Today’s business shall be No. 6, motion re presentation and circulation of further Revised Estimate, without debate; No. 7, motion re referral to joint committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 Regulations, without debate; No. 8, motion re instruction to committee on the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2017, to conclude within one hour, if not previously concluded; and No. 27, Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2017 - Order for Report, Report and Final Stages. Private Members' business shall be No. 182, motion re community employment schemes, selected by Fianna Fáil.

Wednesday’s business shall be No. 28, Domestic Violence Bill 2017 [Seanad] - Order for Report, Report and Final Stages; and No. 27, Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2017 - Report Stage (resumed) and Final Stage. Private Members' business shall be No. 183, motion re nursing pay and recruitment, selected by Sinn Féin.

Thursday's business shall be No. 9, motion re Revised Estimates, back from committee, and further Revised Estimate; No. 28a, statements on public private partnership on capital infrastructure, to adjourn if not previously concluded; and No. 10, motion re report on the review of the Irish Aid programme by the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence, to adjourn if not previously concluded. No. 11, motion re report on the future of the tillage sector in Ireland by the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, shall be debated in the evening slot.

I refer to the second revised report of the Business Committee, dated 24 April 2018.

In relation to today's business, it is proposed that:

(1) motion re presentation and circulation of further Revised Estimate and motion re referral to joint committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 Regulations shall be taken without debate and any division demanded shall be taken immediately; and

(2) motion re instruction to committee on the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2017 shall conclude within 60 minutes and any division demanded shall be taken immediately. Speeches shall be confined to a single round for a Minister or Minister of State and the main spokespersons for parties or groups, or a Member nominated in their stead, which shall not exceed 7.5 minutes each.

In relation to Thursday’s business, it is proposed that:

(1) Revised Estimates, back from committee, and further Revised Estimate shall be moved together and be decided without debate by one Question and any division demanded will be taken immediately;

(2) Statements on public private partnership on capital infrastructure of a Minister or Minister of State and the main spokespersons, or a Member nominated in their stead, shall not exceed ten minutes each with ten minutes for all other Members and a five-minute response from Minister or Minister of State and all Members may share time; and

(3) On the motion re report on the review of the Irish Aid programme, speeches of the committee Chairman, a Minister or Minister of State and the main spokespersons and members of the joint committee, or a Member nominated in their stead, shall not exceed ten minutes each, with five minutes for all other Members and a five-minute response from the committee Chairman, and all Members may share time.

There are two proposals to be put to the House. Is the proposal for dealing with Tuesday's business agreed to?

Not agreed. The Taoiseach knows that today's London edition of The Times contains an article concerning a leaked internal EU memorandum written by EU officials about the backstop arrangement that the Taoiseach described in December as "cast-iron". That memorandum casts doubt on the viability of the backstop arrangement.

What is the Deputy opposing?

I am opposing the Order of Business because I want statements-----

What aspect is the Deputy opposing?

I am calling for time to be put aside for statements on this issue and on Brexit and for an update from the Taoiseach. It is important-----

Statements on a leaked document when nobody even knows whether it is true-----

I would not be flippant if I were the Taoiseach because these are very serious issues. I am simply seeking statements. The Taoiseach came into this Chamber last December and said he had a cast-iron guarantee.

If the Deputy is looking for statements-----

Since then, the British Government has dismissed out of hand a document, published by the European Commission, which tried to translate that into a legal text. We then had a draft withdrawal agreement and huge swathes of it, particularly those relating to Irish issues, have not been agreed. Now, we have a leaked memorandum which says that the European Commission has concerns.

We understand what the Deputy is requesting.

I am seeking a debate on this issue in order that the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade can update the House on where the negotiations stand and when we will get the legal text that was agreed last December.

Perhaps this could be discussed by the Business Committee.

Is the proposal for dealing with Thursday's business agreed to? Agreed.

I emphasise that questions should concern promised legislation or the programme for Government and I ask Members to ensure their questions are appropriate.

Last week, I raised the issue of the country's exposure to cyberattacks and threats. I pointed out that quite a number of countries had been subject to fairly serious cyberattacks. Most notable among these was the attack on the UK's National Health Service. At the time, the Taoiseach expressed some satisfaction that we have significant capacity regarding withstanding such attacks. There was a commitment in the legislative programme last time out to a cybersecurity Bill. Can the Taoiseach indicate when we can expect publication of this legislation pertaining to cybersecurity?

Only preliminary work has been done on that legislation. It is being put together by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment but I do not have a date for publication.

