Enda Kenny
Ceist:10 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the number of meetings of the Cabinet sub-committee examining the future of Aer Lingus that have taken place. [30935/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 14 December 2004
Ceisteanna (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
Pat Rabbitte
Ceist:11 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-committee examining the future of Aer Lingus last met and when the next meeting is planned. [32122/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Trevor Sargent
Ceist:12 Mr. Sargent asked the Taoiseach the number of meetings there have been of the Cabinet sub-committee examining the future of Aer Lingus. [32414/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Róisín Shortall
Ceist:13 Ms Shortall asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-committee on Aer Lingus has met. [32528/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Ceist:14 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Taoiseach the composition of the Cabinet sub-committee on Aer Lingus; and the number of meetings of the Sub-Committee that have taken place. [33092/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (58 píosaí cainte)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 14, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on Aer Lingus has met on three occasions, with the most recent meeting having taken place on 9 December.
I understand from newspaper reports — one cannot believe many of these — that the Cabinet was to make a decision today.
That does not arise under these questions. These are very specific statistical questions.
Statistical.
They refer exclusively to the number of meetings which have taken place. They are statistical questions.
May we talk about the decibel level at the meetings?
Members may not discuss policy under these questions.
Did the Minister for Transport brief the Cabinet sub-committee on the Aer Lingus question?
That is still not in order under these questions. They are very narrow. The Chair has no control over these matters.
Can the Taoiseach tell the House if he has made a decision on Aer Lingus yet?
That does not arise under these questions. We will hear a brief question from each of the Deputies. I do not see how supplementary questions can arise from the questions submitted.
The Taoiseach does not mind. He is a very helpful chap. He answers questions that were not asked.
This is ridiculous.
The Taoiseach has indicated that he will take questions.
It is a convention of this House for as long as I have been a Member and as long as I have been watching it that one constructs a question that is a peg on which to hang supplementary questions about the substantive issue. If we can only find one way to table a question about the future of Aer Lingus, which is put on the Order Paper, and the Ceann Comhairle tells the leader of Fine Gael and presumably the rest of us that we cannot ask a question except on the number of times the sub-committee met, it makes a complete farce of the proceedings.
The Ceann Comhairle might as well close the door and lock it.
The Deputy has been here a long time and he knows the Standing Order. Questions on the substantive issue are a matter for the line Minister.
This is a question about the Cabinet sub-committee.
Yes, and it is specific. The Deputy's question is to ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-committee examining the future of Aer Lingus last met and when the next meeting is planned. That is purely a statistical question. The Chair does not have a choice in this matter.
It raises further questions.
What happens at the meetings is the Taoiseach's business.
No, there is a long-standing precedent in the House, and statistical questions are——
It is not a statistical question.
We have the same issue with the Minister of State when he answers questions on the Central Statistics Office.
I do not give a damn how many times the Cabinet sub-committee met. I want to know what went on, whether decisions have been made, whether the Minister has brought recommendations——
It is not in order. The Deputy is well aware of Cabinet confidentiality.
Surely I am in order to ask the Taoiseach if the Minister for Transport has brought proposals for consideration.
The Deputy is not in order under this set of questions. He has other ways to raise the matter.
The Minister will not answer. I am asking whether the Cabinet sub-committee considered at its last meeting a report from the Minister for Transport on the future of Aer Lingus.
That does not arise in reply to these five questions.
It does, it is mentioned in a question.
It is not in order and the Chair has consistently ruled it out of order. My predecessors ruled such questions out of order.
If the decision has been made, thousands of people will be affected. The Ceann Comhairle should allow the Taoiseach to reply to the question and tell us what is going on.
The Chair will not introduce a new precedent at this stage. The precedent of the House has been that such questions are statistical.
It is not long since the former Deputy Oliver J. Flanagan did the same and the Ceann Comhairle's predecessor allowed him to construct many questions on statistics.
Since then Leaders' Questions have been introduced to allow the leaders to ask questions.
I will ask the question. Has the Cabinet sub-committee concluded its business? Has the Cabinet made a decision on this?
How many more times will the sub-committee meet?
This is critical for thousands of workers and for the economy. Three senior executives are leaving the company and the chairman will leave next year.
The Deputy has gone well outside the range of these questions.
The Ceann Comhairle is ruling these supplementary questions out because of fractions and percentages
The Chair intends to hold the line on these questions. They are statistical questions and the Chair will not allow a policy debate.
The Chair is being extremely tough in the closing week of the session.
The Chair is consistent and the Chair has ruled on this matter similarly for the past seven years. My predecessors ruled in exactly the same way.
The Government does not want to stamp down on the flow of information. The Chair should invite the Taoiseach to elaborate on the statistics. If the Government Chief Whip was able to speak about the M50 and feeder roads earlier — what he stated in a newspaper article today was not correct — surely the Taoiseach can comment on the future of Aer Lingus.
We are coming to the end of Question Time. I call Deputy Rabbitte.
The Chair's ruling is unfortunate and is not——
If the Deputy is not satisfied with the Standing Order and the manner in which questions are answered on Cabinet responsibility and confidentiality, he will have to find a way to amend it. The Chair is implementing the Standing Order.
The clock is ticking on Taoiseach's questions.
With all due respect, the Chair could record a CD for Christmas on that theme but that would not help the common-sense conduct of business in this House.
There are rules in the House and the Deputy is aware of them. There are other ways for him to raise this issue. It is a policy matter for the line Minister.
How many times has the sub-committee met? Does the Taoiseach expect that the next meeting of the sub-committee in respect of Aer Lingus will be the final meeting? When does he expect the sub-committee otherwise to finish its work? Is the sub-committee seized of a report on this matter from the Minister concerned?
The sub-committee met three times. Its work will be completed shortly, probably early after Christmas if not prior to it. The Minister will report back then and have consultations with the social partners. It is close to the end of its remit.
That concludes Taoiseach's questions as it is now after 3.15 p.m.
There were two other questions that were not included.
The Chair has no control over the length of the replies.
The Chair has control. He keeps telling us that he only has control over questions. He did not exercise control.
I tabled a valid question that was not replied to by the Taoiseach. It was overlooked.