Dáil debates
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed)
Programme for Government
4:00 pm
Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 17: To ask the Taoiseach if he plans to publish a revised Programme for Government. [21195/11]
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 18: To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide a progress report on the Programme for Government as a new Dáil Éireann session commences [24420/11]
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 18 together.
There are no plans to publish a revised programme for Government and it is not intended to provide a progress report at the start of each new Dáil session.
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thought the Taoiseach might give that answer.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Then there was no point in asking the question.
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I am surprised he would not consider publishing a revised programme for Government, given the fact that he has had several U-turns since the original programme was put in place. It is a fair point. The transparent thing to do is to set it down on paper. In the revised programme the Taoiseach might make clear his plans in respect of semi-State companies, such as the ESB and others. The Labour Party might help him set out what he regards to be strategic assets.
Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I helped the Deputy and she was very ungracious. She never acknowledged it.
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Through the Chair, please.
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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-----I wager I will never require help from your good self. In respect of the programme for Government, who pulls the string? The Taoiseach comes into the Chamber day after day and tells us about the constraints of the EU and IMF or decisions made by the previous Administration. It seems to be the Taoiseach's catch-all cover on every issue. Why not have a revised programme for Government? As the Government has now been in situ for six or seven months and it is very clear that its agenda is essentially that of the previous Administration, why not set this down in clear and transparent terms? The Taoiseach said he would level with the people. Would that not be part of the levelling process?
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thought the Deputy might give that answer.
Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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It was a question, not an answer.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I do not want to give out about the IMF or the European Union, or the actions of the previous Government. The Deputy should know of some of the things the Government has done: it provided for a reversal of the cut in the minimum wage from 1 July; the lower rate of employers' PRSI was halved from 1 July; the VAT rate on tourism-related services was cut by one third from 1 July; the new national internship scheme with 5,000 places commenced in July; there is an extra 15,900 places in further education and training programmes; there is the new national employment and entitlements service to replace FÁS; there is an extra €75 million for shovel-ready transport projects to create 1,000 jobs; there is an extra €40 million for the 2011 summer works scheme for 453 schools to create 2,400 jobs; extra funding has been committed for an applied research centre in cloud computing and also a new energy research centre; there is a new support programme for home energy retrofitting to create an estimated 2,000 jobs; there is a visa waiver programme for certain short stay visitors; substantial work has been completed on the implementation of the NewEra investment plan; there is a new memorandum of understanding between China and Ireland on sharing expertise in food safety, laboratory controls, veterinary systems, animal husbandry and the seafood sector which will foster stronger trade links; the national procurement service website for buyers and suppliers was launched; there has been a comprehensive restructuring and recapitalisation plan for the banking system to release at least €30 billion in new domestic lending in the period 2011 to 2013; there has been the merger of AIB and the EBS; there is to be the commencement of tendering for a temporary partial credit guarantee scheme for SMEs, to be introduced in the autumn, with direct implications for small business; there have been significant advances in burden-sharing with bondholders; there has been ongoing replacement of pre-September 2008 bank directors; legislation has been published to tackle white collar crime; in respect of the public finances, a comprehensive review of expenditure has commenced and is practically completed; a review of the capital programme has commenced; borrowing targets are on track; there has been the enactment of the Finance (No. 2) Bill - the jobs initiative; there has been the publication of the Finance (No. 3) Bill dealing with civil partnership; we have delivered targeted payroll reductions under the Croke Park agreement; there has been successful completion of the first and second quarterly programme review mission with the European Commission, the ECB and the IMF; we have renegotiated the programme of support to accommodate the jobs initiative; we have secured the support of the troika for an interest rate reduction; we have secured troika support for a managed and orderly downsizing of the banking system to avoid excessive fire sale losses and limit taxpayer support; ambassadors have been recalled to Dublin for a summit on Ireland's response to the crisis; an extensive programme of bilateral meetings aimed at repairing Ireland's international reputation and re-engaging with key EU and international partners is under way; there have been pay cuts for the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Ministers; there has been a halving of the cost of ministerial transport; there has been new legislation for the effective banning of corporate donations, to cut the number of Deputies at the next general election, and on other political reforms, including increasing female participation in politics, new six-month time limits for by-elections and lower spending limits for presidential elections; there has been measures to increase the number of Dáil sitting days by more than 33% by cutting the length of Dáil holidays-----
Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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What about senior civil servants' pay?
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach has one minute left.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----we have cut the number of Dáil committees; there has been the replacement of the board of the HSE, ahead of the introduction of legislation to abolish it; there have been reforms in respect of the Top Level Appointments Committee; additional staff have been allocated to the Garda vetting unit to tackle the backlog; in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food consultants have been engaged on a pro bono basis to assist both in the comprehensive spending review and the State assets review; agreement to pay a dividend to the State in 2011 has been secured from Coillte, while the local office reorganisation has been completed, saving €30 million annually; we have initiated the design of a new agency for child protection and the provision of family support; the new special delivery unit to tackle unacceptable hospital waiting lists has been implemented; there has been Cabinet approval for the establishment of a universal health insurance implementation group-----
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----some €5 million has been allocated to alleviate difficulties in unfinished housing estates; there is a new national co-ordination committee to tackle the problem of ghost estates-----
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----we have established a forum on patronage and pluralism in schools-----
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----the "Write to Read" pilot scheme has been extended-----
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----the Ryan implementation oversight group is now chaired by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs-----
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----there is a new dialogue with NAMA-----
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----on the use of some empty buildings for cultural purposes; there is agreement with stakeholders that turf-cutting should cease on designated special area of conservation bogs, a new compensation scheme and a peatlands council-----
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----we approved the deployment of approximately 440 Army personnel to Lebanon at the end of June; there is a competition under way for the appointment of doctors to the Defence Forces medical corps-----
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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This is a great endorsement of the efforts of the previous Government; the Taoiseach should keep reading.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----and we introduced mandatory breath testing at the scene of accidents resulting in injury.