This afternoon some of the so-called hooded men and their legal representatives are in the Public Gallery. They have just held a briefing session for Deputies and Seanadóirí in the audiovisual room. As the Taoiseach will know, last month the European Court of Human Rights, ECHR, rejected a request by the Government to find that the men had suffered torture at the hands of the British army and the RUC special branch. The 14 men involved were tortured for seven days, using brutal in-depth interrogation techniques, including being placed in stress positions, subjected to white noise, sleep deprivation, deprivation of food and water and receiving beatings and death threats. It was torture plain and simple.

The men have urged the Government to appeal the ECHR's decision.

A question.

Such an appeal must be entered before 20 June. I know the men will meet the Tánaiste this afternoon. In the interest of standing up for human rights and dignity, the Taoiseach should confirm to the House that the Government will, in fact, appeal the ruling.

The Taoiseach to respond - or the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.

I am looking forward to meeting the families and some of the men concerned. I understand they will have their legal representatives with them. We will talk through the issues. The State wants to establish the truth and find justice here. We have tried to do that to date. An appeal is not straightforward. I look forward to taking the opportunity to discuss issues in some detail with the men involved later this afternoon.

Yesterday RTÉ published a review of its two orchestras. The report, RTÉ Orchestras: Ensuring a sustainable future, was welcomed by both the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. They welcomed in particular a recommendation that the National Symphony Orchestra should be a national cultural institution in its own right and within the National Concert Hall. Section 114(1)(c) of the Broadcasting Act 2009 states that it is a statutory objective of RTÉ "to establish and maintain orchestras" - I stress the plural. Does the Government intend to amend that legislation in order that the National Symphony Orchestra becomes a separate national cultural institution? If that is the view, when will we see the legislation to implement that decision?

The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten, and I have noted and accepted the case made in the report by RTÉ. Between the Departments we are undertaking the necessary evaluations. We need to look at the governance structure and the legal requirements the Deputy mentioned. We also need to consider the transfer of employment. We hope to expedite it with our officials and be able to report shortly on that.

When?

Hopefully within the next few weeks.

Workers in Irish Life are picketing their workplaces today in the lashings of rain. They want to know when this Dáil will do its job and pass legislation that stops employers who are in good health and whose pension schemes are very wealthy walking away from such schemes and pushing defined benefit schemes out of the equation. Ireland seems to be unique in not having legislation that prevents employers from ditching and undermining pension schemes. In January, I asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when the Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2017 would be processed through the Dáil.

By 30 June, Irish Life will ditch the defined benefit scheme for these workers unless their strike wins and unless we, in the Dáil, complement that by pushing forward legislation. It does not just have the effect of undermining the pensions of workers in Irish Life, but there are more than 110,000 workers on 460 defined benefit schemes. Open season has been declared on these schemes with €41 billion in assets. What sort of greed does it show that we are allowing that to happen? We are unique in Europe in not having legislation that protects workers in these schemes.

A question on promised legislation.

What will the Government do about it and when?

Committee Stage of the Bill the Deputy mentioned is coming in May. I am making arrangements at the moment that if overspill time is needed, it might take place in the first week in June. That will be confirmed through the committee in the next couple of days. We intend to have the Bill passed before the summer recess.

Will it be possible to have it passed by the end of June?

That is up to the committee and requires the co-operation of the House. We will have Committee Stage at the end of May and then Report Stage. The legislation will then go to the Seanad. With co-operation from everyone involved, my intention is to have it passed.

The programme for Government specifically mentions mental health provisions. We do not have one mental health bed in the whole county of Tipperary. I know a mother, Louise Kennedy, whose 14 year old daughter, Aoife, is entering her tenth week in a paediatric ward in St. Joseph's hospital in Clonmel, County Tipperary, while awaiting a bed in a mental health facility. I also know another mother, Lorraine O'Brien from Carrickbeg, whose daughter is Layla Keyes, a 13 year old. These people are languishing in hospital wards that are not fit for them because they get no treatment there. This has been dragging on and on. What is the Taoiseach going to do about it?

This is on promised legislation.

It is promised legislation on mental health. The Taoiseach mentioned painting over a mural. He cannot paint over these cracks. These are vital years - vital days - in the lives of these young children. They need to be looked after. Glib answers are no good if the Taoiseach cannot speak on personal situations. There are no beds available in Tipperary.

I thank the Deputy. Is there promised mental health legislation?

We cannot access beds in Cork or anywhere else. It is unfair. The parents are bewildered, the families are demented and the children are suffering enormous stress. In another country, this would be regarded as a war crime. It is disgraceful.

