It is proposed to take No. 18, Taxi Regulation Bill 2012 [Seanad] - Order for Report and Report and Final Stages; and No. 3, Freedom of Information Bill 2013 - Order for Second Stage and Second Stage. Private Members' business shall be No. 36, Mortgage Restructuring Arrangement Bill 2013 – Second Stage (resumed), to conclude at 9 p.m. if not previously concluded.

This morning the Taoiseach will have read that 35,000 Dublin voters were sent misleading information on the referendum and polling details were sent to the wrong addresses. A total of 28,000 polling cards were sent to wrong addresses and 9,000 people received polling cards advising them to go to the wrong station. There has been a long-standing view that an electoral commission should be established. Will the Taoiseach indicate when legislation to establish an independent electoral commission and the electoral (amendment) Bill will come to the House?

With regard to the wider issue of climate change, will the Taoiseach give the proposed time for the passage of the climate change Bill? Recently we had fairly damning evidence from international scientists on the UN panel which clearly indicates global warming is caused by humans and that there is a need to accelerate measures to ensure we deal with the issue. In this context, will the Taoiseach indicate when legislation to regulate the geothermal energy sector will be brought forward? It is a commitment in the programme for Government.

The first point raised by Deputy Martin is important. It should be remembered that the issue referred to this morning by Dublin City Council is important. We should all understand that whatever mistake was made, nobody who is entitled to vote will be denied a vote. As has always applied, a person whose name is on the register of electors is entitled to vote whether he or she receives a card or not, provided he or she produces identification at the polling station. It is very regrettable that this happened. The message we want to send out is that nobody will be denied a vote who is entitled to vote legitimately - that is, those on the register of electors - irrespective of the polling station. I hope there will be a significant turnout for the votes on Friday and that people will cast their judgment.

The climate action and low-carbon development Bill will be next year. I must come back to the Deputy on the geothermal sector.

With regard to a Bill in respect of the electoral commission, I do not have the detail on when it will be published and I must come back to the Deputy.

Prior to the summer recess the Taoiseach committed to the publication of the Walsh report into symphysiotomy. We all agree that this procedure, which was inflicted on 1,500 Irish women, was a barbaric practice. The Minister for Health has refused to publish the report until after the Government has taken its decision on a course of action and on legislation. The women need to have all the information that is available to them. Will the Government publish the Walsh report as soon as possible? Will the terms of reference for the judge in the mediation process be published? Will the Taoiseach set a fixed and short timeframe? Some of these women are very infirm and elderly.

The Government is obliged to ensure the implementation of the European working time directive. This issue is central to the dispute involving junior doctors, some of whom carry a huge burden, working up to 80 hours a week in extreme cases. This has obvious implications for patient safety. When will the Government insist that the European working time directive be enforced in every hospital sector?

The important issue arising from the Deputy's question is that the Government intends to do something about the scandal of the symphysiotomy situation. I expect the report will be published, but I will not say when.

There is a commitment on publication.

We need to have the sequence of events so it can be dealt with in a proper fashion. For this reason, my understanding is that a judge will be appointed to examine the question of how best to proceed. It is not a case of not wanting to publish the report; it is a case of having the sequence right when it is published. I will provide the Deputy with further information on it.

The working time directive is an issue that affects hospitals and junior doctors. The Minister has made it clear he wants to see the directive implemented in full by the end of next year.

On secondary legislation, last December the Minister for Finance announced an extension to the employment incentive scheme to get approximately €125 million into companies to create 1,200 new jobs a year. Last April the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation produced a report stating that EU approval was expected within a number of weeks, but the Department of Finance only sought this approval last June. The creation of 1,000 jobs has not happened since the initiative was announced in the budget; rather, 75,000 people have left the country. Will the Taoiseach find out why the Department of Finance delayed getting EU approval for section 22 of the Finance Act 2013? When will it be enacted?

I will have the Minister for Finance respond to the question. I do not have the details in front of me.

When will the Government bring forward the noise nuisance Bill? Does the Government intend to introduce legislation to increase the statutory minimum wage? Ireland is one of few EU countries not to have increased the minimum wage in recent years as a result of the crisis.

The noise nuisance Bill will be next year. As Deputy Nulty is aware, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform were able to bring about the restoration of the minimum wage through their negotiations with the troika when they began discussions with it in the first instance. This was an important move for people removed from it.

When is the sport Ireland Bill, with regard to the restructuring of sporting organisations, likely to come before the House?

Similarly, I want to acknowledge that some 120 Bills have been passed into law since the current Government came into office.

In the area of justice, there is a plethora of Bills on the Order Paper for some time, some going back to the days of the people who are now in opposition, and they inherited some of that from their predecessors as well. Would it be possible to have consultation with the Whips with a view to trying to take the most important elements of the proposed justice legislation before the House, either in a consolidation Bill or in a series of Bills that might be brought in as a matter of urgency?

