Micheál Martin
Ceist:8. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the Bills in preparation in his Department. [2735/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 31 January 2017
Ceisteanna (8, 9)
Gerry Adams
Ceist:9. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach the status of Bills under preparation in his Department. [4071/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (25 píosaí cainte)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 9 together.
The only Bill in preparation in my Department is the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, Bill. The Bill will dissolve the National Economic and Social Development Office, NESDO, and place the NESC on a statutory footing. It is a short answer.
The Taoiseach's Department is also responsible for the entire legislative programme and through the Office of the Attorney General drafts the overwhelming majority of legislation. Due to his constitutional powers the Taoiseach also has the ability to block the Oireachtas from even voting on most legislation, including amendments. What he has never done is to outline his approach to using those powers or to discuss what reforms are required. As a minority Government which says that it understands that it cannot impose its will on the majority, the Taoiseach's actions concerning the legislative agenda have become increasingly unacceptable. The blocking of Deputy Jim O'Callaghan's Judicial Appointments Commission Bill on the grounds that it supposedly created a charge on the Exchequer was a very clear abuse and it involved the Taoiseach taking upon himself the right to effectively veto all legislation. It was an unprecedented manoeuvre which was mean and petty.
The simple question I put to the Taoiseach is if he intends honouring his commitment to allow non-governmental Bills to be voted on and enacted? There was significant discussion on the issue prior to the formation of the Government and the reform of Dáil Éireann, the balance between the Executive and the Legislature and it was accepted that there needed to be far more practical facilitation of legislation from the Opposition and that the issue of a charge on the Exchequer had been abused in the past, had been used excessively and that it would end and greater flexibility would be shown. Is the Oireachtas going to be allowed to act as a proper legislative body or does the Taoiseach intend to maintain his personal right to veto anything he does not like? There were clear political reasons why the Taoiseach tried to kill off the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill.
Deputy Martin's question is in respect of the Bills in preparation in the Department. I have answered that for the Deputy. The only Bill is the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, Bill. Deputy Martin is now asking me a different question about the management of the legislative process that is being followed. Deputy O'Callaghan never sent his Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny.
No, but the committee approved it.
He booked Report Stage before the Bill was even on Committee Stage. The Ceann Comhairle is well aware of the number of Bills that have been allowed to pass without being blocked and the challenge now is for the parties to say which ones we want to pursue.
The Taoiseach blocked it because the Minister, Deputy Ross, said so.
We will never be able to get through the 30 or 40 Bills that are lined up now in addition to the list published by the Government. I suggest that the Fianna Fáil Party would decide on the three or five Bills it regards as a priority. Deputy O'Callaghan's Judicial Appointments Commission Bill is now going through in conjunction with the Government Bill.
No it is not.
There is a way of doing this that should not cause controversy between us.
It most certainly is not.
Two can play at that game. Deputy O'Callaghan did not have pre-legislative scrutiny carried out on his Bill.
He did, but the Taoiseach's people did not turn up.
As I understand it, he did not bring it for pre-legislative scrutiny and he booked Report Stage before it reached Committee Stage.
It went through the parliamentary process but people did not show up.
In any event, I take the Deputy's point. I have not signed any money messages against any of the Bills that have come through the House. I have allowed them to go through.
The Taoiseach did on that Bill.
The new politics is to have backbenchers bring forward non-governmental Bills and to have them processed and now there is a big backlog of those. The parties sponsoring the Bills need to identify what are their priorities and we will try to facilitate them.
If I understand correctly, the one Bill sponsored by the Taoiseach's Department is to do with the National Economic and Social Council. An bhfuil sé sin ceart?
Tá sé sin ceart.
We discussed that recently. The purpose of the Bill is to abolish the National Economic and Social Development Office and to place the National Economic and Social Council on a statutory footing. The National Economic and Social Forum and the National Centre for Partnership and Performance were dissolved in 2010 and this piece of legislation has been talked about since the time Brian Cowen was Taoiseach. As far as I can ascertain the Bill has been on the Government's legislative programme since 2013. When will the amended Bill on the National Economic and Social Council be introduced?
The function of the National Economic and Social Council is to analyse and report to the Taoiseach on strategic issues relating to the proper development of the economy, the achievement of social justice and the development of a strategic framework for the conduct of relations and arrangements between the Government and the social partners. That function was set out in the 2006 NESDO Act and that context has changed significantly since then. There are other forms of dialogue and interaction with interest groups. There is no question that the process has gone on a long time. I do not have a specific timescale for the completion of the assessment process. Considerable work is being carried out in the Department of the Taoiseach and that work is still going on to ensure the best arrangements for the future composition of the council. Given the changes in recent years it is worth taking some time to make sure that we have the best and most appropriate arrangements in place. The council's term expired during the summer. It is important to invest time and effort now to make sure we have the best arrangements in place in addition to it being vital that the highest quality research and advice are available to the Government, particularly at a time of great change.
I expect and want the NESC to continue to provide this function. However, I must give consideration to that. I should add that the outgoing members of the council will be involved in the task as well. I will advise Deputy Adams and the House as to when we might be able to complete this work. I agree that it has gone on for a considerable period of time.
The NESC has undertaken a very useful function and has been out of existence since last summer. The Taoiseach said that it is doing a very useful job but it does not exist. Does it exist in some shadow form?
Perhaps I should have said that it did do a very useful job.
The Taoiseach spoke about its future role. Is it intended to appoint an interim NESC until the new legislation is published and enacted? I previously raised the issue of constitutional Bills. A number of constitutional amendments are referenced in the programme for Government while the constitutional convention is sitting at the moment. Is it the Government's intention to introduce any constitutional Bills in 2017?
The future role I envisaged for the NESC is for it to continue to be able to engage in dialogue with all Ministers and the relevant organisations. Formal structures in place include the national economic dialogue, the Labour Employer Economic Forum, the Climate Change Advisory Council and the social inclusion forum. The role of the NESC needs to be assessed in light of those arrangements. We now have the national risk assessment process and have just published the national risk assessment for 2016, which identified strategic risks in the economic, governmental, geopolitical, social and technological areas. The programme for Government points to the requirement for longer term planning, specifically, areas like housing, broadband, climate change, pensions and long-term funding models higher education and health. We need to find ways of bringing those together so there is a great deal of work to be done on that.
In respect of constitutional amendments, the Government has not considered what amendments, if any, should be decided by referendum in 2017. When the Government considers that it will make any announcement that is appropriate. As Deputy Howlin is aware, following the Constitutional Convention, the number of recommendations for referenda was quite significant. The Citizens' Assembly is deliberating at the moment in respect of the eighth amendment of the Constitution.