Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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During yesterday's statements on the Moriarty tribunal, the Taoiseach spoke for half an hour and during that time he managed many attacks on Fianna Fáil but he did not make a single statement concerning the actions and the handling of the awarding of the mobile telephone licence by Fine Gael and the Government in 1995. The specific actions he outlined were intended, in my view, to draw a line under the controversy without actually having to address the findings of the Moriarty report. The Taoiseach in his contribution yesterday stated, "We are responsible for our choices, responsible for our actions" yet he did not find anything whatsoever to criticise in the handling of this affair by the Government of which he was a member.

In the past, all parties in the Dáil agreed to censure a Member on tribunal-related matters. In Government, Fianna Fáil joined with Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin and others to jointly censure the late Deputy Liam Lawlor. The Opposition parties have now all publicly supported a motion of censure of Deputy Michael Lowry. The Tánaiste signalled the Labour Party's position on Deputy Michael Lowry but the Fine Gael position remains unclear. Deputy Lowry's performance last night shows that he does not accept he has ever done anything wrong on any issue. I think the Dáil should be equally clear in its response to that position.

This morning, Fianna Fáil has circulated a text for a motion of censure, calling on Deputy Lowry to resign. Will the Taoiseach commit his party to supporting this motion and will he make time available for it to be debated in the House?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I have not seen the Fianna Fáil motion. I have seen the motion of censure from Sinn Féin which is on the Order Paper. This House does not have the constitutional authority to deny anybody access here if he or she is elected by an electorate from whatever part of the country. I will certainly give consideration to a motion of censure but if Deputy Martin believes that passing a motion about any Deputy, irrespective of the circumstances in which he or she finds themselves, has constitutional authority, I can inform him it does not. The Constitution dictates and sets out the conditions and circumstances under which persons are debarred from attending in the House as elected representatives.

The Moriarty tribunal is the subject of a further discussion today. The report is divided into two parts, findings and conclusions. In respect of the findings, the Government has sent the report to the Garda, the Revenue Commissioners and the Director of Public Prosecutions, these being the competent authorities. In addition, as part of the programme for Government, in advance of the Moriarty report being published, the Government set out a number of areas in which it wishes to take decisive action, including the banning of corporate donations. In respect of the findings and the conclusions of the Moriarty report, as I said yesterday, I have referred these to the relevant Departments in order to have their replies within four weeks on how they propose these findings and conclusions could be implemented. The debate continues today and there will be a further opportunity for Deputy Lowry to contribute. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will conclude the debate. During the course of the day I will give consideration to a motion of censure but a motion calling for the resignation of any Deputy is invalid in that the Constitution sets out the circumstances in which a person might not be able to attend this House. Motions of censure have been passed in the past and have been tabled by my party and I will give this my consideration today.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am well aware of the constitutional situation and I am well aware that the Dáil cannot force a Member out in circumstances such as this. However, a motion of censure makes it very clear the unanimous position of the Dáil with regard to the behaviour of Deputy Lowry as outlined by the Moriarty tribunal. It is as simple as that. This is about the Dáil making a statement in as concrete and determined a fashion as possible for it about the behaviour of Deputy Lowry, as found by the Moriarty tribunal. The Taoiseach has been on notice since the publication of the findings of the Moriarty tribunal that a motion of this kind could come before the House. It is not good enough that the Taoiseach would come into the House and say he will consider the wording and so on. He knows well what a motion of censure would entail and what the content of such a motion would be. As the Taoiseach said, the House has had similar motions of censure in the past which he pursued in a vigorous and energetic manner. Why has he a problem now? I read the Taoiseach's contribution last night and I note an ambivalence and an equivocation in the contribution with regard to Deputy Lowry and also with regard to the findings of the Moriarty tribunal. It is extraordinary that he has not yet said in this House that he accepts the findings of fact of the Moriarty tribunal. Does he accept the findings of fact as outlined by Mr. Justice Moriarty in his report?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It is quite extraordinary coming from the moral high ground on which the Deputy now stands-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Forget that now. The Taoiseach should answer the question.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Taoiseach to reply, please.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Bring back the men from Taca.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Martin's arrogance knows no bounds. He sat on these benches and he travelled the world on behalf of the people of this country, because Deputy Lowry and others had secret deals with his party which he refused to publish. I stated without any ambivalence at the beginning of my contribution yesterday that I am somewhat constrained because of the legal cases pending out of the Moriarty tribunal. I said both before the Moriarty report was ever published and when it was published that in an ideal world Deputy Lowry would resign from the House but we do not live in an ideal world. If Deputy Martin knows the Constitution, as he purports to do, then he will know that a motion of censure calling for the resignation of a Deputy is invalid-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We all know that.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Motions of censure are valid here and have been passed before, including motions tabled by Fine Gael. I will give consideration to such a motion today and the Minister in his response this morning will deal with the outline. In so far as the Moriarty tribunal report is concerned, I welcome its publication and I said so last night and there is no ambiguity in my response. The report is divided into two sections, findings and conclusions and recommendations. The findings have to be dealt with by a competent authority here.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Does the Taoiseach accept the findings?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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As Deputy Martin said, the conclusions are drawn by the sole member the tribunal and I have sent these conclusions to the competent authorities. I do not stand in judgment-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Does the Taoiseach accept them?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----on any man or woman in this country because that is not my position. The competent authorities to investigate the findings of the Moriarty tribunal are the Garda Síochána, the Revenue Commissioners and the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources immediately sent the report to them. The Government will see to it that there is a separation of business and politics. We will bring forward the ban on corporate donations and legislation -----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is all agreed.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy's party did not do it for 14 years.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Does the Taoiseach accept the findings of the Moriarty tribunal?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----giving legal protection to whistleblowers.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Does Deputy Martin accept it?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I accepted it already; it is on record.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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It must be the first one the Deputy ever accepted.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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No it is not actually, Deputy Shatter.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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After 14 years the Moriarty report is divided into two sections: findings; and conclusions.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I know all that. Does the Taoiseach accept the findings or not?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I wish to call-----

