Digital Hub and legislation scheduling
Ó Snodaigh asks which legislation will enable the Digital Hub’s transfer to Dublin City Council and raises scheduling of Constitutional Convention debates; Bruton promises to check and says debates are planned.
I wish to raise one issue relating to legislation and one scheduling matter. The Bill to transfer the digital hub to Dublin City Council was on the list as a stand-alone Bill. It is not mentioned as an item under any of the legislation lists, so I am trying to figure out what legislation is going to be presented to allow that to happen. It was something the Government said it would introduce. As Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton might understand which legislation that comes under.
The second issue is of major concern to this House, which set up a good experiment in participatory democracy in 2012, namely, the Constitutional Convention. I took part in it, as did many others. It was an enjoyable debate and it tested everyone who attended. However, a commitment was given by this House that the reports of that convention would be discussed in this House within four months of them being produced. The convention finished in February 2014 and the last report was published on 31 March 2014. By July 2014, we should have finished our deliberations on it and the Government could have issued its response to those recommendations. As far as I know, there are four reports outstanding for debate in this House, awaiting formal discussion in the Dáil, as the institution that can bring about the recommendations of that convention. When will we have a full discussion on the remaining reports from the Constitutional Convention?
When will some of the referendums that have already been agreed by the Government take place? Given that two referendums are taking place this week, it would be a signal to the population that the Government is taking the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention seriously if deliberations on further referendums were announced.
Comment on this
I will have to check with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy White, whether the Digital Hub is established under legislation and whether enabling legislation is required for the transfer to be made. I will get back to Deputy Ó Snodaigh on the matter. I understand it is planned to schedule debates on the reports of the Constitutional Convention. They will be scheduled in the coming weeks. It will be up to the Government to decide whether there will be further referendums on foot of those recommendations.