Dáil debates
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Order of Business
10:30 am
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is proposed to take No. a1, Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008 — amendments from the Seanad; No. a14, motion re Orders of Reference of Committee;No. b14, motion re Membership of Committee; No. 14a, motion re establishment of sub-committee of the Joint Committee on European Affairs; and No. 1, Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad] — Second Stage.
It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the proceedings on No. a1 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes and any amendments from the Seanad not disposed of shall be decided by one question which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments to the Seanad amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Finance; and the proceedings on Nos. a14, b14 and 14a shall be taken together for the purposes of discussion and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 45 minutes. The following arrangements shall apply — the speeches shall be confined to a Minister or Minister of State and to the main spokespersons for the Fine Gael Party, the Labour Party and Sinn Féin, who shall be called upon in that order; Deputies may share their time and shall not exceed ten minutes in each case. A Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed five minutes.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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There are two proposals before the House. Is the proposal for dealing with No. a1, Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008 — amendments from the Seanad agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with Nos. a14, b14 and 14a agreed?
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Can the Tanáiste confirm the time remit of the sub-committee; is it six weeks or eight weeks? Will she confirm that the sub-committee will report in the first instance to its parent committee, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs? The sub-committee is known as the Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in the European Union.
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is eight weeks.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Can the Tanáiste give the House an assurance that if, in the time remit allocated to it, the sub-committee needs resources for hearings or whatever else, the Government will see they are provided?
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I have been handed a copy of the second supplementary Order Paper. This was one of the matters on which I sought clarification. The Order Paper refers to the matter, but it was still not available until now and I wanted to square it with the information we have. The supplementary Order Paper indicates — perhaps the Tanáiste can provide clarification — the membership of the sub-committee with a list of Deputies. Can the Tanáiste indicate what other Members are members of this sub-committee, as they are not provided for in the Order Paper? I expect this will come forward in the Seanad, which may be the answer. This is the only clarification I seek.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The timeframe runs to 28 November.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is 28 November. My voice is going. Regarding the second issue raised by Deputy Ó Caoláin, the Seanad will make its own nominations. There is an agreement regarding the resource requirement of the sub-committee which will be adequately met.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Deputy James Reilly will attend to the Tánaist's throat afterwards.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Is the proposal agreed? Agreed. I call Deputy Kenny on the Order of Business.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I would need to carry out a risk assessment before agreeing to that.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Reilly can attend to the whole Government Front Bench if necessary. Arising from the conclusion of discussions in the Dáil and the Seanad last night and this morning, we now have one hour to agree on the amendments from the Seanad. The Oireachtas has responded to a crisis which erupted in Irish banking circles. For the moment, the response has dealt with that crisis. We hope the terms, conditions and regulations will be sufficient to cope with the detail of the working of that legislation in the interests of a strong economy and a strong banking system. Given that it will be necessary to continue the flow of credit through the banking system in future, can the Tanáiste indicate what other legislation is envisaged to enable a situation continue where the banking system is strong and where credit can continue to flow through the banks for business and normal purposes? Is the Government considering the possibility of legislation that may arise in the context of any mergers that might occur in the Irish bank system? The Tánaiste might outline her views on that.
Second, I note that the outstanding opportunist we have on the Government benches, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, said today that a new data protection Bill will be brought forward to deal with the sensitive issue of personal data being stored and, in some cases, being lost. That is not on the Government's legislative programme. Will the Tánaiste indicate if this is a piece of work currently being drafted by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform? When is it likely to see the light of the Oireachtas? If it takes him as long to draft that legislation as it does to do many other things, would she consider accepting from the Opposition a Bill in this area which has already been prepared by Deputy Simon Coveney?
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Now, Tánaiste, of opportunities and opportunists.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am too quiet for that. It is not anticipated that there will be further legislation arising from the legislation that will be finalised this morning.
