Public Affairs

Oireachtas round-up

Oireachtas

The primary care centres dispute, pressures on farmers and steps toward greater European integration were major items on the Oireachtas agenda in October.

Reflecting on a summer of Irish sporting glory, Enda Kenny put his “admiration for the efforts of all of those who competed for Ireland” on the record of the House on 2 October and repeated his “heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to all those who represented Ireland in the Paralympics.”

The next day, Fianna Fáil TD Billy Kelleher regretted that the “sordid, grubby affair of primary care centre selection” was “dominating the headlines again”. Health Minister James Reilly denied any wrongdoing when he appeared before the House. Reilly stated that “all Cabinet colleagues were able to sign off” on the list of primary care centres and it was therefore “a government decision.”

In his address to the Dáil the next day, European Parliament President Martin Schulz supported the adjustment of Ireland’s bail-out programme before the end of the year. Schulz has been keen to raise the Parliament’s profile and wants it to be counted as equal to national governments. “Post-war Europe is founded on the sober acknowledgement of the fact that our interests can no longer be separated from those of our neighbours,” he remarked. “Either we all lose or we all win.”

Éamon Ó Cuív meanwhile brought the difficulties facing farmers to the Dáil’s attention on 9-10 October with his motion calling for an “effective” essential fuel user rebate. Speakers from the Government benches referred repeatedly to Food Harvest 2020 but Ó Cuív regretted that the coalition “never had the grace to recognise the work done by the previous administration in this regard.”

The second stage of the Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012 marked a further step towards the State’s ratification of the Stability Treaty. “A number of deputies criticised the Bill as being a charter for continued austerity and therefore not sustainable,” Alan Shatter remarked as its debate concluded. “What is not sustainable is the prospect of continuing to borrow approximately €1.5 billion each and every month.”

Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, with Fianna Fáil support, challenged the Government to reverse cuts to home care budgets. James Reilly, in turn, maintained that “all developments can only be addressed in the light of the current economic and budgetary pressures” and noted that Sinn Féin was also cutting services in the North; the party denies the accusation.

Finian McGrath, meanwhile, resigned as chair of the Technical Group after Mick Wallace’s re-admission. In the Seanad, Katherine Zappone called for the Government to postpone its referendum on abolition and instead allow a debate on “radical reform.” Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fáil) also summed up the historic importance of that decision as “if there is an abolition of this House, it will be gone and not return.”

Government bills before the Oireachtas
House Bill Stage
Dáil Betting (Amendment) Bill 2012 Order for second stage
Dáil Credit Reporting Bill 2012 Order for second stage
Dáil Credit Union Bill 2012 Order for second stage
Dáil Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012 Order for second stage
Dáil Europol Bill 2012 Order for second stage
Dáil Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012 Order for second stage
Dáil Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012 Order for second stage
Dáil Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012 Order for second stage
Dáil Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012 Order for second stage
Dáil Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012 Committee
Dáil Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 201 Committee
Dáil Construction Contracts Bill 2010 Committee
Dáil Education and Training Boards Bill 2012 Committee
Dáil Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2012 Committee
Dáil Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Bill 2012 Committee
Dáil Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010 Committee
Dáil Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011 Committee
Dáil National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012 Committee
Dáil Personal Insolvency Bill 2012 Order for report
Dáil Tribunals of Inquiry Bill 2005 Order for report
Seanad Civil Defence Bill 2012 Order for second stage
Seanad Privacy Bill 2006 Order for second stage
Seanad Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012 Committee
Seanad Coroners Bill 2007 Committee
Seanad Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2012 Committee
Seanad Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012 Committee
Seanad Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012 Order for report
Seanad Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008 Awaiting Dáil amendments
Seanad Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012 Final
Private member’s motions
Date Motion Stage
2-3 October Prioritise addiction as a health issue and not primarily as a criminal issue and ensure the necessary allocation of resources (Maureen O’Sullivan TD, Independent) Defeated
(72-39)
4 October Recognising the importance of an effective and well-resourced Common Agricultural Policy in creating sustainable development of agriculture across Europe (Senator Michael Comiskey, Fine Gael) Agreed with amendment
9-10 October Acknowledging the central role that agriculture plays at the heart of rural life and as the engine of the economy of rural Ireland (Éamon Ó Cuív TD, Fianna Fáil) Defeated
(87-45)
10 October Call for clarity over selection of primary care centre sites (Senator Marc MacSharry, Fianna Fáil) Defeated
(32-11)
16-17 October Immediately reverse the cuts to home help hours and home care packages and to return funding to pre-Budget 2012 levels (Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, Sinn Féin) Defeated
(78-49)
Private member’s bills
House Bill Stage
Dáil Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 2012 (Willie O’Dea, Fianna Fáil) First
Dáil Nuclear Weapons (Prohibition of Investments) Bill 2012 (Eoghan Murphy, Fine Gael) First
Dáil Social Welfare (Amnesty) Bill 2012 First
Seanad Mortgage Credit (Loans and Bonds) Bill 2012 First
Seanad Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2011 Awaiting Dáil amendments
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