It is proposed to take No. 12, motion re Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998; No. 18, motion re Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009; and No. 19 - Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013 - Second Stage (resumed).

It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the Dáil shall sit later than 9 p.m. and shall adjourn not later than 10 p.m.; and No. 12 and No. 18 shall be moved and debated together and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 45 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: the speech of a Minister or Minister of State and of the main spokespersons for Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Technical Group, who shall be called upon in that order, and who may share their time, shall not exceed ten minutes in each case; and a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed five minutes. Private Members' business shall be No. 113 - motion re trade union movement and workers' rights (resumed) to conclude at 9 p.m., if not previously concluded.

There are two proposals to be put to the House. Is the proposal that the Dáil shall sit later than 9 p.m. and adjourn not later than 10 p.m. agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with Nos. 12 and 18, motion re Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and motion re Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 agreed to? Agreed.

In the legislative programme, the Health (Amendment) Bill, which is before the Seanad, is listed as providing for "the extending of a publicly funded GP service without fees". The Bill was published late last Friday and is being debated in the Seanad this week. However, there is no section to deal with free GP care and there is no explanation of that. Why is that the case? Can we expect an amendment to include the legislative commitment in the programme for Government when the Bill comes to this House or will there be a separate Bill to deal with free GP care? If the latter, when can we expect that Bill to be published?

The programme for Government also promises to introduce a new patient safety authority. I do not understand why there is a need for one given that the Health Information and Quality Authority is probably emerging and developing an excellent reputation for its work. None the less that is a clear commitment in the programme for Government. When is the legislation providing for that authority expected to come before the House?

I do not have an indication of a date on the second issue of the patient safety authority, but I will ask the Minister to revert to the Deputy on it. The Deputy is correct in what he said about the Health (Amendment) Bill. The section on the provision of free GP care was taken out of that Bill deliberately because it will be introduced in separate legislation as opposed to through amendment. I expect we should see that Bill before the end of the year.

Did the Minister say the end of the year?

That is the indication I have - before the end of the year.

The Minister of State, Deputy White, gave the commitment that he would have it by the end of this session if I am not mistaken. I refer to the commitment on the extension of GP cover for those with long-term illnesses, for example. That was resiled from, but the Minister of State promised he would have legislative proposals on that before the end of this session. Is the Minister now saying it has gone back to the next session?

I am saying we are actively working on it. I understand advice is being sought from the Office of the Attorney General because it is complex legislation. However, we will bring that forward as soon as we can. There is no intentional delay here.

It is back to the Attorney General again.

This is a question of getting it right, but I expect the Deputy will see it early in the autumn.

Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur faoi reachtaíocht atá forógraithe. The programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce consolidated and reformed domestic violence legislation to address all aspects of domestic violence, threatened violence and intimidation in a manner that provides protection to victims. I have raised this issue with the Taoiseach on a number of occasions. Given the recent number of high-profile cases of violence against women, I believe this is even more urgently required. The Minister may know that Women's Aid reported a 55% increase in the number of reports of child abuse it received last year when compared with 2011. When will the Government deliver on this commitment, publish the legislation and have it debated in the Dáil?

I understand the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, wrote to Deputy Adams on this issue. Deputy Adams many not have had a chance to see the correspondence yet but there is a strong commitment in it to bring forward consolidated legislation in this area, which is necessary. He has made it quite clear that his Department wants to prioritise it. We do not have an exact date yet because consultation is required before it can be introduced, but it is a priority area in which he wants to introduce consolidated legislation and as soon as there is a date I expect he will get back to Deputy Adams directly.

I want to ask about recent reports of last November. An investigation was set up by the HSE into information that was being disseminated by the Irish Family Planning Association.

Which legislation is this, Deputy?

It can be under two pieces of legislation, if you want: the Health Services Executive (Governance) Bill or the so-called Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, whichever you want. The investigation was supposed to be carried out by an official from the HSE. We were told, in answer to a parliamentary question from Deputy Terence Flanagan yesterday, that it was only an audit and that it would take six to eight weeks. I believe this is being deliberately delayed. Were the people giving this information suspended? I believe they should have been or that some action should have been taken. It is not acceptable that State-funded agencies are allowed to give out wrong information.

We will ask the Minister.

It is illegal, in fact. The investigation is being stymied. Is it being hidden until we get the so-called Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill passed in the House?

You could ask a parliamentary question on that.

My question is for the Minister. Is there action?

I call the Minister.

Is there an investigation? Is there not going to be an audit?

On the legislation.

Is there any connection to Mr. O'Brien, the new HSE chief executive?

We are on promised legislation.