On the issue of mergers, the issue has been addressed within the context of this legislation, most particularly in the over-riding of the competition legislation we currently have, to which I agreed. As the Deputy is aware, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has indicated he is working within a consultative process. Just because something is not on a particular list does not mean we are not doing our work. We are proceeding on the basis of the consultative process. I am sure the Deputies opposite can participate in that process in the context of their own legislation and the Minister will bring forward future legislation in due course.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Tánaiste for that reply. I am not suggesting she is not working but I made the point last week that there appeared to be professional kite flyers on the Government benches. We have the data protection proposal from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the third level fees proposal from the Minister for Education and Science, the absent Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government with his domestic water charges——
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I cannot allow the Deputy put up a further——
Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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If we were not doing our work the Deputy would be giving out.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I want to put the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on notice that just because this side of the House donned the jersey in the interests of Ireland and our economy does not mean he will get that level of co-operation into the future.
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Come fly with me.
Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I want to raise three matters. First, there is an item of legislation on the Government's list, the financial services regulation Bill, which is to modernise financial services legislation in accordance with the Government's better regulation agenda. It is in section C, which is Bills in respect of which heads have yet to be approved by the Government. In view of the week we have just had, will the Tánaiste indicate if it is now intended to accelerate the preparation of that legislation? Also, does the Government intend to take on board the recommendations of the Rasmussen report, which is currently before the European Parliament, the purpose of which is to provide for better regulation of banks and financial institutions throughout the European Union?
Second, while we have been here addressing the financial crisis in the boardrooms of the banks of the country this week there is a financial crisis of a different kind but no less serious around the kitchen tables of the 80,000 extra people who have lost their jobs since this time last year.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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That is not in order now, Deputy.
Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Does the Tánaiste intend to bring any proposals to the House to address the problems faced by people who have become unemployed and who are becoming——
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We cannot go into that matter now, Deputy.
Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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We can, a Cheann Comhairle. Yesterday, while we were all in here working, a report was published that showed we have had the highest rise in unemployment in the history of the State in the past 12 months. Unemployment is now higher than it was ten years ago.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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There is another way of raising that matter.
Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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If we could spend two days in this House working late into the night to dig the banks out of the problem they got themselves into the very least we can do here is mention the problems of people who have become unemployed in that time.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Leaders' Questions do not take place on Thursday mornings and I must ask Deputy Gilmore to stay in order. We have no choice.
Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The final issue I want to raise is something that may have escaped our attention while we were occupied with the banks. I understand the Morris reports dealing with the issues relating to the gardaí in County Donegal were received by the Government last Thursday and are due to be published next week. The Tánaiste will recall that when the first report was published last year I asked for a debate in the House on it and at that time both she and the then Taoiseach said they wanted to wait until all of the reports were available. I understand they are now available and will be published next week. When is it intended that the House will debate the reports of the Morris tribunal?
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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On the financial services regulation Bill, I am led to understand an advisory forum is dealing with that issue. I take on board the concerns the Deputy has raised. It was to advise the Minister by the beginning of next year but as the Deputy is aware, a legislative committee meeting is taking place and we may re-evaluate the necessity of expediting that.
On the Morris report, I gave an undertaking that there would be a full debate in the House. We expect publication next week, if at all possible, and perhaps the Whips could come together with a formulation of when we would have a full debate in the House on that matter.
Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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On the financial services regulation Bill, the world has changed since the Government could do business by way of having advisory forums meandering on forever and a day. That is the reason we found ourselves dealing with an emergency situation. The Government clearly was not on top of the requirement to strengthen the regulation of financial institutions.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy should confine himself to asking about the legislation.
Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The heads of this item of legislation, which is No. 52 in the Government's order of legislative priorities, list C of division 3, have not yet been prepared — there is reference to an advisory board — about the regulation of financial institutions. Given what we have just seen it is hardly unreasonable to ask that the Government might now accelerate matters regarding the regulation of financial institutions. I repeat the question to the Tánaiste. Will the Government accelerate the preparation of this legislation and bring it forward?
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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First, this is consolidation of existing legislation and a modernisation of the legislative framework. Second, it is appropriate that a situation is allowed whereby those involved in the financial services sector are in a position to advise and consult. That being said——
Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Going by their track record they are not.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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——a legislative committee meeting will be held at 12 o'clock. Once we complete this legislation, we will turn to the financial situation after the budget, which will take some time to deal with. A new Finance Bill will have to be completed but in appreciation of what the Deputy has said, I can advise the Minister that it might be best to expedite this legislation. It is a matter for the Government to determine when legislation should be brought forward but I accept the Deputy's point.