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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They are all our policies.
Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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How many quangos is that?
Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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And Ireland beat Australia.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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These are some of the decisions taken by the Government in the past 20 weeks.
Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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It is an amazing amount for six months.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Deputy McDonald will also be aware of the long list of items of legislation that must now be published which has been time-lined as a requirement of the memorandum of understanding with the troika. She will be a very busy young Deputy between now and Christmas, contributing to all of this legislation. I am sure she will study this partial list of achievements arising from decisions made by the Government as opposed to giving out about anybody else.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Did the Deputy anticipate that reply?
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Perhaps Deputy Durkan might take another little break.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I apologise, a Cheann Comhairle.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Taoiseach says he has no plans to publish a revised programme for Government as the new Dáil session begins. Why does he have no such plans when it is clear that the programme he borrowed from Fianna Fáil based on austerity is spectacularly failing the people? There are record numbers on the live register and record numbers of long-term unemployed. A policy of austerity has been widely discredited by bodies as diverse as UNCTAD, as well as by right-wing economists. Even defenders of capitalism now realise that austerity has been a disaster, cutting the market and creating massive unemployment by depressing the market.
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Does the Deputy have a question?
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Rather than continuing with these discredited and failed policies, should the Government not introduce a new programme for Government to reverse entirely these disastrous neoliberal policies of slash and burn to pay bondholders? The Government should take a different course.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I forgot to mention the retrofit programme under the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources-----
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The former Minister, Eamon Ryan, introduced it.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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----- which has the potential to create 6,000 new jobs.
I do not intend to publish a new programme for Government. Even Deputy Higgins will have heard some of the soundings from international commentators and some at home who said a few weeks ago the country was going over the edge. They now see us in a different place from many other countries in Europe. For the first time there is a growing sense of confidence and our reputation is being restored because Ireland is making progress.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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It is all about reputation in the markets and satisfying them, the sharks.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy that having 300,000 on the live register who are unemployed is not satisfactory. I need his help on this and I am sure he will give it. I am sure those in his constituency will be interested in the legislation dealing with the partial loan guarantee scheme which is to be introduced in coming weeks, the micro-finance system we will introduce, and our efforts to cut red tape, reduce administration, increase competitiveness and employ more people. While having to deal with the requirements signed off on in terms of numbers, our focus is on getting as many people back to work in the shortest possible time. This also affects the Deputy's constituency. As I said, I have no intention of publishing a new programme for Government. The programme for Government we have in place will restore the country's fortunes and the people's prosperity.
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Does Deputy McDonald have a supplementary question?
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thought the Chair was not going to return to me.
Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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How could he forget the Deputy?
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Deputy McDonald should not be like that.
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy has a question.
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach could have added to his list-----
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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A supplementary question, please, Deputy.
Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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She should ask a question as these are questions to the Taoiseach.
Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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She should propose a question for answer by the Taoiseach.
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I will move to use the interrogative case - the Taoiseach could have outlined that his comprehensive spending review is like a sword of Damocles hanging over the population headed up by the cutback Minister, Deputy Howlin.
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Can I have a question from the Deputy?
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach could also concede, as others have suggested, that his strategy is failing in respect of people who are on the dole but he said he will not produce a revised programme for Government. I presume from that we will just have to put it together line by line, chapter by chapter, as he comes in here, fails the people------
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Can I have a question from the Deputy?
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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-----and then points across the Chamber at Fianna Fáil.
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Can I have a question from the Deputy?
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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There is a question in there somewhere.
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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When will the Taoiseach give us concrete information on his plans for the commercial semi-States?
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I will take a final supplementary from Deputy Martin.
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach has a long list of questions to deal with.
Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Micheál will deal with those.
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Has Deputy Martin a quick supplementary?
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have a quick one. In regard to the progress report, surely there is a justification for it on the basis the Government now has about €1.5 billion to €2 billion more available per annum than was predicted because of the Greek crisis and all that has ensued from it.
Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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In fairness, Fianna Fáil did not cause that.
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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You did not either. I put it to the Taoiseach that there probably is a need to review the programme. There are all sorts of commitments coming out about abandoning the Government's commitment to student fees. In terms of special needs education ------
Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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A question, please, Deputy.
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----there is no need for what is going on there. A very small amount is needed to sort out that provision. What is required is a pragmatic response and so on. Can the Taoiseach indicate whether the comprehensive spending review, in line with the programme for Government, will be published in early October? There is a need to review it.
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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On the issue of the semi-State bodies, the programme for Government is clear that the requirement is to realise €2 billion over the lifetime of the programme for the appropriate sale of non-strategic State assets at a time that the Government considers opportune. A debate on that during Private Members' time will take place this evening and tomorrow. Deputy McDonald will have all the information that is relevant and on which she can comment during the course of that debate.
The question Deputy Martin asked does not change my view. We have a programme for Government; it is a very new and challenging one and we intend to implement it. The situation in so far as the eurozone is concerned is of very great interest to us and it is being monitored very closely by the Minister for Finance and by the Government in general. As we prepare for the next visit of the troika, the publication of a fiscal plan for the next three years and the preparation of the Estimates leading to the budget in early December, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform will provide opportunities for the House to debate and discuss the decisions we have to take and consider.
Written Answers follow Adjournment.