Before we move on to promised legislation, let me say something to all Members as some can be very clever and try to circumvent the rules. We have only 15 minutes and I wish to accommodate as many speakers as possible so I ask Members to preface their question with a reference to promised legislation or the programme for Government.

Before the leaders, we have Deputies Michael Moynihan, O'Rourke, Fitzmaurice, Tóibín, Durkan, Deering, Scanlon, Rock, McLoughlin, Rabbitte, Martin Kenny and Smith. I have to cut off after 15 minutes. We start with Deputy Thomas Byrne on behalf of Fianna Fáil.

When is the Government going to get to grips with public transport, particularly in the context of the programme for Government commitments to improve it? There are many people throughout the country who get up early in the morning, as the Government likes to say. They are currently being discommoded by Bus Éireann, which is seemingly unable to provide a predictable and reliable service. There are many people who use rail services and also get up early in the morning. They are being promised an all-out strike in the next few weeks. When is the Government going to take some action on this and provide the promised improvements? We should have an effective, predictable and reliable public transport service around the country.

On the industrial dispute, I urge all parties to use the facilities of the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court to try to re-engage. I have had experience as the Minister responsible for this area and even the most intractable disputes can be resolved by their services. They are very experienced and expert.

The Government has a huge commitment to public transport. We will soon see the Luas lines linked up after very significant infrastructure investment. The ten-year investment plan is being put together and public transport will be a very significant part of that, as it was in the last plan. In terms of support for the improvement of public transport on a day-to-day basis, we have seen a 25% increase in the subventions being made to public transport for public service obligations over the last two years. Investment is being put in and we are seeing more and more people using public transport.

The programme for Government states that the Government will launch a pilot scheme to reopen six Garda stations in rural and urban areas. I have before me the response to a parliamentary question from Deputy Alan Farrell in respect of the reopening of Rush Garda station. It states that the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the efficient use of resources available to the Garda Síochána and that the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, has no role in the matter. That includes responsibility for the opening and closing of Garda stations.

At today's meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts, acting Commissioner Ó Cualáin confirmed that the decision to reopen Stepaside Garda station and not to reopen Rush Garda station was a political one and that the Government took the decision on the criteria to reopen Stepaside. He explained this by saying that his office did what it was asked to do. I ask the Minister to explain the manner in which this is not a political decision and to tell us who took the decision to reopen Stepaside Garda station and not the others, particularly in light of the fact that the Garda Síochána clearly did not take it.

As the Deputy has rightly pointed out, the programme for Government committed to a pilot scheme to reopen six Garda stations. The Garda was asked to undertake an analysis to identify locations for the pilot scheme. An interim report has been given to the Government. It recommends the opening of Stepaside and indicates that the process could be extended to other locations and that its final report would indicate the position in respect of those other locations, namely, Leighlinbridge, Donard and Rush. I understand this reflects population trends and operational reasons as to why these areas need the additional support. I understand the final report will come to Government shortly.

My question is in respect of the blueprint for maternity services in Ireland, to which the Government is committed. Ireland has one of the lowest breast-feeding rates by new mothers-----

Is this in respect of promised legislation?

It is in respect of the maternity strategy that the Government has published and supported. A key part of that strategy is supporting the expansion of breast-feeding by new mothers. I was both disappointed and shocked at the withdrawal of funding from the baby-friendly health initiative, which is supported by the UN and the World Health Organization, WHO, and which involves going into hospitals and supporting women who have given birth to breast-feed their babies. It was receiving budgetary support from the HSE of €50,000 a year and was a key part of the strategy. I and an awful lot of other people are shocked to find that the HSE has now arbitrarily axed all of the funding to the point at which the initiative, which was internationally supported, has closed down.

This is not on promised legislation. The Deputy has colleagues waiting to speak.

It was receiving budgetary support of €50,000 a year from the HSE.

On promised legislation-----

It was a key part of the strategy that was laid out.

Some of the others-----

Like many other people, I was shocked-----

This is a Second Stage speech.

-----to find that the HSE has arbitrarily axed all of the funding to the point where this internationally supported initiative has closed down.

The Deputy's colleagues-----

This is very important.

Okay. What promised legislation is the Deputy talking about?

I am talking about the maternal health strategy, which-----

The Deputy is talking about a strategy.

-----is part of the programme for Government.

If the question relates to promised legislation or to the programme for Government, the Minister can answer it.

It is a key part of the programme for Government.

Obviously, there is a maternity strategy as part of the Holles Street move and the construction of a new national maternity hospital. The Government and the HSE strongly support the principle that mothers should breast-feed their children. We have strategies to support that. I do not know of every individual programme that might be involved, but I know each of them is scrutinised every year to see whether it represents the best option for promoting this shared objective. I am sure there are actions. If the Deputy tables a parliamentary question, the Minister will be in a position to respond.

This was the only internationally monitored programme we had.

I call Deputy Bríd Smith on behalf of her group and ask her to co-operate with me by asking about promised legislation.

