannot intervene directly in such labour disputes, its Members hope the measures the Senator outlined will be followed so that a strike can be averted at one of the largest financial institutions in the country.
Senator Kelly highlighted the need for new skills in areas such as administration. As did Senator Healy Eames, he referred to the regrettable announcement that has been made by the Hibernian Insurance company. I suggest that the report that was published recently by the future skills group and Forfás forms a good basis for the debate in this House on the issues the Senators have mentioned.
Senators Kelly, Ross and Hannigan spoke about broadband services. Senator Ross referred to a report in The Irish Times yesterday. Having spoken to the Minister, I understand the report in question was largely accurate. I do not doubt the Minister will make time available to speak on the matter in the Seanad, although I am not sure whether that can be done before this House rises for the summer. The Minister is committed to increasing the availability of broadband services. Yesterday’s newspaper report reminded us that the Minister is working to a particular deadline to ensure we have maximum broadband coverage in this country. There is a need for a fully informed debate on this issue. The Private Members’ Bill that has been proposed by Senator Ross will help to bring that about. We need to consider what exactly we mean when we talk about broadband. We have to set out what we believe to be an acceptable speed in the context of the provision of broadband. We should specify the geographical locations where the people of this country can access broadband services.
Senators Kelly, Ormonde, O'Donovan, Callely, Ó Murchú and Regan referred to the introduction in this country of regulations on foot of EU directives. Such a level of interest in the issue of regulation makes it clear there is a need for a debate on it in this House. We need to consider the extent to which EU directives which have a practical use are being accepted by the public. We also need to reflect on the degree to which such directives are being policed. Are we being too zealous in implementing regulations? Do we choose to implement certain regulations but not others? Do we know whether the various regulations are being implemented in other EU member states? Many of the concerns which have been raised can be debated properly if we arrange a debate.
Senator Donohoe commented on the new regime of levies and charges on the M50. Such matters can be discussed in the context of the debate on the economy that we will have in the weeks to come. Some of the problems associated with the M50 were caused by a badly flawed original contract. The moneys to be paid by the State, which were mentioned by the Senator, are equivalent to the moneys which the State would have continued to pay under the original contract. They are now to be paid in a different form. The new system will help traffic flow while ensuring the Exchequer's original investment is repaid. The Senator's points are well made.
Senator Donohoe also spoke about the homelessness strategy, the contents of which were recently made available. There is scope for a good debate in this House on the strategy. The Senator referred to the new rental regulations, which I do not think are part of the same debate. I will bring his view that the regulations need to be strengthened to the attention of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
Senator Daly talked about Cork City Council's decision to introduce a moratorium on mobile phone masts. I am aware the Senator takes a great personal interest in such matters. He referred to a report produced by the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources which set out the guidelines which should apply in these cases. I will inform the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources of the Senator's interest in this matter. I will find out whether there is a possibility of a separate debate on the issue.
Senator O'Donovan raised the issue of planning in rural Ireland, which is highlighted in the House regularly. The Leader of the House has promised that such a debate will be organised soon.
Senator Coffey spoke about the effects of changes in the poultry industry on the Waterford area. He pointed out that the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food also represents a constituency in which the industry is strong. I am sure the Minister, Deputy Smith, shares Senator Coffey's concerns and is prepared to address such issues in the House.
Senator Bacik referred to the many shootings which have occurred in a certain district of Dublin. Like the Senator, I stay in the Coombe area of the city where last night's unfortunate incident took place. The shooting resulted in the closure of that part of Dublin while gardaí were initiating their investigations. I am sure the Leader of the House will make time available for a debate on the matter.
Senator Bacik pre-empted the debate on the Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008, which will take place in this House over the next few weeks. Like her, I welcome the Minister's decision not to proceed with certain provisions in relation to early opening bars, which have a distinct culture and do not contribute to this country's overall problem with alcohol.
Senator Healy Eames spoke about Health Service Executive staffing in the context of an incident in the Galway area. HSE issues are regularly raised on the Order of Business. We have had several debates on such matters. The Minister for Health and Children has come to the Seanad on several occasions. The HSE receives an equivalent amount of resources in terms of man hours. We need to understand the management difficulties that are causing problems at national and local levels. The Senator is right to raise the issue.
Several people have been replaced.
Yes.
Front-line services are being cut.
There have been service cutbacks.
Senator Butler spoke about the potential that exists in the construction industry in light of the recent economic downturn. New construction levels have slowed down considerably. I strongly agree that the attention of the construction industry should turn to the retrofitting of houses to make them more energy efficient.
Senator Hannigan welcomed the publication of the heads of the civil partnership Bill. I am confident the Seanad and the other House will be prepared to proceed with the legislation as quickly as possible. It will be a significant and important Bill. I accept it will not address all issues fully. It is an important stepping stone.
Senator Hanafin spoke about the need for the Government to emphasise, in the context of the debate on the economy, the need to allocate existing resources in a proportionate manner. Everyone on the Government benches will be happy to do so, especially as the 2008 economy will be 99.6% the size of the 2007 economy. Special attention will have to be paid to those in our society who are less well off. To be fair to the Taoiseach, the three budgets he introduced when he was Minister for Finance were verified by the Combat Poverty Agency as the most socially equitable budgets of the past decade.
We will see what the next budget contains.
I have no reason to believe the current Minister for Finance will deviate from that path.
Senator Hanafin, in a very ecumenical gesture, welcomed the speech made by Avril Doyle, MEP, during a recent debate in the European Parliament. She commented on the lack of consistency of the UK Independence Party in its concern for the views of Irish voters. I am prepared to be associated with her remarks.
Senator Fitzgerald has proposed an amendment to the Order of Business, "That statements on the public finances be taken today". Is the amendment being pressed?
Tá
- Bacik, Ivana.
- Bradford, Paul.
- Burke, Paddy.
- Buttimer, Jerry.
- Coffey, Paudie.
- Cummins, Maurice.
- Doherty, Pearse.
- Donohoe, Paschal.
- Fitzgerald, Frances.
- Hannigan, Dominic.
- Healy Eames, Fidelma.
- Kelly, Alan.
- McFadden, Nicky.
- O’Toole, Joe.
- Phelan, John Paul.
- Prendergast, Phil.
- Quinn, Feargal.
- Regan, Eugene.
- Ross, Shane.
Níl
- Boyle, Dan.
- Butler, Larry.
- Callely, Ivor.
- Cannon, Ciaran.
- Carty, John.
- Corrigan, Maria.
- Daly, Mark.
- de Búrca, Déirdre.
- Ellis, John.
- Feeney, Geraldine.
- Glynn, Camillus.
- Hanafin, John.
- MacSharry, Marc.
- McDonald, Lisa.
- Mullen, Rónán.
- Ó Domhnaill, Brian.
- Ó Murchú, Labhrás.
- O’Donovan, Denis.
- O’Malley, Fiona.
- O’Sullivan, Ned.
- Ormonde, Ann.
- Phelan, Kieran.
- Walsh, Jim.
- Wilson, Diarmuid.