Dáil debates

Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Ceisteanna - Questions

Programmes for Government

2:30 pm

Photo of Gerry AdamsGerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1: To ask the Taoiseach if he will set out the elements of the Programme for Government for which he and his Department are directly responsible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5308/11]

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 2: To ask the Taoiseach the procedures he intends to put in place to review implementation of the Programme for Government and if he will publish a detailed implementation timetable [5341/11]

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.

Before taking the questions, having conducted ordinary Taoiseach's questions, as they are called, from the far side for so long, I made the point on many occasions that perhaps we should drop one of these on a Tuesday or Wednesday and insert topical issues or whatever else as part of Dáil reform. When Deputies begin to look at this, perhaps we could consider these things. As Deputy Martin knows, these questions come around on a very regular basis.

The programme for Government sets out the measures this Government intends to take to tackle the many and varied challenges facing the country. The programme's objectives are underpinned by the mandate of the people. It will be the responsibility of each Minister to progress those actions and initiatives that fall within his or her Department's area in order to achieve the implementation of the programme.

It is my responsibility as Taoiseach, working closely with the Tánaiste, to lead the process of reform which is at the heart of the programme. I will be reviewing progress on a regular basis with each Minister. Through the Government economic management council, I will be working with the Tánaiste and the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure that our economic policy agenda, in particular, is implemented with pace and consistency.

The primary role of the Department of the Taoiseach is to support me in my role as Head of Government and to support the Government through the Cabinet process. Accordingly, the Department will be supporting the implementation of the programme as a whole and it will do this with a more explicit focus on its role as a Cabinet office. The procedures to reflect the new focus are being developed and will be announced shortly. However, it is not my intention that the Department will exercise executive functions with regard to the programme for Government generally. My Department will have specific responsibility in supporting the Chief Whip in advancing the programme's proposals for Dáil reform and setting in train the necessary legislation for a referendum to abolish the Seanad.

Photo of Gerry AdamsGerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Tá mé an-sásta an Taoiseach a fheiceáil anseo arís. Bhí cuairt maith againn go dtí na Stáit Aontaithe.

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Labhair an Teachta go maith.

Photo of Gerry AdamsGerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Tá a lán fadhbanna anseo; mar shampla, tuairisc Moriarty. Níl mé sastá leis an freagra a thug an Taoiseach maidir le chlár an Rialtais. He never mentioned jobs once, yet during the election campaign, he secured a mandate with the slogan, "Let's Get Ireland Working". He has committed to establishing a fund to resource jobs. When will that happen? Will legislation be required? How much will be invested in it? Where will the Government get the money?

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Tá mé sásta gur tháinig an Teachta ar ais go sábháilte. Bhí áthas orm buaileadh leis thall i Meiriceá.

The Deputy asked me to set out the elements of the programme for Government for which my Department and I are directly responsible and I did so. The programme is essentially about reform, change, getting Ireland back to work and providing opportunities for our people. That is why the initiatives to be taken by the Ministers for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Enterprise and Innovation and others will be focused directly on areas of improvement in the unemployment situation.

The question the Deputy tabled asked about the elements for which I have responsibility. As Head of Government, it is my intention to interact on a regular basis with Ministers to see that the programme for Government, for which we were given a strong mandate by the people, is implemented. As the Deputy will be aware, we intend to set out an early report card on achievements in this regard, including a jobs budget in our first 100 days in office to stimulate initiatives and investment within the economy.

Photo of Gerry AdamsGerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I do not want to mention the five point plan but the Taoiseach referred to what he has described as a "jobs fund" in his reply. Some of the funding for this is to be drawn down from the National Pensions Reserve Fund but some is also be drawn down by selling off State assets. The Taoiseach will be aware that opposition is growing on this issue with people particularly concerned about Coillte and Bord na Móna. As a man from the county of Davitt, he will know if the Government goes ahead with this, it will be the biggest sale of Irish land since the Land War and this time will be returned to the privateers and the absentee landlords. Will the Government proceed with this sale of State assets, land and resources?

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that when we referred to the sale of assets, we referred to the sale of non-strategic State assets and then only at an appropriate time where there would be a reasonable gain for the State. It is not proposed to sell Coillte and while the report to which the Deputy referred makes that recommendation, it is not part of the programme for Government.

Photo of Gerry AdamsGerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I very much welcome that.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In my question I asked for a detailed timetable for the implementation of the Government programme. What goes to the core of the programme is a commitment to transparency, openness and so forth. When did the Taoiseach and the Government become aware that the Moriarty tribunal report was to be published this morning? It is a matter of grave importance. The findings have grave implications for the State and the taxpayer and represent a damning indictment on the collective decision taken by the then Government in the awarding of the mobile telephone licence and in the process that led to its award. In the spirit of the programme for Government, will the Taoiseach and the Ministers who were members of that Government be prepared to come before the House to answer specific questions regarding their role in that collective decision to award the licence to the particular telephone company and to account for the process that led to that?