The Sport Ireland Bill is next year. There has been quite a deal of discussion about the production of legislation with the Parliamentary Counsel in regard to the priorities that are attached to pieces of legislation. Deputy Durkan is aware that, obviously, the Government was required to produce several pieces of legislation, some quite technical and complex, because of the troika arrangements, and a lot of that has been done. The Attorney General's office has provided some capacity within individual Departments to work on the preparation of legislation to speed things up here.

The priorities of Government for this session have been set out, including in the justice area. I might add that the Minister for Justice and Equality has put an extraordinary amount of effort into the preparation of some complex legislation, which has assisted that process. This comes through the Parliamentary Counsel for eventual consideration by Government. The discussions have taken place and priorities are laid out for this session.

I take Deputy Durkan's point into account. We are conscious of the bottleneck that arises either in Departments or at Parliamentary Counsel level before legislation is actually produced.

Councillors and executives of councils are anxiously awaiting the publication of legislation to give effect to the Putting People First document that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government published a year ago. In the absence of that legislation and of direction by Government, they cannot ascertain how they are to provide the services and to further develop local authorities into the future.

Will the Taoiseach in the coming days honour his commitment to publish a resolution in regard to the Priory Hall situation, as he promised three weeks ago?

I expect that the local government Bill will come before the Cabinet next week, probably. It will change the balance between elected representatives and the executive or county manager system. Members who are currently serving and those who would wish to serve will be interested in the range of changes.

The discussions about Priory Hall are not concluded yet. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has taken the lead here. There is a lot of engagement at the moment and I do not expect it to be that far removed before we can announce what is the best solution that we can bring about here. It may not be within the 21 days but, believe me, there is a great deal of engagement in trying to sort it out. We will advise the House as soon as we have reached that.

Many thousands of people have been left behind with regard to the changes in the motor taxation rules dealing with off-the-road vehicles. While I appreciate what the Government did on Monday, when it allowed an extension-----

Sorry, Deputy. We are not discussing this issue, we are discussing promised legislation.

It comes under the environment (miscellaneous provisions) Bill and the Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 568 and 573 together.

The Health Service Executive is aware of England’s National Chlamydia Screening Programme. To investigate the feasibility, acceptability and likely uptake of chlamydia screening in various settings, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, supported by the Health Research Board, contracted a team of population health and other specialists from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the National University of Ireland Galway and the HSE to conduct a pilot study of chlamydia screening in Ireland. This study, entitled The Chlamydia Screening in Ireland Pilot Study, concluded that a national opportunistic chlamydia screening programme would not be cost-effective in Ireland. It would be difficult to achieve the necessary coverage levels to reduce the reservoir of infection in the Irish population; and recent international evidence has also cast doubt on the effectiveness of population chlamydia screening.

In response to the rising rates of STIs a high level steering group was set up by my Department to oversee the drafting of a National Sexual Health Strategy. The Strategy will formulate a strategic direction for the delivery of sexual health services. The plan will focus on improving sexual health and wellbeing and address the surveillance, testing, treatment and prevention of HIV and STIs, crisis pregnancy, and sexual health education and promotion. The Strategy will be in line with Healthy Ireland and is nearing completion. It will be submitted to Government upon completion.

I will come back to what I asked the Taoiseach last week. Would he consider extending it just for another month to allow thousands of people who have been left behind a chance to get their paperwork in order?

You should try to raise that matter in a different way.

The Road Traffic Bill was taken yesterday. The road transport Bill is next year.

I want to ask about the courts (consolidation and reform) Bill, which is to deal with the implementation of the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission. Why are we running off with a referendum on a court of appeal now when the heads of this Bill are to be published quite soon?

What is the name of that Bill?

It is the courts (consolidation and reform) Bill. Why are we having the court of appeal referendum now? It is at the behest of the bankers and-----

Thank you, Deputy.

I do not have a date for publication of that Bill.

Why are we having the referendum now?

I call Deputy Griffin.

It is very appropriate that we should have a referendum on a court of appeal.

The Taoiseach will not debate it.

The Deputy is well aware, if he wants to hear those who deal with these cases every day, that justice delayed is justice denied.

Why not reform the courts?

It is not fair that people should have to wait four years to have their cases heard in the Supreme Court.

It is a bankers' charter.

Beyond next Friday’s poll, has the Government plans to hold future referendums in regard to the age of voters, marriage equality and voting rights for citizens in presidential elections? Is there a timeframe for any of those future referendums?

The Taoiseach will be aware that the number of people killed on our roads this year, for the first time in ten years, has seen a steady increase. This is very worrying, as the Taoiseach will admit, and the chairman of the Road Safety Authority has made his views known on that publicly in his condemnation of the way in which the Minister for Justice and Equality has engaged in regard to his role in that.

Thank you, Deputy.

In that context, when does the Government intend to bring forward the road traffic (No. 3) Bill, which deals with the mutual recognition of penalty points, North and South?