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I find the actions and the indictment of the Deputy contained in the Moriarty report to be certainly conduct most unbecoming of a public representative in this House. I have said that on many occasions. If we lived in an ideal world Deputy Lowry would not be here, but we do not live in that ideal world and I cannot speak - nor can Deputy Martin - for the electorate of Tipperary North or any other constituency in the country.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I call Deputy Adams.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is extraordinary that the Taoiseach would not go on the record in terms of the findings of the report.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask Deputy Martin to resume his seat.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is an extraordinary position that the Taoiseach of this country will not say whether he accepts findings of fact of the tribunal.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask Deputy Martin to resume his seat.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is not acceptable. It is unprecedented.

A Deputy:

No, it is not.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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This is the-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I call Deputy Adams. Deputy Martin, please resume your seat.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----biggest political scandal in the history of the State and the Taoiseach cannot comment on-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask the Deputy to resume his seat.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----the findings of fact of a judge of a tribunal that was established unanimously by this House.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Martin, do you wish me to name you?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is a disgrace.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Martin should read his brief.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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There is no credibility to the Deputy's moral indignation. He ignored everything Mr. Justice Moriarty said about his party's former leader, Charles Haughey.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We dealt with all of that in here.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Could I have some order please? Minister, Deputy Shatter, please.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Hypocrisy.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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It is difficult to find greater hypocrisy.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I share some of the Taoiseach's bewilderment at the grandstanding of Fianna Fáil on this issue.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is rich.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Sinn Féin has tabled a censure motion. This is nothing personal about Deputy Lowry at all. The tribunal, which was established by the Dáil, has come back with a report. Every Deputy who spoke on this yesterday, except the Deputy who is the respondent in many ways, said they accepted the conclusions and recommendations of the report. We simply brought it forward almost to get rid of a distraction. We believe the report, if one likes, is to do with almost Deputy Lawlor being the one who was caught out - I am sorry, I mean Deputy Lowry.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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We want to deal with that business in an efficient way and then we want to get on to the other recommendations of the report, those which the Taoiseach has committed to implement. We want to work with the Government in doing that and particularly naming the corporate donors to Fine Gael and other parties, being transparent, and breaking the connection between big business and the political system.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Can we have a question, please?

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Can the motion be taken tonight in Government time? Fianna Fáil has indicated its desire to support it. Can the Government support it and can it be taken in Government time so that we get this out of the way and then get into the substantive issues, which are about confidence in this political system and the Oireachtas?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I have seen the Sinn Féin motion, which is a very straightforward motion of censure in respect of the activities of Deputy Lowry outlined in the findings of the Moriarty tribunal report. I find nothing wrong with that motion of censure. I want to consider the implications of a motion of censure here in respect of legal cases that are pending. Before this debate ends today, I will give the Deputy an answer in respect of what action we can, by agreement, take in respect of censure motions. The issue of a motion of the Dáil banning any Member from the House will not stand up-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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How come?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----but there have been motions of censure in the past. This is a case in which the House clearly finds the actions of Deputy Lowry not in keeping with good public representation.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I agree with the Taoiseach and I accept what he says about the expulsion of a Member from the House, which is fair enough. We need to send a very clear signal of our view of this. It just happens to be this particular Deputy at this time. We need to send a signal to the public. While the Government makes up its mind whether it will support the censure motion, can I ask that it be taken in Government time? Regardless of its position on the motion - I would like to think it would support it - can it be taken in Government time this evening so that we are not still talking about this matter in two or three weeks time?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It could be somewhat awkward, but I believe there is scope for consideration of an agreed motion of censure. I need to consider the knock-on implications given that this is a serious report from a serious sole member who produced the report. I will ask the Whip to consult with the Opposition Whips to determine what is possible here. This debate will go on until late this evening, but I would like to think we could deal with this in an appropriate manner and I will communicate through the Whip with the Opposition leaders during the course of the day.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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I wish to change track for a few minutes. A major crisis faces the people on the issue of mental health and suicide. I would like to focus my questions to the Taoiseach today so as to ensure action on this priority issue. Suicide is a growing problem in Ireland with approximately 400 deaths per year. Given that suicide rates have increased by 24% and self-harm rates by 11%, I ask the Taoiseach to make this a priority issue in the Government's health plans.