I spoke with the Deputy in respect of one of those cases last week. As he is aware, I also spoke with one of the parents involved. The HSE and I are aware of the issue and are working to resolve it.

Ten weeks.

That said, there is also the bigger issue of bed capacity. The latter is, I accept, a particular issue in the Deputy's area, which I have visited with the Deputy to view, at first hand, the challenges there-----

I appreciate that.

-----particularly when it comes to acute beds for teenagers, not to mention the access issues at Éist Linn in my county, Cork. We have plans to develop more acute beds for child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, patients with the opening of the new hospital in Portrane, Dublin, which will provide an additional ten beds. There are a number of other projects we are trying to advance as quickly as possible in order to provide increased capacity for teenagers who need acute care.

I am talking about what is needed now.

By any standards, last week was a bad one for transparency and accountability in politics. It is important that we learn lessons from that. One way the Taoiseach can show that he has learned some lessons is by giving effect to the many recommendations that the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, has made in recent years with regard to tightening up the position in resect of lobbying. I ask him to give that area priority.

In the context of promised legislation, the Public Sector Standards Bill 2015, the purpose of which is to consolidate ethics legislation and give effect to the many recommendations from various tribunals, has been awaiting Committee Stage since before the most recent election. It appears that there is little or no political will to progress these ethical issues. To date, there has certainly been no evidence of that on the part of the Government. I invite the Taoiseach to indicate that he has learned lessons from the events of last week and that he will give priority to supporting SIPO and bringing the legislation forward to Committee Stage.

That Bill has been published. It is being piloted by the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy O'Donovan, and is due to move to Committee Stage and Report Stage as soon as we are ready to proceed.

It went through Second Stage before the general election.

It is to go to Committee Stage next.

The legislation to regulate lobbying and ensure it is transparent was introduced in 2015. That was done by the previous Government, of which I was also a member. Obviously, we will have regard to any further recommendations from SIPO to improve the legislation further.

I asked when Committee Stage will commence.

I do not have a date for that.

The Deputy cannot have a further opportunity to speak. If he wishes, the Taoiseach can communicate with the Deputy afterward.

On food labelling laws - and this goes back to the programme for Government - it was recently brought to my attention that companies packaging foreign meat in Ireland, especially pig meat, are using loopholes to sell their products to consumers as Irish meat. All they have to do is print "ES" for Spain or "DK" for Denmark on the packaging and then confuse consumers by including an Irish name and a picture of our national flag. The latter makes it seem that what is contained in the package is domestic meat when it is, in fact, of foreign origin. If these companies import meat and slice it, they can then state that it is Irish meat. It is like our Lord turning water into wine.

It is ridiculous and wrong. It is hurting our own people in the sector and is misleading the public, who think they are buying Irish meat.

As I understand it, the rules around country of origin labelling are very clear. One has to put the country of origin on a product but producers may sometimes use clever branding to disguise where a product comes from and to mislead people, perhaps by using particular colours or names that people associate with one country. The best thing people can do is look at the label, which has to indicate very clearly the country of origin.

Farmers around the country, especially in the west, are still in serious trouble. They are very disappointed that the Government and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine have not listened to calls for help. Is there not a special emergency fund that can be accessed from the EU? Many farmers on good land are only now leaving out some of their animals, as grass has now started to grow, but in County Kerry and all of the west, farmers cannot get their animals out. Will the Taoiseach do something for them or give them a subsidy? Their backs are to the wall and they have never been in a worse position. The Taoiseach is not listening to them and that is very wrong. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is from very close to where I am from, but he is not aware of what the people in Kerry are going through. When the sun was shining here in Dublin last week, it was pouring with rain in the south of Ireland. The Minister must do something for farmers.

We had a Private Members' motion on this last week.

We did nothing. Nothing is being done.

We had an extensive debate on this in the Dáil last week and the Minister, Deputy Creed, has introduced a number of measures to assist with the fodder shortage, including the implementation of a targeted fodder transport measure which was introduced back in January and has a budget of over €500,000.

Pages 48 and 49 of the programme for Government refer to protecting local services. When Storm Ophelia struck last October, over six months ago, many phone lines were knocked down, as would be expected with any storm, but in quite a number of rural communities many customers were left without a home phone service for up to two months. The residents of Sherkin Island, off Baltimore and Skibbereen in west Cork, have had no home telephone service since last October. Up to 100 residents live on the island and this has led to a loss of business. Many elderly people have been left without any connection to keep them safe in their homes, and these customers still had no connection as of yesterday evening. Can Eir be asked to explain how it can leave customers for over six months without a telephone connection and still can bill them?

Do other Members have related questions?

