It is proposed to take No. 9, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993 (Amendment of Schedule) (Annex 19 to Chicago Convention) Order 2013, back from committee; No. 3, Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) (No. 2) Bill 2013 - Second Stage (resumed); and No. 21, Local Government Bill 2013 - Second Stage (resumed).

It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that No. 9 shall be decided without debate, and the following business shall be taken tomorrow after Oral Questions: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) (No. 2) Bill 2013 - Second Stage (resumed), and Local Government Bill 2013 - Second Stage (resumed). Private Members’ business shall be No. 128, motion re access to credit (resumed), to conclude at 9 p.m. if not previously concluded.

There are two proposals to be put to the House. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 9, proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993 (Amendment of Schedule) (Annex 19 to Chicago Convention) Order 2013 without debate agreed to? Agreed.

Is the proposal for dealing with No. 3, Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) (No. 2) Bill 2013 and No. 21 Local Government Bill 2013 tomorrow agreed to?

It is agreed, but it might be difficult to get Government speakers for No. 3.

The reduction in medical cards Bill.

We will supply speakers. The Deputies need not worry.

I refer to the Freedom of Information Bill and the programme for Government commitments on legislation. Under the changes to Standing Orders rammed through by the Government recently, allowance was made for a pre-consultation phase for all legislation to allow non-governmental organisations and others with an interest to be consulted on key legislation. Last weekend the Minister tabled a series of amendments to the Freedom of Information Bill. They are quite profound and substantially change the shape, nature and objective of the Bill in so far as it will reduce utilisation of the freedom of information framework. There was no pre-consultation phase on those amendments. The committee tried to adjourn the taking of Committee Stage yesterday with a view to facilitating academics, media representatives and representatives of non-governmental organisations to put to the committee their views on the changes the Minister introduced regarding multiple charges for multiple issues. While I do not agree with his proposal, I am talking about the procedure here.

I thank the Deputy.

Will the Taoiseach change the order to enable that consultation process to take place in advance of the Bill being brought to a conclusion? The amendments have been introduced very sneakily late in the day, without any consultation with anybody and without any analysis of the impact on the overall shape of the legislation.

I thank the Deputy.

Earlier the Taoiseach was negative about experts and so on, but Transparency International, Open Access Europe and Open Knowledge Foundation Ireland are all vehemently opposed to this series of amendments that the Minister sneakily introduced late in the day. I ask the Taoiseach to change the order to allow consultation to take place in the spirit of the changes to Standing Orders that were rammed through the House.

Which order?

The Freedom of Information Bill.

I do not disagree with every expert. I was making the point to Deputy Donnelly that we have experts on everything available, nationally and internationally.

The changes to the Standing Orders represent a genuine attempt to ensure Bills that come before the Government at heads of Bill stage would move to the committees for that consultation process. We are trying to make that the norm. It will become the norm from January and we want to move to that phase now. For Bills that have not been cleared or published, we hope that becomes the practice for every Minister. Once the heads of a Bill are cleared at Cabinet, they go to committee for consultation.

This Bill was published in July and it is moving through the different Stages. Every time a Bill comes before Cabinet, we expect the Minister at heads stage to propose that it goes to the committee if it wishes to have consultations about it. That will become the normal practice from January in any event. It is for Bills that are not published yet and which will move to that stage as normal practice.

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. Does he not accept that the concept of pre-consultation will be fatally undermined if substantive amendments emerge very late in the day which are contrary to anything advocated in advance and at the time of the publication of the Bill? This has happened very late in the day and even in the aftermath of the Second Stage debate.

We cannot have a debate about it on the Order of Business.

What has happened here is that Sir Humphrey has scored a very late penalty, and has scored it well.

Sir Humphrey is alive and over there.

We do not need assistance from the back.

Sir Humphrey put the ball wide. The Freedom of Information Bill has been around for a long time. The changes introduced ten years ago were pretty radical and it has been moving through since then. This Bill was published in July. I am pointing out that we want it to become the norm based on the change to Standing Orders for every Minister, once they receive clearance for heads of Bill at Cabinet level, to send that Bill to the committee for consultations. If the committee chairman thinks that is appropriate, that is fine. That will become normal practice from January.

The programme for Government commits to integrated "health care delivery, in which the right care is delivered in the right place". Today we have learned that a number of tracheotomy babies in Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin are well enough to go home but cannot because the HSE has not sanctioned safe levels of home care and this is at the worst crisis level ever. Do we need legislation to provide for this home care or can the Minister for Health address the need for a central funding scheme and for a protocol for a safe home care package in order that these seven children can be at home where they deserve to be?

It is a great advance in medical science that babies and young children are able to live a normal life once the tracheotomy has taken place. People are trained when the children are at a very young age to clear the blockages in the system. The issue raised by the Deputy does not require legislation. I expect the matter to be referred to in the health service plan, which the Minister for Health should have in the next ten days or two weeks. It is clear there is an element of funding and I admire how training has been put in for parents in respect of children. Those are very sensitive in personal cases obviously.