What plans does the Taoiseach have to reduce stigma in the mental health area? Will the Government establish a dedicated executive position within the HSE to be responsible for implementing A Vision for Change? This should be led by a director of mental health services who has executive powers, an implementation budget and responsibility to report publicly on progress. Will the Taoiseach publish a comprehensive implementation plan for A Vision for Change, setting out deliverables, a timeline and who is responsible? Can the Taoiseach commit to increasing funding of mental health services from 5% to 8% of the health budget by 2016 to ensure transparency by ring-fencing an annual mental health budget? The funding issue should not be allowed to be an obstacle. This week we discovered that the port tunnel cost €804 million, which was 50% higher than its budget.

I ask the Taoiseach to enact legislation to protect the rights of people with disabilities and bind public and private sector employers, and service providers with regard to the principles in A Vision for Change.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy in this matter, which has been a source of concern and interest for me for many years. From our political party, Deputy Neville raised the question of the impact of the tragic phenomenon of suicide for more than a decade. The Government has appointed the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to have specific responsibility in this area to deal with mental health and the issue of suicide. As the Deputy is aware, a number of programmes, including Sea Change, Ripple and others, deal with this central issue. I have been in too many kitchens in homes throughout the country where the depth of silence and pain is unspeakable in the sense of the tragedy of suicide. It is happening all too often particularly to young men in towns and cities. It is only by interacting with families - as the Deputy has done - where this tragedy has visited their door that one can understand its implications and consequences.

I will make arrangements for the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to make statements in this regard at an appropriate time in order to increase the awareness of both of these areas and to outline what she will be able to implement this year, bearing in mind budgetary constraints. As part of the introduction of changed systems in health proposed in the programme for Government, the mental health area will be treated as a normal element of what will be provided in primary care centres. As the Deputy is aware, 70,000 people a year attempt self-harm and there are at least 300,000 people on an annual basis who suffer from elements of mental health illness. This is an area that is important to many people and yet in many ways it has been forgotten. The Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, will see to it that does not happen.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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I thank the Taoiseach for his response on this important issue. I take his point about Deputy Dan Neville and the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, on their sincerity in getting involved in this issue. Is the Taoiseach aware that the current youth suicide rates in Ireland are the fifth highest in the European Union? The highest rate of suicide is found among young men between the ages of 20 and 29 years. Almost five times more men than women have died from suicide and suicide is the principal cause of death for men aged 15 to 35 years. It is a major national crisis. It is a huge problem for this country. Does the Taoiseach know that males are less likely than females to have attended mental health services? What will he do to resolve this crisis?

Given the current economic climate with mass unemployment, which is an important risk factor for suicide, does the Taoiseach know that almost a third of the men who committed suicide were unemployed and two-thirds of them had been unemployed for more than a year? The figures speak for themselves. I ask the Taoiseach to act on this matter in the next couple of months. There are examples of good practice in Scotland and New Zealand in regard to reducing the stigma around mental health. I ask the Taoiseach, the Minister of State and those with a serious interest in this issue to examine the sensible solutions to the major problem facing these people.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The blueprint in respect of A Vision for Change has been well written and put together for a long number of years. It needs to be implemented effectively. The Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, will outline their proposals that she, along with the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Reilly, have in this area when we make arrangements for that debate. I met a number of Traveller women last week and the incidence of suicide among young Traveller males is at an extraordinary level. When one meets them in their own place, one finds they are taking various educational courses and trying to understand the implications of the range of difficulties that arise from mental health problems.

Suicide, unfortunately, ranks highly in the wrong place. It is true to say that for young males it is a tragic phenomenon. As the Deputy is aware, in too many cases copycat cases arise, often in the same locality. A number of public representatives in our party have lost family members to suicide. While it was a tragedy, their public life exposes them to cases where other families have faced the same issue and there is strength arising from those tragedies. Deputy McGrath can take it that this is an area of priority interest for this Government and I expect the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, and the Minister for Health to ensure that happens. The Deputy's questions are welcome in highlighting what is all too often a tragedy that should never have to visit a household.