It is proposed to take No. 10, motion re ministerial rota for parliamentary questions; No. 16, statements on the European Council in Brussels, pursuant to Standing Order 102A(2)(b); and No. 17, Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013 - Order for Report, Report and Final Stages.

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. or on the adjournment of Private Members' business, whichever is the later; No. 10 shall be decided without debate; and No. 16 shall be taken following the Order of Business and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 95 minutes, and the following arrangements shall apply: statements made by the Taoiseach and 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 15 minutes in each case, the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton, shall be called upon to make a statement that shall not exceed ten minutes, a Minister or Minister of State shall take questions for a period not exceeding 20 minutes, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply that shall not exceed five minutes, and the order shall resume thereafter with the Topical Issue debate.

Private Members' business shall be No. 42, Equal Status (Amendment) Bill 2013 - Second Stage, to be taken on the conclusion of the Topical Issue debate or at 7.30 p.m., whichever is the later, and adjourn after 90 minutes, and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, 3 July 2013.

There are four proposals to be put to the House. Is the proposal that the Dáil shall sit later than 9 p.m. tonight and shall adjourn not later than 10 p.m. agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 10, without debate, agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 16 agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with Private Members' business agreed to? Agreed.

The health insurance industry is going through a crisis as we speak. There is significant concern and anxiety among many policyholders and members of various insurance companies across the board, including the VHI group, to such an extent that many seasoned analysts claim that the industry is in danger of entering a debt spiral against which the centre cannot hold.

The programme for Government contains extensive proposals on health insurance, in particular the establishment of a hospital insurance fund, which was committed to early in the lifetime of the Government. Will the Taoiseach outline to the House when the hospital insurance fund is to be established? Will he indicate when the injection of capital into the VHI group will occur? Substantial moneys are necessary to sustain it. When will the HSE's function for purchasing care for uninsured patients be given to a hospital care purchase agency?

That is the liberal end of matters on the Order of Business.

In respect of the hospital insurance fund, that is a matter that is under discussion at the moment, both internally and with the European Commission. I do not have a date for the Deputy in respect of the second issue that he raised.

The hospital care purchase agency.

Yes. In respect of health insurance, that legislation is moving through. The Minister is involved with the hospital consultative group and the insurance companies. No decision has been taken by Government on the rates to be applied. The Minister is very conscious of the impact upon subscribers to private health insurance arising from this. That is the reason there are intensive discussions under way with the insurance industry.

Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur faoi reachtaíocht atá geallta. Will the Taoiseach provide an update on the child and family agency Bill and the Children First Bill? He may be aware that independent assessments of child protection services in Roscommon, south east Dublin and Waterford have revealed yet again the lack of appropriate services for the most vulnerable. In more than half of the 96 cases examined, adequate safeguards were not in place and chronic understaffing in the psychology services in Roscommon left 180 children waiting for up to two years to be seen. Clearly, this is not acceptable. When will the legislation be published and discussed in the Dáil? When does the Taoiseach expect the new structures to be in place?

I expect the child and family agency Bill to be published inside two weeks. Hopefully, we can have Second Stage in the House before it rises.

In respect of the audit that Deputy Adams referred to, this was contingent upon a very serious case in Roscommon some time ago. It was felt that there should be an audit of the general situation. A number of changes have taken place even since that audit was conducted. The Minister will respond in detail on this later.

I have a general query on the reports that legislation is necessary to underpin public-private partnerships, PPPs. The Gort-Tuam motorway represents a significant investment of €550 million for which no contracts have been signed. The reason given for this is that legislation must be introduced to underpin this great project. If so, I hope that it will be signed shortly and that work will start on this well-deserved project in the west and my constituency.

It goes through the heart of the Deputy's constituency. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has already pointed out the priority that this road has. No legislation is required. Discussions are under way with potential funders for this as part of-----

PPP.

-----the ongoing stimulus plans that the Minister has been referring to.

In the not-too-distant past, the Government promised legislation to amalgamate Shannon Development and Shannon Airport.

The Taoiseach indicated that the promised legislation would be delivered in this House before the summer recess. We had a difficult situation yesterday whereby the chairperson of the new independent Shannon Airport Authority had to go public and effectively criticise the Government for not moving more quickly in bringing this legislation forward. Can the Taoiseach please tell the House when he intends to publish this legislation?