When will we see publication of the monuments Bill, which is to consolidate, update and improve the legislative code governing the protection and regulation of the national architectural heritage?

The Minister informs me that will be next year, and he is never wrong.

The Government has promised a Bill to merge the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority and to look at legislative proposals or decisions that have emanated from the European Court of Justice. Have the heads of that Bill come before Cabinet and when might we expect to see publication of the legislation involved?

This was a Government decision to amalgamate these two entities. That Bill will be published before Christmas.

Regarding the criminal justice Bill, has the Taoiseach read the new book by Anne Cadwallader entitled Lethal Allies: Britain's Secret War in Ireland, which deals with the murder of 120 people, all linked directly to the issue of collusion?

That is not on the Order of Business.

Will he raise the issue-----

We do not ask people on the Order of Business whether they read books.

This relates to the criminal justice Bill.

The criminal justice Bill.

Will the Taoiseach raise the issue with the British Prime Minister because we must be very conscious of this matter?

We can do that by way of questions to the Taoiseach.

I urge the Taoiseach to read the book.

We are talking about the criminal justice Bill, not books.

In respect of the Bill, I ask the Taoiseach to raise the matter with the British Prime Minister.

I have a surplus of material from Europe to read at the moment. I have not had an opportunity to read that Bill. There are quite a number of criminal justice Bills on the list and I am not sure to which one the Deputy is referring.

The EirGrid Bill is No. 68 in section C. The Tánaiste stated that the Bill would be published next year. This is a very contentious issue and, in fairness, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has produced a briefing document on energy infrastructure. Could the Government put aside some time to debate this issue in advance of the legislation because it is a very contentious issue? It would be helpful if we could have a debate on it in the Dáil.

It is a matter for the Whips to make arrangements for that. This has been a matter of considerable public interest, particularly in north Meath for the past ten years in respect of a major line there. I will communicate the Deputy's interest to the Minister. The legislation is to be published in the new year. There should be an opportunity for the Deputy's request to be considered. It is not the first time that pylons were discussed in the House.

What are the Taoiseach's intentions towards the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Bill 2013, which successfully passed Second Stage in the Dáil in April 2013? The Bill seeks to suspend the Statute of Limitations for a specified cohort of victims of symphysiotomy. I urge the Taoiseach to facilitate the presentation of the Bill before the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. This is something that has been promised time after time and yet here we are marching on month after month while more of the victims, sadly, pass away.

That was a Private Members' Bill which passed Second Stage. There are serious implications in respect of the lifting of the Statute of Limitations. The Minister made some response to the Bill at that time. I will update Deputy Ó Caoláin about that.

There is a growing number of people with very minor convictions who are very concerned because they cannot travel to see their loved ones. When will the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill come before the House?

I understand the Bill is awaiting Report Stage, so it is a matter of fitting it into the timetable of the Dáil.

The Irish collective asset management vehicle Bill is promised legislation. It is a very important issue given the experience we have had in respect of assets in this country over recent years. When is the Bill likely to come before the House, has it been discussed in Cabinet and have the heads been approved?

I understand that the national paediatric hospital development board (amendment) Bill, which is also promised legislation, is at an advanced stage. When is it likely to come before the House and has it been fully and finally approved by Cabinet?

We do not have a date for the publication of the national paediatric hospital development board (amendment) Bill. The Irish collective asset management vehicle Bill is due next year.

Are there any proposals from Government to amend and strengthen the legislation governing the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland? I am asking this because independent broadcasters will have to get State funding to create a balance between the national broadcaster and independent broadcasters.

I do not want to go through it again with the Deputy. Is there promised legislation in this area?

I am not aware of legislation in this area.

When will a Bill be published to replace or amend the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871, which labels as lunatics those with intellectual difficulties?

We have the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013 but it does not deal with the repeal of the Act mentioned by the Deputy. I will send him an update on what work, if any, has been done on that or whether it could be fitted into the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill.

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources recently launched a consultation process in respect of a public service broadcasting charge. When will the heads of the Bill be available and will they go to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications?

When the heads of this Bill are cleared by Government, and they have not come there yet, the Bill will be one of those that will go to the committee for discussion.

I wish to ask about the Judicial Council Bill and two very important matters, one of which is the Fr. Niall Molloy case. Will the Taoiseach also meet the families of the victims of the Omagh bombings?

That is not on the Order of Business. Which Bill is the Deputy talking about?

The Judicial Council Bill.

That is due next year.

As a follow-on from the question from Deputy Healy-Rae about legislation on communications and broadcasting, is it not the case that the Government intends to abolish the television licence and replace it with a mechanism whereby individual houses or units will be charged a broadcasting or transmission fee? If so, will that require primary legislation? If so, is it the intention of the Government to ensure within that context that local radio stations benefit from any increase in revenues generated as a result of the mechanism the Government intends to put in place?

The heads of this Bill have not come to Government yet for clearance. The entire communications process is changing rapidly and, in many ways, the age of television is moving on, so the point raised by the Deputy will be part of the discussions surrounding the legislation. I assure the Deputy that if this is the case, the committee and the Dáil will have full access to it.