I do.

I do.

Does Deputy Browne have a related question?

No.

Then we will take Nos. 10 and 12, Deputies Breathnach and Murphy O'Mahony.

My question is about the lack of services in my county over the past fortnight. Many community services have been taken away. In Dundalk, the births, deaths and marriages service has been withdrawn in the town, which is one of the largest in Ireland, and the Dunleer social welfare office has closed. The Minister who is sitting beside the Taoiseach indicated on local radio that this was only a temporary measure.

Is this related to Deputy Michael Collins's question?

Yes. It relates to a community being denuded of its services. In the programme for Government, we and the Taoiseach committed to providing both economic and social services as the economy improved, but the Government is taking services away from people who require them. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Doherty, clearly said on local radio that it was a temporary measure and that the service would reopen. I ask her to indicate that is what will happen because it is not what is being said by people in the social welfare offices in the region.

I also want to ask the question my colleague, Deputy Michael Collins, put. I am also trying to get the phone lines on Sherkin Island working again.

When we contact even the managing director of Eir, we are told that unfortunately, getting wires fixed on Sherkin is weather-dependent. Surely at this stage, six months later, the line should be fixed. It is particularly hard on older people who have safety alarms that cannot work when there is no phone line.

Disgraceful.

Is the Minister of State, Deputy McHugh responding on the three issues?

I will take the slot on islands. I do not have responsibility for births, deaths or marriages but I certainly have islands.

He might have some day.

I was on Sherkin on Thursday. I acknowledge that this specific issue was raised again. The islanders and the community down there have great plans for a digital economy yet are without the basics of a phone line. It is not acceptable. It is outside our hands, it is a matter for Eir, but I certainly will make formal contact with it again. The company indicated that it would do it last Friday but obviously that has not happened. It is a matter of priority. I acknowledge the great work that is being done on Sherkin Island and the councillors there are also doing absolutely tremendous work.

And the Deputies.

Ably assisted by the Deputies and Senators as well.

I refer to the Deputy who has talked about a diminution of services on foot of the closing of the Dunleer office. What I have to tell him is that we have improved the service and I think he is well aware of it.

Not true.

For the purposes of the Official Report, an office was deemed uninhabitable by the HSE and it closed the premises. We did not have premises available to us in that town. There are only six clients availing of services from my Department in that town. They receive a weekly phone call and in most cases, if there is anybody who needs to see us, we go out to see them. We have actually increased and improved the services in that area.

The Minister should say what she said on local radio. I will give her the transcript.

Under the commitment to support our agriculture industry and as a follow-up to the previous issue raised by Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, I note that 85% of the GLAS payments for 2017 have been paid to those who have to date received a payment. There is 15% outstanding to all farmers in receipt of that payment. In light of the difficult circumstances that farmers are experiencing because of the weather crisis, it would be a generous gesture to come forward with that 15%. It is money that is due. Farmers are crying out for some support and this is something that can be done without the need for new budgets or extending any Exchequer figures. I ask the Taoiseach that this be done immediately. It would be of great help to the thousands of farmers in receipt of that payment.

I very much welcome the Deputy's suggestion. I will certainly speak to the Minister, Deputy Creed, later today as to whether it is possible to bring GLAS payments forward for the reason the Deputy suggests.

It is not the issue I intend to raise but reference was made to Sherkin Island. I note that constituents in the middle of my constituency have been without a phone service since the last storm as well.

I am raising the commitment in the programme for Government to make Ireland have the best education service in the world by 2026. The issue that has reared its head this week is the scramble last night by the State Examinations Commission to find examiners and superintendents in the Dublin area to supervise the State examinations. This is related to the issue of teacher shortage, which we have raised repeatedly and which has been denied by the Minister. Almost exactly a year ago, the problem was denied. It has reared its head and the chickens have come home to roost. The State Examinations Commission cannot find examiners. The Minister needs to set out his plan to assist it.

While I am on the subject, it is also the case that just a fortnight ago, politics students in the leaving certificate - a subject that has been much heralded by the Government with others coming down the track - were landed with the news that approximately 27 of them will be obliged to sit three subjects in a single day during the leaving certificate examinations. While that happens from time to time, these students had no notice of it and it is essential that the Minister intervenes in this regard.

We have established a teacher supply group. I have taken steps to increase enrolment at both undergraduate and postgraduate level for teaching supply. One of the significant reasons there is pressure is that in the past two years, we have recruited 5,000 additional teachers. That has put pressure on areas like substitution. We are determined that in areas of subject shortage, we will respond and we have a group working on that.