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The Government has brought in emergency legislation to restore confidence in our financial institutions but what steps is it considering to help restore confidence in State services? As Deputy Kenny said, we have seen much kite flying in the recent past but one that has caused tremendous——
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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No, Deputy, I cannot allow you to fly another kite. You must adhere to Standing Orders.
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It leads specifically to an item of legislation. The kite flying that someone has been responsible for in regard to medical cards for those over the age of 70 has caused tremendous anguish. Will the Tánaiste not put to bed that anguish and concern——
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Does the Deputy have a question that is in order?
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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——by making a clear statement of intent that this matter will not be, as has been suggested, in the Government's proposals on 14 October?
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Does the Deputy have a question that is in order?
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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On the basis of restoring confidence in State services that are clearly undermined for some considerable time——
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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If the Deputy does not have a question that is in order I have to call Deputy Crawford.
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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——will the Government exercise the same intent that it showed over the past 48 hours by bringing forward the eligibility for health and personal social services Bill that has been deferred year after year since 2006? Will the Government introduce it now?
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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There is no date available for the Bill.
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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That does not answer my question.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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That is the answer.
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Government introduce the Bill? That is the key question that needs to be answered.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I have already given my answer. I can do no more than that.
Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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In light of the fact that additional gardaí on the beat are urgently needed, can the Tánaiste indicate when the attachment of fines Bill will be introduced? It is needed if we are to reduce the amount of time gardaí spend dealing with fines. I would also like to raise a second extremely important issue. Can the Tánaiste give the House a date for the debate on the fair deal legislation? How will it be delivered to this House? We have been waiting for it for over 18 months. As we approach Christmas, will we have to wait another year for the fair deal Bill to help those who badly need such assistance? The Tánaiste is well aware of the difficulties to which I refer.
Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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On the same issue, we have been told that the fair deal legislation will probably be published within the next two weeks. Can the Tánaiste tell the House what it will be called? In the legislative programme for the summer 2008 session, it was referred to as the health (long-term residential care services) Bill. Its name had changed to the nursing homes support scheme Bill, however, by the time the schedule for the autumn 2008 session was published. Not only did it have a different name, but the description of the Bill had also changed. It was originally described as a Bill to "provide for a new scheme of financial support for persons requiring residential care in public and private nursing homes". It has now been described as a Bill to "enable financial support to be made available to people in long term residential care out of resources allocated to the HSE, to provide for an amendment to the Health Act 1970 and related matters". Does the rewording of the description of the proposed legislation indicate that there has been a substantial change in its contents? If such a change is to be made, does it arise from certain constitutional issues? Have the contents of the Bill been changed in the manner suggested by the rewording of the relevant section of the Government's legislative programme?
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The content of legislation cannot be discussed on the Order of Business.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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No date has been announced for the introduction of the attachment of fines Bill. Deputy O'Sullivan answered Deputy Crawford's question about the fair deal legislation. We anticipate that it will be published within the next two weeks. It will be known as the nursing homes support scheme Bill. I am sure the Government will provide adequate time to discuss such an important Bill in due course.
Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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The description of the legislation has been changed significantly. Does that change indicate that the supports to be made available will not amount to the sum of money we anticipated on foot of the announcements which were made earlier in the year?
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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It would be more appropriate for the Deputy to discuss the matter with the Minister for Health and Children.
Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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It is not usual for the description of a Bill to be changed in such a manner.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy has made her point.
Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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The programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce legislation to implement the recommendations outlined in the All-Party Committee on the Constitution's report on property rights. One of the recommendations is that legislation be introduced to implement the Kenny report, to regulate estate agents and auctioneers and to provide for transparency in land transactions throughout the State. It is obvious that such a Bill would be relevant to the circumstances we are currently facing. Issues such as land speculation have been raised this week. We need to introduce reforms to ensure that the current problems relating to land speculation do not recur in the future.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised that the property services regulatory authority Bill will be published this month.
Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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When will Report and Final Stages of the Charities Bill 2007 be taken? That Bill has never been more wanted than it is by the banks at present.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Now would be a good time to introduce it.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I listened with interest to Deputy Ring's comments during yesterday's debate. The date of Report and Final Stages of the Charities Bill 2007 is subject to the agreement of the Whips.
Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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I understand that further discussions on the property services regulatory authority Bill took place last week. Can the Tánaiste update the House on whether the Office of the Attorney General is recommending that an omnibus Bill be produced? Will a single Bill be introduced in the House? Thousands of apartment owners are being fleeced by management companies and agents.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I assume the Deputy is referring to the multi-unit development Bill. The Office of the Attorney General has advised that a single Bill should be introduced. We have not made a final decision on when that will happen. We have had a number of discussions on this issue. We hope to bring it to the floor of the House as quickly as possible.
Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Has the Attorney General given the Government the clarification it was waiting for?
Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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He must have acted on what was said in this House.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I will not even rise to the Deputy's remarks.
Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Stagg knows that the remarks in question were made in confidence.
James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I understand that some national monuments, which are the visible face of our heritage, are to be moved from the streets of Dublin to facilitate the construction of the metro north facility. Nobody knows where the monuments will be stored or what degree of protection will be afforded to them. In that context, when can we expect the national monuments Bill to be introduced? The legislation in question is urgently needed if we are to prevent the destruction by stealth of our heritage throughout the country.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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These are monumental times.
Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Durkan is a national monument.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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No date is available for the legislation mentioned by Deputy Bannon.
Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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This year's budget, announced last December, provided for an Exchequer deficit of €5 billion. By July, the Government was talking about a deficit of €8 billion. In early September, it revised that Estimate to €10 billion. According to the most recent briefings, the deficit might reach €12 billion. The Exchequer returns to be published today are the last returns we will get before December's budget. When will the Government announce its final end-of-year tax predictions on the basis of which the budget will be framed? The Minister for Finance has indicated that the House will have a chance to examine the tax predictions in advance of the budget. When will they be produced?
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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That is not strictly speaking in order. It is a matter for the line Minister.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister indicated that he would make that information available prior to the budget. The Minister and all other Deputies have been busy dealing with an important Bill this week.
Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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We have to look after our own money as well.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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That is very important. We will look after the Deputy's money.
David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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That is what we are worried about.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I will speak to the Minister later about the undertaking he has given.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Over recent days, I have noticed an increase in the number of parliamentary questions which have been refused on the basis that the Minister has no official responsibility to the House for the matter in question. Such refusals are a feature of the early days of every parliamentary session. We are familiar with such old tricks.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We cannot talk about old tricks on the Order of Business.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Over recent days, the Government has looked for mercy and assistance from the Opposition in this House. I remind it that this cuts both ways.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We cannot talk about new tricks either.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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That puts the Ceann Comhairle in a difficult position.
Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Bernard the merciless.
Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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May the Lord have mercy.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I would not like the Ceann Comhairle to be in a difficult position.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I appreciate the Deputy's assistance very much. It is not in order to raise the disallowance of parliamentary questions on the Order of Business.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I have come to the conclusion that the Ceann Comhairle knows it is in order.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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If the Deputy has a problem, he can contact my office.
11:00 am
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I would like to raise two other issues. In recent times, there has been an increase in the use of pipe bombs and other explosives in Dublin. It is proposed to replace the Explosives Act 1875 with a modern statutory legislative framework for the control, manufacture, storage, importation and supply of explosives. The text of the Bill has been drafted and agreed. In view of the urgency of the situation, can the Tánaiste indicate whether it is intended to proceed with this legislation expeditiously? The Government has placed great emphasis on the development of alternative energy and the enhancement of the national grid. What is the current status of the proposed Bill that will provide for transfer of ownership of electricity transmission assets from the ESB to EirGrid? I have raised two simple issues. I am sure the Tánaiste will be anxious to facilitate the House on such matters of extreme urgency.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am anxious to deal with these issues. The first Bill mentioned by the Deputy will be introduced early next year. The second Bill he mentioned will be introduced some time next year. When I looked through all the parliamentary questions the Deputy asked on particular subjects recently, I thought it would be interesting to undertake a value for money audit of them.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Perhaps there should be a value for money audit of all the stupid decisions the Government has made.
Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is always tabling parliamentary questions to get information he could just as easily get via e-mail.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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What about electronic voting?
Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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If the Minister wants to get value for money, he should start by looking at his own office.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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We need to look at the Minister's area as well.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I could not resist referring to the Deputy in the context of value for money.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I advise the Tánaiste that provocation is not allowed on the Order of Business.
Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Does the Government have plans to assist in adequately funding local authorities? We have seen a large rise in dependence on development levies to fund the day-to-day business of local authorities which has caused a large amount of problems in planners riding roughshod over development plans and so on.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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What is the legislation to which the Deputy is referring?
Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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I am getting to it.
Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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We have a disastrous situation throughout the country where disability grants are being scaled back.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy cannot make a speech on the matter now.
Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Does the Government have any plans to deal with it in the forthcoming budget?
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We cannot deal with it now. It is out of order.
Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Clearly, from all of the media reports during recent weeks——
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy must find an alternative method to raise the matter. She cannot raise it now.
Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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——city and county councils are being forced to scale back.
Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Is it still Government policy to provide a mechanism whereby local authority tenants in corporation and city council flats and apartments will be able to purchase their properties? If so, when will the legislation which is required be brought forward to give effect to this policy position?
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I assume the Deputy is referring to the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008 which is before the Seanad. Once it has been completed there, it will come before the Dáil.
Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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There is no reference to flats in the Bill.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Ceann Comhairle advised me against provocation. However, I recall that Fine Gael is in charge of most of the devolved decision making in local authorities.
Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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That has nothing to do with it.
Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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There is no matching funding.
Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I also asked whether it was still the policy to provide for the sale of local authority flats and, if so, if the Bill would be amended in the Seanad to provide for it adequately.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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This does not come within the ambit of the Order of Business but the Tánaiste may be able to be helpful.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The decision has not been made. On this basis, I cannot pre-empt what will be discussed on the floor of the House.
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I note from today's Order Paper that the Joint Committee on European Affairs has completed its report on the European Commission's White Paper on the integration of EU mortgage credit markets. What will happen to this report? Is it intended that the Government will bring it to the floor of the House for debate? This is an important issue.
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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If there is to be scrutiny of proposals coming from the European Union, after the committees complete their reports, surely they should be brought to the floor of the House in order that the entire House can debate them? Is it intended, as a general principle, to bring these reports to the House?
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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To be helpful, if the committee requests a discussion, I am sure we can facilitate it.
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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That is not the point. The point is that the during the debate on the Lisbon treaty we made great play of the fact that individual parliaments could scrutinise European proposals. Therefore, provision must be made to make time available to debate reports produced by committees. It is a general principle and I want to know whether the Government will provide for it.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is a fair point. Perhaps the Whips can discuss the matter and bring it before the House.
Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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I am disappointed that the Minister for Foreign Affairs has left the Chamber. While the Dáil was not in session during the summer, Ireland changed its position on an important matter. It had a blocking vote, in other words, consensus was required, at the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Ireland has ratified the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. However, this treaty, one of the most important parts of Irish foreign policy, has been endangered by Ireland agreeing to the US-India nuclear agreement, a matter we discussed at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs. There has been an understanding for many years that Ireland would not facilitate the emergence of a new nuclear power such as India and Pakistan which are both nuclear powers. Ireland has used its vote to facilitate an exception with regard to the Nuclear Suppliers Group which has more than 40 members. This has created a situation where new nuclear reactors are not responsible to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy must find another way of raising the matter.
Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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I will not delay the House because the Ceann Comhairle has been very fair.
An issue is raised because it is rare to have legislation on foreign affairs. We must try to establish scrutiny through the treaties and departure from them. Members on this side of the House should know that the non-nuclear proliferation treaty was one of the great achievements of a Fianna Fáil Minister and it was associated with Mr. Frank Aiken. Through stealth when the Dáil was not in session, the Government removed the vote it had and waved on the US-India nuclear agreement.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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There are no circumstances——
Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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We should have time in this House to discuss its implications because it will not stop the Minister for Foreign Affairs talking about threat posed by Iran. They are establishing——
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy has made his point but I cannot allow it because another Deputy might want to go even further afield.
James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Given the fact that we are facing a huge medical legal bill with MRSA and C. difficile in our hospitals and with the Stop Infection Now volunteer group also examining consumer rights law to further claims, when will the Bill dealing with HIQA be introduced? Will it afford it the power to censure hospitals as at present is it toothless? I do not want to provoke the Ceann Comhairle who has been fair, but I would like to provoke some action from the other side of the House.
John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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On the legislation.
Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is not possible to indicate as there is wide-ranging public consultation taking place on the matter.