The only thing I can say in response is that the legislation the Deputy referred to initially has been through this House and is in the Seanad at the moment for final consideration.

At the outset this morning Deputy Martin spoke about the highly controversial issue of the industrial wind turbines proposed for the midlands, but he failed to put forward solutions.

Deputy Bannon is out of order. What legislation is that?

What legislation is that?

There is public interest.

I would just like to know the legislation, please.

There are three Bills under which this could be accommodated. Where are they at the moment? I am referring to the common arrangements for gas Bill and the noise nuisance Bill, because there is a problem of noise associated with industrial turbines.

The Taoiseach does not believe they are controversial in any way.

The third Bill is the EirGrid Bill. An extensive pylon network will be installed to take away the electricity. These are three important Bills under which new guidelines could be put in place. We are still operating under the guidelines from 2006, which were put in place by the previous Fianna Fáil-led Government.

I call on the Minister to reply.

Deputy Bannon is not so quiet now.

Give the Minister a chance to reply.

The Taoiseach dealt with the substance of this question in some detail earlier. With regard to the legislation, there are no dates at the moment for the noise nuisance Bill or the common arrangements for gas Bill. There is a date for the EirGrid Bill, which is next year. Deputy Bannon is right in stating that the Bill needs to be introduced, and we will see it early next year. That is my understanding.

Deputy Bannon should have pursued it before this morning.

I raised the issue of wind farms with the Minister yesterday, but I have one question about the legislation. The Minister said the legislation would probably be introduced later this year and that there would be guidelines for offshore wind energy farms. I asked the Minister about the guidelines and the new foreshore legislation yesterday. Can the Minister give us an assurance that licences and permissions will not be granted prior to the introduction of that legislation, in order that there is a proper legislative framework to deal with these matters?

The Minister will be aware of the widespread belief, which is justified, that Ireland is a tax haven for multinationals seeking to avoid tax. Yesterday, the G8 leaders made a declaration calling for greater transparency, regulation and so on, and, in particular, action to deal with the use of shell companies by multinationals to avoid corporate tax, which is something they are doing in this country.

You could try that as a Topical Issue, Deputy.

The Taoiseach said he was happy to try to implement this declaration. On foot of his comments yesterday in Lough Erne, can we expect that legislation will be introduced to deal with corporate tax avoidance by multinationals in this country?

On the first question, there are two tranches of legislation Deputy Boyd Barrett may be interested in. The first is the legislation the Deputy mentioned, the offshore gas storage Bill. The second is the maritime area development and foreshore (amendment) Bill. Both will be introduced before the end of the year, probably early in the autumn.

On the second issue, I am unsure what legislation Deputy Boyd Barrett is referring to. A series of actions are taking place with regard to a consistent approach to the Lough Erne declaration on tax yesterday. Ireland is at the forefront of that response and is part of the OECD response in terms of examining this issue, which it has been doing for some time. Ireland is involved in the forums that have been set up to propose international solutions within the OECD. Ireland is also involved at a European level through the leadership the Irish Presidency has given on taxation issues. We have made significant progress in several areas that are actually ahead of this declaration from a European point of view. We in this country have no issue with openness and transparency in terms of how our tax system works. We have been to the forefront in sharing tax information with the United States and other countries and therefore we are comfortable with the declaration that was made yesterday.

In his judgment yesterday Mr. Justice John McMenamin referred to the issue of forced marriages, particularly of under-age girls. He cited a legal lacuna in this area. Can the Government commit to introducing legislation in this regard? I understand the Government has had the 2012 report by the independent Government rapporteur on child protection since January of this year. Can the Minister give an indication of when this report will be published?

My final question relates to the legislation brought before the Seanad by Senator John Kelly and the legislation in the lottery system for Friday morning sittings. Given that both Members are members of Government parties, will the Government commit to introducing legislation to deal with the regulation of wind energy, as discussed earlier this morning?

I have already commented on the wind energy concerns.

There are two tranches of legislation in the system.

If there is legislation in the lottery system then it will come up for a Friday sitting.

What about the legislation in the Seanad?

I can ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, or the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, to get back to Deputy Troy on that, if he wishes.

The Department of Justice and Equality will have to consider the court judgment yesterday on forced marriages and minors in forced marriages. I do not believe it is appropriate to indicate otherwise and anyway I cannot give an accurate response from the Government. We will have to wait for the Minister to come back with the recommendation, but I will certainly raise it directly with him.

Farmers are being subjected to crippling interest rates as co-operatives are re-introducing charges of 1% per month to accounts during the coming weeks. Bank sources have confirmed that almost all major dairy processors are hatching plans to impose interest on the huge mountain of debt that farmers incurred during this year's awful spring.