The State Examinations Commission is an independent body that schedules its examinations.

It seeks to accommodate people to the very best of their ability and looks at any suggestions that are put forward, but it has to try to arrange exams within a limited designated period, and it does its best to facilitate people in every why it can.

There is a commitment in the programme for Government that measures will be introduced to help patients with rare diseases. A lady in my constituency is the only person in Ireland suffering from Degos disease. The Department of Health is well aware of her situation. She is unable to access any treatment for that disease. ME Advocates Ireland plan to hold a protest outside Dáil Éireann on Thursday, 10 May, for a number of hours. That protest will be the 12 month anniversary of a protest it had last year. Myalgic encephalomyelitis, ME, is recognised and has been classified as a neurological disease by the World Health Organization, WHO, since 1969. However, the HSE is yet to recognise or acknowledge it as a disease and is yet to introduce an adequate treatment plan for sufferers of ME.

In light of the commitment in the programme for Government to assist people with rare diseases, when can a patient who is the sole sufferer from Degos disease in Ireland, and patients suffering from ME, expect to get some help and assistance and access to healthcare from the Government?

We have a national rare diseases strategy and a rare diseases office has been established to implement that strategy. I am not able to provide detailed information on those two particular conditions, so I will ask the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, to reply in more detail, perhaps by correspondence. I should say that it is not the HSE's role to recognise or de-recognise illnesses. That is done by the ICD-10 and the DSM.

I refer to page 54 of the programme for Government, in particular to the Government's intention to build general practitioner capacity to respond to the needs of patients. There is a shortage of GPs throughout the country. Some 600 are soon to retire, and a recent survey of GPs by The Sunday Business Post found that 64% were no longer taking new patients. Young families and older people are finding it increasingly difficult to get access to GP services and are falling back on on-call services. These too are being capped. In turn, families and other people are having to go to accident and emergency departments for basic services.

The Ballagh, near Enniscorthy, County Wexford, is one area facing the prospect of no longer having a GP. Similar villages across the country are facing the same issue. When is the Government going to address the shortage of GPs in this country?

We certainly need more GPs to cope with a rising and ageing population and the increased demand for healthcare that goes with it. It is important to point out that we have never had more GPs. There are more GPs registered on the Medical Council's specialist register than ever before, and more GPs have a contract with the HSE under the general medical services scheme, GMS, than ever before.

Are those GPs practising?

Those are the facts. There is misinformation around that issue, but those are the facts.

There is a shortage of GPs in Dublin.

We have never had more GPs in Ireland with GMS contracts with the HSE. We have never had more GPs-----

Many GPs are retiring.

-----on the specialist register of the Medical Council and we have never trained more GPs. The number of places on the GP training scheme increased again this year, having also increased in the previous year. Very encouragingly it was oversubscribed; many more people applied to get on that scheme than there were places, so we will increase it again.

On 7 March 2018, during questions on promised legislation, I raised the issue of the Rights of Grandparents Bill 2013, which did not proceed through the Oireachtas. This Bill was intended to deal with issues around grandparents' access to children, and sought to provide for the continuous development of the relationship and bond between a grandparent and his or her grandchild. The Children and Family Relationship Act 2015 was enacted. The problem I have, and the Taoiseach also stated in his reply that he had the same issues in his constituency, is that grandparents who have fallen out with in-laws have no access to their grandchildren. On 7 March, the Taoiseach promised a more detailed answer. Grandparents have called to my constituency office and want to know what is the reply. The Taoiseach stated that he was aware that the matter is deeply upsetting for them. When can I expect a more detailed reply to the question I asked on 7 March?

I acknowledge the importance of the point raised. He is correct to say that we enacted the Child and Family Relationship Bill last year.

I agree with him that it is important that we recognise the rights of grandparents. I would be happy to sit down bilaterally with Deputy Fitzpatrick if he requires more detail on the initiative in this regard and I would commit to doing so at an appropriate time over the next couple of days.

As we have exceeded the time, Deputy Kenny has indicated that his question will be very brief.

In the north west, the diabetic services in Sligo University Hospital are housed in a small portakabin. I met people there a couple of weeks ago. Proposals to build a new facility for them are in place. These patients are mainly people with type 1 diabetes and they urgently need this to be put in place as quickly as possible. The services there are totally inadequate. They are meeting in a space which one would not believe could cater to an entire region covering Sligo, Leitrim, west Cavan and south Donegal. I urge the Taoiseach to ensure this facility is put in place as quickly as possible.

I do not have any information to hand on that particular service in Sligo, but I will ask the Minister for Health and the HSE to correspond with the Deputy.