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his comments on openness. I assure him that I was informed of the pending publication of the Moriarty tribunal report as I walked to the Cabinet meeting this morning. The Secretary to the Government was informed by the tribunal that it was in the process of publishing it on-line with the relevant information. This report has been 14 years in the making. It has cost a considerable amount of money. I welcome the fact that, at long last, it is published. It is a report, however, that deserves the most serious analysis. It deserves to be read seriously, which I intend to do. There are lessons to be drawn from it and they will be drawn from it. I have not seen the report yet and have not had time to even glance through any of its 2,500 pages. I have heard some comment in the media but this is a report that deserves serious analysis, and it will get that from this Government.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is a very serious report and the findings are grave. I want to ask, in the context of the programme for Government-----

Photo of Seán BarrettSeán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Sorry, Deputy, it has nothing to do with the programme for Government.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It has, a Cheann Comhairle.

Photo of Seán BarrettSeán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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No. We are dealing with that matter later.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am not dealing with the report itself. I am dealing with-----

Photo of Seán BarrettSeán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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It is nothing to do with the programme for Government.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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A Cheann Comhairle, the programme for Government is on the agenda here in terms of the question.

Photo of Seán BarrettSeán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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That is to be dealt with by way of special notice question after the-----

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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If the Ceann Comhairle would allow me to make my point. In the spirit of the programme for Government, which is very strong on transparency, honesty and accountability for actions taken, the Taoiseach did not answer my basic question: Is he prepared, along with the other Ministers who were a party to that collective decision taken in 1995, to come before the House to answer any questions Members may have on the role they played in that? Yes or no.

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Photo of Joe HigginsJoe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Taoiseach mentioned a number of mechanisms for a review of the programme for Government. It would have been helpful if his answer was circulated at the time so that we could get the detail of that and ask him more precise questions. Regarding the implementation of the programme for Government, what benchmarks has the Taoiseach set with regard to critical areas of that programme? Regarding the massive crisis of 440,000 of our people wasting in unemployment, has the Taoiseach a benchmark as to how much reduced that unemployment rate should be within six or 12 months of his Government taking office? It is critical that we have such answers because his programme on job creation is extremely vague.

With regard to other issues, what confidence can we have in the Government living up to its claims in the programme for Government to having a modern, fair, socially inclusive and equal society by the end of the Taoiseach's term if his Minister for Finance, within a week of the formation of Government, has jettisoned a critical aspect of the programme called burden sharing requiring the losing gambling bond holders not to get their money back from the Irish people? Since that has already been jettisoned, what confidence can we have in other aspects of the Taoiseach's programme?

Finally, the critical issue of the debt foisted on the Irish people as a result of the reckless speculation by bankers raises the question, according to the Taoiseach's Minister for Finance, of the sustainability of this country meeting the debt requirements. What benchmark does the Taoiseach have on that as a Government? For example, what payment of interest would he consider beyond which the State cannot go? What is the total amount etc.? The Taoiseach must be very precise on these issues.

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It is very difficult to be precise about the numbers who will be working in six months, 18 months or two years time. The Deputy cannot be precise, nor can I, but I can say that the entire focus of this Government is to rectify the position in so far as public finances are concerned, restore those finances to a state of good health and, where we can, provide a stimulus and initiatives to ensure that people, young people in particular, can have career opportunities to pursue in this country if that if their wish.

The Deputy asked me about benchmarks. As I have made known, I have asked each Minister, in respect of his or her responsibilities under the programme for Government, to produce an itemised list of projects and proposals which he or she expects to have implemented within the first 100 days. We have also made it clear that we intend to introduce a jobs budget and set out the conditions for it, whereby confidence can be restored and initiatives taken to create employment and training opportunities.

In respect of social inclusiveness, one of the great tragedies of the last decade was the chasm that opened between government and the people. The arm of democracy never reached thousands of people throughout the country. They felt isolated, alone and bereft and that they had been left behind with respect to the actions of the Government. That bridge must be rebuilt and the reconnection made again in a strong way. A good Government which listens to people and works with them in a spirit of co-operation can rebuild it and our reputation at home and abroad can be restored.

The Deputy is wrong to say the Minister for Finance jettisoned burden sharing, a matter that will be discussed later today in the Dáil when the Deputy will have an opportunity to make his points. There are serious issues to be discussed at the Council meeting on Thursday and Friday, including the unfolding situation in Libya and the provision of further support from the European Union for the stricken people of Japan following the tsunami, earthquake and the problems with the nuclear reactor. The economic situation will be the focus of the Heads of Government on Thursday and Friday. I cannot say what the outcome will be because I would like to be clear on the extent of exposure in the banks to indebtedness and, as the Deputy is aware, the stress tests are being completed.