That will be early next year. There were quite a deal of complications about getting that sort of agreement. It is obviously something that was raised on many occasions where offences occurred on either side. It will be next year.

Several times in the last session the Taoiseach promised the imminent publication of the consumer and competition Bill but, as he knows, it has not been published yet. First, when does he propose to publish the Bill? Second, who will be responsible for supervising or deciding whether a merger or a proposed media acquisition contravenes the legislation? Will it be the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation or the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources?

The Bill will be published shortly and Deputy O’Dea will know then.

Can the Taoiseach answer my second question? Has the Government resolved its differences on that matter? Who won?

There are no differences here. The structure has been very clear in terms of the production and publication of the Bill. Work is very well advanced on it.

Did the Taoiseach win that one? Did he have a victory over the Labour Party?

It will be a victory for the country.

The arts have the power to broaden and enrich the lives of many people and contribute to the tourism product and the economy in this country. As we all know, there are artefacts, pieces and monuments belonging to certain areas and museums in warehouses up and down the country-----

Where are we going, Deputy?

-----that would serve better if they were back in their local communities, on display, enhancing the tourism product in their particular areas.

What Bill are you talking about?

When can we expect the galleries Bill or the national cultural institutions Bill to come before the House?

At the moment, that is aimed for the middle of next year. I hope it can be achieved.

We need the James Bannon interpretative centre.

On the health information Bill, I want to raise some recent incredible and unjustified decisions with regard to patients who are applying for discretionary medical cards. Some devastating news has been given out. For example, two old age pensioners in my constituency, both with cancer-----

What Bill are you talking about?

I would like the Taoiseach to intervene in some extreme cases. These people are totally stressed.

It is not allowable on the Order of Business. The Deputy should put this in as a Topical Issue.

It is adding to their health condition. They are old age pensioners, both of whom have cancer.

Thank you, Deputy.

I had another case last week-----

The Deputy should put down a parliamentary question or raise a Topical Issue.

-----involving three cystic fibrosis children from a middle income family. I ask the Taoiseach, in conjunction with the Minister for Health, to please review a number of these cases. It is totally unjustified-----

Sorry, it is not allowable on the Order of Business.

I call on the Taoiseach to intervene with a-----

You were not listening to me. I suggest you table a Topical Issue or a parliamentary question.

It is totally wrong in these cases.

When can we expect the publication of the licensing of health care facilities Bill, which is to provide for a mandatory system of licensing for public and private health care facilities?

I do not have a publication date for that Bill, but I will advise the Deputy at a later time on the extent of work completed on its preparation.

Will the Taoiseach indicate when the inland fisheries (modernisation and consolidation) Bill is due to be published?

It is due for publication next year.

When can we expect publication of the family relationships and children Bill, which will consolidate and reform the law relating to guardianship, custody of and access to children and address issues of parentage? Will the Taoiseach indicate when the criminal justice Bill to strengthen the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau in causing the forfeit of the proceeds of crime will come before the House? I thank the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, for all the work he has done with the Revenue Commissioners in closing down many of the laundering forecourts that were in operation.

I do not have a date for the publication of either of those Bills. As I said on previous occasions, discussions are ongoing with CAB with a view to ensuring we get the new criminal justice Bill as right as possible.

I am sure the Taoiseach will join me in articulating our deepest sympathy to the family of former Deputy Martin J. O'Toole, who was a good colleague of the Taoiseach in Mayo for many years. He was a Member of the Dáil from 1989 to 1992, a very distinguished Senator from 1977 to 1989, a councillor from 1955 to 1999 and chairman of Mayo County Council on many occasions. I am aware that we will have an opportunity later to pay tribute to him, but it important to acknowledge his passing at this time. Mr. O'Toole combined colour, conviviality, wisdom and wit during his term in Leinster House. We all enjoyed his company and he was a great raconteur. We wish his family every sympathy, including his sons, Pádraig, Austin, Martin and Seamus, and his daughters, Marie, Anna, Breda and Gráinne. We hope the many happy memories they shared with their father will sustain them in the days and weeks ahead.

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Martin Joe at the age of 88. I understand he had suffered some minor problems with his health in recent years. In the course of my political career I had many engagements with him on a range of issues. He was a great friend of my late father for many years. He and Breege were constant companions for many years and my thoughts are with their children. I extend my sympathy to Deputy Martin and his party on their loss. Martin Joe was a true son of Mayo, never afraid to articulate his views in the most vociferous fashion and never afraid to stand up for his people. He certainly did the State some service.

Chuala mé an scéal brónach faoin iar-Theachta O'Toole. Déanaim comhbhrón lena chlann agus le Fianna Fáil.

We all join in those messages of sympathy to the family of former Deputy Martin J. O'Toole, who was regarded as a decent, honourable person.

Hear, hear.

He was a simple man who went about his business in an efficient and friendly manner, irrespective of party politics.