Is there legislation in this regard?

Yes, and I will tell you about it, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Although the weather is picking up a little, the Minister knows well that the crisis in agriculture has not gone away. I am asking the question under the strategic infrastructure Bill. What are the Minister and his Department going to do to deal with the co-ops? I commend the co-ops on the work they did in importing fodder to the country.

I do not want them to spoil the excellent work they did. I compliment our own co-op in County Kerry but also all of the other co-ops the length and breadth of the country.

We cannot have a debate on the matter now.

Yes, I am not debating it but what I do not want is for them to spoil the good work by placing crippling interest charges on farmers who, as the Minister is aware, are in a terrible, dark and bad financial situation.

The Minister is doing a good job.

I remind the Minister that we do not want a full debate on the issue.

You might give me a little bit of latitude, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. If I am allowed, I commend the co-ops-----

Five more Deputies wish to speak.

-----in Kerry and elsewhere, on the work they have done. We have come through a very difficult period in agriculture. The past six months has been very challenging for farmers. It has been a very expensive winter for them. As a result, many of them are in situations of debt which was not the case for them in the past. Much of the debt has been provided by co-ops, some of it interest-free to farmers in an effort to get them over a difficult period, in particular in terms of encouraging them to buy and spread fertiliser to get grass growing. Now co-ops are trying to get back to some kind of normality. One cannot expect co-ops to provide interest-free credit to farmers indefinitely. That is not a sustainable situation. I have spent a considerable amount of time speaking to both co-ops and banks to look at ways in which we can transfer some of the debt from co-ops into the banking system, which is where it belongs, under conditions with which farmers can live. The process will be ongoing through the summer, as will be the process of preparing for next winter to ensure we do not have a repeat of the situation we had last winter.

With respect to the Deputy, I am not sure the situation has much to do with the strategic infrastructure Bill but perhaps the response is somewhat helpful.

When does the Minister expect the publication of the Horse Racing Ireland (Amendment) Bill, which is to amend and extend the Irish Horse Racing Industry Act 1994 and the Horse and Greyhound Act 2001 and related matters?

That is something for which my Department is responsible and on which we have been working. The Bill is almost ready and will be published before the end of the session.

There have been many tragedies off the Irish coast. The recent tragic deaths of three family members off the Waterford coast have highlighted the urgent need for the mandatory use of personal location beacons. I am told legislation is required to do that. Has the issue been discussed and has the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine indicated that he is planning to examine the matter and to bring forward legislation? We do not want to be back in this House again discussing another tragedy in the future.

I am pleased the Deputy has raised the issue because it gives me an opportunity once again to express the sympathy of everyone in this House to the Bolger family. I was at the funeral, which was one of the saddest funerals I have ever attended. It was difficult to see three coffins of three healthy men, experienced fishermen, two of them farmers. It was an extraordinarily sad day and that continues to be the case for the family. They have the sympathies of everyone in the House.

I made it clear that it was too early to debate and discuss a policy response to the tragedy in the middle of the grief of the community. That is why I said very little about the policy response but it is clear that we must learn lessons from ongoing tragedies in fishing communities. There was a similar tragedy in Clare last summer when a relatively small boat was involved in moving pots before bad weather was expected, which is something similar to what happened in Waterford, where the boat capsized and sank and people lost their lives. In the case of the Bolger brothers, they all had life jackets on and emergency position indicating radio beacon, EPIRB, in the boat. My understanding is that it was in the bow of the boat which did not submerge and therefore did not trigger the emergency signal. It was an incredibly unlucky and difficult situation in a boat that was well equipped from a safety point of view and had experienced fishermen on board.

That said, I accept the point. I have said for many months that we must introduce personal location devices as part of life jackets for fishermen so that when they fall into the water even if they do remain afloat that they do not die of hypothermia by not alerting the rescue services quickly. This is another tragic lesson along those lines.

On 8 July the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, and I will launch a marine safety initiative in Union Hall. It is an appropriate location to do that because of what happened there last year. The answer to Deputy Ellis’s question will be very clear in a couple of weeks’ time.

I call Deputy Robert Dowds. He should please be as brief as possible as there are six more Deputies offering.

In recent times we have seen a number of cases where powerful vested interests have tried to stand in the way of us tackling the problems related to our national drug of choice, namely, alcohol. In that regard, could I ask the Minister where stands the legislation on two items, first, the sale of alcohol Bill and, second, the public health (alcohol) Bill?

I share the Deputy’s concern. I am told that proposals are being worked on by both the Departments of Justice and Equality and Health at the moment because both Departments are involved and that we should have proposals before the end of the year on both of those pieces of legislation.