I am going to talk about the promised referendum on the eighth amendment. I read in a newspaper this morning that the Fine Gael Cabinet, or the Cabinet, does not believe the outcome of the Citizens' Assembly is acceptable for the party, the Dáil or the people. It appears that the Government, having decided to pursue the Citizens' Assembly process, is now rejecting it without letting the committee finish its work. Perhaps it should elect a new people.

Thank you.

I am confused about the date that has been proposed. According to the newspaper report I have mentioned, it is probable that the referendum will take place on 8 June 2018.

I remind the Deputy that she should ask a question.

As Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton will be aware that all students will have vacated their colleges by then. I remind him that the same-sex marriage referendum was held on 22 May 2015.

The Taoiseach dealt with that yesterday.

We will need large numbers of young people to participate in this referendum.

They are not all in favour of repeal.

Can the Minister explain why this referendum is being pushed back to June?

I believe the Citizens' Assembly has made a very valuable contribution. This has been a very divisive issue in Irish society. It has been very helpful for the Citizens' Assembly to have had an opportunity to go through evidence and provide a report to the Oireachtas. The Oireachtas will have to make a decision on whether a proposal should be put to the people and, if so, what that proposal should be. That is why the work of the Oireachtas committee is so important. As the Taoiseach said yesterday, we have set a tight timescale to try to provide for a referendum before the students break for the summer. That is conditional on the Oireachtas committee being able to complete its work. The Taoiseach has urged those involved in that committee to approach their work constructively and to try to reach a consensus with the committee.

I call Deputy Mattie McGrath on behalf of his group. The same rule applies to him.

I appreciate that. I would like to ask about the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016. The Taoiseach said on Tuesday that parental choice will be central to any school divestment policy. Can the Minister for Education and Skills confirm that this is also his policy? Can he confirm that the wishes of parents and guardians, rather than any political ideology, will be foremost when policy is being made in this area?

The Deputy is raising two different issues. The Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016, which is before the House, provides for rules governing what can and cannot be included in admissions policies. It bans waiting lists, certain restrictions and selectivity.

What about parents?

It provides that children with special needs must be accepted and it gives the National Council for Special Education the power to require that. That is the admissions policy that is before the House. We have indicated that there are amendments to be made, having been agreed in principle on Committee Stage. They have to be drafted and go through the Office of the Attorney General. That is what is now happening. The issue of divestment and transfer of patronage is a separate process. As we have indicated, the agreement of all parties is required to secure that. Under a new system that we are introducing, education and training boards will conduct local surveys of preschool parents to establish whether there is a desire for an alternative model of patronage. Where there is such a desire, we will sit down with the existing patrons to seek to work out a live transfer to a new patron.

There are 17 pages of laudable commitments in the programme for Government about improving the health service in general, including the mental health services, but none of them has been delivered on, unfortunately.

We found out through the media in recent days that the scoliosis targets will not be met. There are almost 700,000 people on inpatient or outpatient lists across the country. The community services, including the home help service, are in tatters. The health service is crumbling under ferocious pressure. In addition to all that pressure, no new staff are being recruited. The Minister told the health committee yesterday that the €100 million shortfall in the health service budget would have to be found within the health service. More than €100 million is needed to recruit extra staff. How can this be done without compromising the health service that is already in tatters?

The Deputy must realise that every year we are increasing the number of patients treated. As I said, in the past four years 250,000 extra people have been treated, which represents an increase of about 15% in the number of patients treated. That is a significant number. Almost 7,000 patients leave our hospitals every day with their quality of life improved by medical intervention. It is not a service in a state of collapse or whatever words he used but there are pinch points where there is a demand for services, and we need to meet that demand. In the past two years, an investment of €1.3 billion has been made. In particular, mental health has been prioritised by Government, even in the difficult years, with an additional €140 million invested in those services. There are difficulties in recruiting in the medical health service, as the Deputy is aware. That is one that is being addressed, as well as extending the services.

On the programme for Government and in keeping with the confidence and supply agreement, we very much welcome the extension of the roll out of discretionary medical cards to children in receipt of domiciliary care allowance. However, a review of the prescription drugs prescribed to children in receipt of domiciliary care allowances is needed, as some of those drugs are not covered under this scheme. One such drug is melatonin, which I am advised is very important for those children suffering from this condition. I ask the Minister to have a review carried out to have this drug included. On foot of a question I tabled to the Department, the HSE came back and said that it would not include it, yet I have been told by experts in the medical field and by parents that this is a drug that needs to be included.

I will ask the Minister for Health to look at that. My understanding is that in any such case of a drug being presented there is research undertaken, I believe by the Health Research Board, HRB, to establish the health efficacy of the drug and the price for which it should be procured if it is effective. That results in negotiations, where it is proven effective, between the company and the Health Service Executive, HSE. I do not know the status of this but every new drug is assessed on a fair basis to ensure it is cost effective to introduce into the health service.

On the insurance Bill, is the Government going to bring forward an amendment because we are finding that people who were involved with Setanta Insurance where claims are involved are now being told that they are liable for up to 35% of the amount awarded in the court. That means that some people who went out with valid insurance on their vehicles are now being told they could face bills of €30,000, €40,000 and €50,000. Can that be allowed? Will there be an amendment to the Insurance Bill?