No, I cannot give the Deputy an accurate date on it. I hope that was not a criticism in the sense that we have quite a legislative squeeze here to get things through. It is expected later but I cannot give the Deputy an accurate date on it now.

Transport links are key to our economic development, particularly in the midlands. We need to modernise our transport infrastructure to give the travelling public a wider choice. Now that the Taoiseach has the EU Presidency behind him, he will be travelling more often through the midlands. He will, therefore, see the bottlenecks on the M4, particularly through Longford-Westmeath.

We do not want a tour of Ireland just at the moment.

Maybe the Taoiseach can indicate when the road transport Bill will come before this House to replace the existing Road Transport Acts. The updated legislation should take account of new policy requirements and try to get the midlands up and running again.

I think we have it now.

The Deputy has been trying for a while now.

The midlands were very alert and energetic last Sunday week under the tutorship of Deputy Bannon down in Ballinalee. This Bill is not due until next year but, as the Deputy is aware, the Minister for Transport and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform have made references on many occasions to road infrastructure and ongoing stimulus developments, including in the midlands.

Will the Taoiseach indicate the current position with regard to the children (amendment) Bill which concerns the provision of places of detention for children and juveniles? In recent times, there have been references in the courts to the dearth of such suitable places.

As regards my old perennial, when can we expect the bail Bill to be debated in the House? Have the heads of both aforementioned Bills been discussed and when are they likely to be passed?

I can confirm for Deputy Durkan that the heads of the children (amendment) Bill were approved in April. It is scheduled for publication later this year. The heads of the bail Bill have not yet come to Government and therefore I cannot give the Deputy a date on this occasion.

In view of the changes that have taken place under the local government Bill, there are huge discrepancies in different areas. The Ceann Comhairle will be familiar with the town of Cashel. Almost all of the district outside the town is now going into a regional area that is away from it altogether. I am not accusing anyone of gerrymandering but-----

Which legislation is the Deputy referring to which concerns Cashel?

The local government Bill, which will affect the amalgamation of Tipperary, our proud county. It is devastating the way in which some of the town councils and other areas have been divided up.

I also wish to ask about the Education and Training Boards Bill in regard to adult and continuing education. There have been tremendous efforts and achievements over the years, which should be protected under that Bill, so that the work of further education will not be hived off and forgotten about.

I think we have got the Deputy's message.

Maybe the news did not get as far as Tipperary yet, but the education and training boards were established yesterday.

I know that, of course.

The local government Bill is a substantial measure and we expect to have it published and dealt with before the end of the year.

More collateral damage.

As regards the Education and Training Boards Bill, what is the Government going to do about SUSI grants?

We have just dealt with that.

No, that was a completely different issue.

The Bill has been enacted.

What is the Government going to do about paying students who are waiting for their grants in July?

That is a different issue altogether. If the Deputy tables a parliamentary question I will see to it that it is answered.

I have asked them several times but the Minister did not answer.

Patience is a virtue.

The Ceann Comhairle has people in his own constituency who are waiting for grants.

I know, but I cannot deal with it on the Order of Business.

I am sure he would like them to be paid, the same as I would like my people to be paid.

The Deputy has made his point.

That is the way. I have to face them, but you do not.

I face my constituents every day.

The Ceann Comhairle is entitled to a position.

I wish to ask the Taoiseach about the current status of the subcontractors legislation. Can he confirm that it contains a provision to deal with the subcontracting of labour only and that there is no provision for subcontracting materials? If that is the case, does it not defeat the initial purpose and thrust of the legislation?

We have had intensive discussions about that. Report Stage of the Construction Contracts Bill is to be taken in the House next week.

In response to Deputy Healy-Rae, some 60,000 applications have been paid and fewer than 100 have not been paid. SUSI is waiting for their details.

SUSI would want to perk up and pay out.

SUSI will not answer the phone.

SUSI will not talk.

If the Deputy has a number of constituents who are affected, he should see to it that the outstanding details are submitted and the grants will be paid. As I said, fewer than 100 out of 60,000 have not been paid.

There we are now.

I am sorry, but the Taoiseach is wrong.

They need the details, Deputy.

The Taoiseach is wrong.

I want to ask the Taoiseach about legislation governing the regulation of sunbeds. The Irish Cancer Society, in particular, has been calling for that legislation to be progressed. Is there any expected timeframe for that particular legislation?

It would not be needed today anyway, but it will be taken later this year.