The Minister will be aware that at the end of the month the tenant purchase scheme for long-term local authority tenants for 2011 will expire and that the other alternative scheme, the 1995 scheme, will expire at the end of the year. When will the Government bring forward legislation to provide for a new tenant purchase scheme to give clarity to local authority tenants and local authorities as there is much concern about the issue at the moment?

Will the Minister raise with the Whips the possibility of a debate in the House on the housing crisis because approximately 100,000 families are on the housing waiting list? There seems to be a myopic approach to addressing the issue. We need a debate in the House on this national crisis.

The second issue is one that needs to be raised with the Whips and if it can be accommodated I am sure the Government will have no difficulty with it.

I have no Whip.

In terms of the tenant purchase scheme and the need for new legislation, I am told the matter will be dealt with through a housing Bill and that we should see it before the end of the year or else early next year.

The Valuation Office is currently undertaking a revaluation of commercial and industrial properties around the country. At present Waterford city and county are undergoing revaluations. The results of the revaluation are causing real and serious concerns especially among the retail sector in Waterford city, Dungarvan and the county towns. Retail businesses are already struggling and they are seeing their rates valuation rise from between 100% and 300%. It could not happen at a worse possible time.

Is legislation promised?

Yes, the relevant legislation is the Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012. When could we expect to see the Bill before the Dáil because it is important that there is an opportunity for Members to voice their concerns and address the genuine concerns facing retail businesses in Waterford and around the country?

I thank Deputy Coffey for raising the matter. I got it very much on the ground when I was coming back from Waterford last weekend when I stopped at a bike shop in Dungarvan and I was met by the owner. I was innocently buying something for my bike and he made some strong comments about a recent letter he had received on rates.

The Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill is currently on Committee Stage in the Seanad. Amendments are being worked on and it is hoped that the Bill will be completed in the Seanad by the end of this session and we will see it in this House in the autumn. The Bill must go through the Seanad process first and then it will come into the Dáil.

When is it intended to publish the consumer and competition Bill?

In this session. The Bill is well advanced.

Legislation is promised to facilitate the management of third party legal costs arising from the various tribunals that have taken place in recent years. Given the implications for the taxpayer, could I ask the Minister if it is intended to bring the relevant legislation, namely, the National Treasury Management Agency (amendment) Bill into the House at an early date in order to clarify the situation?

Similarly, the criminal justice (miscellaneous provisions) Bill is to provide a range of amendments to earlier legislation, including the possibility of minimum sentencing for specific horrific crimes.

When it that legislation likely to come before the House? Have the heads been discussed in Cabinet yet and what is the likely time schedule?

The heads of both Bills have been discussed and both Bills should be seen before the end of the year.

Last Monday, I spoke at the Anglesea Street policing forum in Cork, at which many businesses expressed their concerns regarding the enforcement of the Charities Act. In this context, I wish to raise two items with the Minister. The first is the on-street selling of petitions and pertains to collections permits. It came to light at the meeting that some charities are flying people into Cork Airport on a particular day and then fly them out that night. The second and most pertinent point is in regard to the activities of utilities companies such as EirGrid, Eircom and so on outside post offices. In certain parts of Cork city, people are being forced to sign a change of utility company declaration. Is there an opportunity for people to be able to renege on such a pressurised signing of a declaration?

While this pertains to the enforcement of the existing Charities Act rather than to new legislation, I accept the Deputy has raised a significant issue in respect of the manner in which much street selling takes place, particularly if one is dealing with large utilities, whereby people are signing under inappropriate circumstances on the street when they are thinking of something else. I will ask the Minister to revert directly to Deputy Buttimer in this regard.

I wish to raise the betting amendment Bill, in which the Minister has an interest. It was published in draft form in July 2012, almost one year ago but Members still await the final Bill and its introduction to this House. As the Minister is aware, its purpose is to introduce a level playing field for all bookmakers and betting exchanges and it is legislation that Members must consider.

I agree with the Deputy. The Government published this last summer and my understanding is the Department of Finance has made some changes to it and essentially will republish a new Bill. This will be in this session and the Government greatly desires to have this legislation brought forward at the same time as the horse racing legislation, which the Government also has prepared, because in some ways the two go in tandem. However, this is a new revenue stream for the Government on which there should be no further delays. It is about ensuring the Government gets a tax and a levy from online and remote betting. A great deal of betting is switching from bookies' shops to an online mode and the Government is losing and has lost a lot of revenue it wishes to get back. Consequently, this is legislation Members will see before the end of the session and I believe it will be concluded early next session.