I understand that Bill is on the priority list so it is being treated with great priority.

On promised legislation, the criminal law (sexual offences) Bill is to provide for presumptive minimum sentences for repeat sexual offenders and to correct an anomaly in the law in respect of penalties for incest. When is it likely that the pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill will take place? When is the Bill likely to come before the House for a Second Reading?

I thank Deputy Durkan for his brevity.

I understand the work on that Bill is under way but there is not a date yet as to when it will be presented.

My question is on the Referendum Commission and the programme for Government. This week, a number of women who are rape survivors who have had abortions and regretted them or who brought their children to full term wish to have a public meeting in Dublin to explain their experiences. They did not go to universities because in previous years universities would not let them on campus. A prominent Dublin hotel gave them a room but after a barrage of aggressive threats against the hotel, the room was not made available to them.

They then got another room in another hotel and the exact same thing happened: they were prevented from speaking in the room. Posters were put up around the city and a political party in this Chamber had its members go around and tear them down. The members publicised their activities on Facebook and said these women-----

The programme for Government.

-----who are rape survivors were offensive to them and they therefore chopped up the posters.

Deputy Tóibín-----

These are rape survivors and they have been silenced, censored and shouted down. If it were any other group of people, there would be outrage in this Chamber and in the media, yet we are dealing only with silence.

I call on the Minister to respond if it is appropriate to do so.

I agree with the Deputy. It is vital, as we come to debate an issue that has been extremely divisive in our community over many years, that people are treated with respect on all sides. I know there are very strongly held views on all sides about this. I know it is an issue in respect of which people find it hard at times to be restrained. However, if we are to make mature decisions on this, the public must be given an opportunity to hear the arguments on both sides. It is right that the House should appeal for such an approach because, otherwise, people will be branded into one area or camp or another and will not have a chance to sift through what are genuine arguments that must be reconciled in this debate. I therefore agree with the Deputy that we need to find a way for people to have their voices heard without being shouted down.

With the co-operation of the House I might be able to fit the last few speakers in. I call Deputy Deering, who will be followed by Deputy Scanlon.

It is now four years since the motorised transport scheme was discontinued and there has been much talk in recent months as to when a new scheme could be up and running. Will the Minister indicate exactly his timeframe for the introduction of the new scheme under the health (transport support) Bill?

I am not in a position to give a date. I know the Taoiseach has also answered a question on this in the past. It has been a difficult issue. I think he signalled during the week that he would ask the Ministers involved to get together to see whether a resolution might be found. It is a matter of working out a workable and affordable scheme. I believe that is the position on the matter and the Taoiseach signalled earlier in the week that he hopes it can be advanced.

The Minister of State at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Breen, has accepted the recommendations made by the Labour Court regarding rates of pay for workers employed in the construction industry. The next step for the Minister of State is to make an order to effect the terms of the recommendation, as provided for in the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015. Can the Minister tell the House when this order will come before the House?

I do not have that information to hand but I think the procedure as to how such a registered employment agreement becomes registered is set out in legislation. As the Deputy knows, it was struck down by the courts in the past and new legislation had to be introduced to ensure it was robust from a constitutional perspective. I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, to respond to Deputy Scanlon, but there is a procedure set out in the legislation.

My question concerns the markets in financial instruments Bill 2017. Has the relevant Department assessed, in light of this and the EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, MiFID II, the long-term implications for Ireland as a financial services centre in light of certain functions transferring from national authorities to be now conducted by pan-European authorities? Can this be included for consideration in pre-legislative scrutiny?

I presume this legislation, which is on the priority list, will proceed in the normal way to have pre-legislative scrutiny. That is the norm, unless the committee were of the view that it did not require it. Subject to confirmation for the Deputy, I presume it will proceed through the normal pre-legislative scrutiny.

The last three speakers are Deputies McLoughlin, Rabbitte and Martin Kenny.

Regarding the institutes of technology such as Institute of Technology Sligo and their ability to merge into technological universities, which is eagerly awaited, and to begin to obtain the educational benefits which would arise, I ask the Minister for an update on progress on the Government's priority as to when the relevant Bill can be advanced.

Before the summer recess, the Government made a decision to proceed with the drafting of amendments that were required following discussions here with trade unions and others. Those amendments are now in the course of drafting and work on those amendments is ongoing between my Department, the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor and the Office of the Attorney General.

As part of Government formation in 2016, one of the cornerstones of the programme for Government was the national rail review, which was championed by the Independent Alliance. When will that national rail review be available for the general public?

Unfortunately, I do not have access to that information here. I will revert to the Deputy.

The programme for Government states there will be a commitment to providing a full and adequate health service across the whole country. Many people with brain injuries, which arise for many different reasons, for example, due to strokes, are waiting a huge length of time to be seen by consultants. In the north west, there is only one consultant covering the whole area and there is a huge problem across the country in this regard. Will the Government do something about this, have a review of the entire area and put funds into it?

I am not aware that it is in the programme for Government but I will refer it to the Minister.