The report of the Business Committee has been circulated and can be taken as read. In accordance with Standing Order 35, I call on the Government Chief Whip to move this week's Order of Business.

I move:

Tuesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(6)) (Office of the Ombudsman) Regulations 2022 (without debate)

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on automated data exchange for police cooperation (“Prüm II”) (to conclude within 50 mins)

- Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 (Second Stage) (if not previously concluded, debate shall be interrupted 60 mins after the conclusion of the Prüm II motion or at 5.40 p.m., whichever is the later)

- Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022 (Second Stage) (if this Bill is reached, debate shall be interrupted 60 mins after the conclusion of the Prüm II motion or at 5.40 p.m., whichever is the later)

Private Members’ Business shall be Motion re Rising cost of home heating fuel, selected by Sinn Féin.

Wednesday's business shall be:

- Motion re One Ocean summit declaration (without debate)

- Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022 – Financial Resolution (without debate)

- Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 (Second Stage, resumed, if not previously concluded) (if proceedings are not previously concluded, debate shall be interrupted 70 mins after the conclusion of the SOS or at 4 p.m., whichever is the later)

- Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022 (Second Stage) (if this Bill is reached, debate shall be interrupted 70 mins after the conclusion of the SOS or at 4 p.m., whichever is the later)

- Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Bill 2021 (Amendments from the Seanad) (to be taken no earlier than 4 p.m. and to conclude within 30 mins)

- Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022 (Report and Final Stages) (to conclude within two hours)

- Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 (Report and Final Stages) (if not previously concluded, to adjourn after two hours)

- Financial Motions by the Minister for Finance (to conclude within 110 mins and any divisions demanded thereon to be taken immediately)

Private Members’ Business shall be Motion re Removal of the Carbon Tax, selected by the Rural Independent Group.

Thursday’s business shall be:

- Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 (Second Stage, resumed, if not previously concluded)

- Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022 (Second Stage)

- Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2022 (Second Stage)

Thursday evening business shall be Second Stage of the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Prohibition of Winter Disconnections) Bill 2021.

Proposed Arrangements for this week’s business

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

1. the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(6)) (Office of the Ombudsman) Regulations 2022 shall be taken without debate;

2. the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on automated data exchange for police cooperation (“Prüm II”) shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 50 minutes, and the following arrangements shall apply:

(i) the opening speech of a Minister or Minister of State shall be followed by a speech of a member of Sinn Féin, with those speeches not exceeding 10 minutes in each case;

(ii) the speeches of the members of the Labour Party, Social Democrats, People Before Profit-Solidarity, the Regional Group, the Rural Independent Group and the Independent Group, who shall be called upon in that order, shall not exceed 5 minutes in each case; and

(iii) members may share time; and

3. in relation to Private Members’ Business, the Motion re Rising cost of home heating fuel, the proceedings on the second reading motion of a Bill sponsored by a member of the Government shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and the Motion re Rising costs of home heating fuel shall be taken, either at 5.40 p.m., or one hour after the conclusion of the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on automated data exchange for police cooperation (“Prüm II”), whichever is the later.

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

1. the Dáil shall sit later than 9.30 p.m. and shall adjourn on the conclusion of the weekly division time, which shall be taken on the conclusion of the Financial Motions by the Minister for Finance;

2. the Motion re One Ocean summit declaration shall be taken without debate;

3. the Motion for a Financial Resolution on the Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022 shall be taken without debate;

4. in relation to the amendments from the Seanad to the Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Bill 2021, the following arrangements shall apply:

(i) the proceedings on the second reading motion of any Bill sponsored by a member of the Government shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted either at 4 p.m., or 70 minutes after the conclusion of the SOS, whichever is the later, in order to take amendments from the Seanad on the Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Bill 2021: Provided that the amendments from the Seanad on the Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Bill 2021 shall be taken no earlier than 4 p.m.; and

(ii) the proceedings on the amendments from the Seanad shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 30 minutes, and any amendments from the Seanad not disposed of shall be decided by one question which shall be put from the Chair and which shall, in relation to amendments to the Seanad amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Justice;

5. the proceedings on Report and Final Stages of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 2 hours by one question which shall be put from the Chair and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform;

6. the proceedings on Report and Final Stages of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 shall, if not previously concluded, be adjourned after two hours; and

7. In relation to the Financial Motions by the Minister for Finance, the following arrangements shall apply:

(i) the Financial Motions shall be grouped together for the purposes of debate;

(ii) the proceedings thereon and on any amendments thereto, shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 110 minutes;

(iii) speaking arrangements shall, notwithstanding anything in Standing Order 210, be in accordance with those agreed by the Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, for 100 minutes, following which a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes and all members may share time; and

(iv) any divisions demanded on the Financial Motions or on any amendments thereto shall be taken immediately.

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

1. the Dáil, on its rising, shall adjourn until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, 4th May 2022;

2. notwithstanding the time allocated to it in the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders, Government business, if not previously concluded, shall only be interrupted at 7.30 p.m.; and

3. Second Stage of the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Prohibition of Winter Disconnections) Bill 2021 shall be taken with arrangements as provided for in Standing Order 160, save that the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 75 minutes.

I want to raise a very serious matter that has been raised by Deputy Catherine Murphy. It concerns the facts that the finance committee wrote to Mr. Robert Watt, Secretary General of the Department of Health, that it has actively sought information pertaining to the proposed secondment of Dr. Tony Holohan to Trinity College Dublin and that it has sought all the information pertaining to the clearance of up to €20 million in public moneys associated with that move. It also concerns the facts that the Department has not provided that information, that the Minister and indeed Mr. Watt himself refused to appear before the committee and that the committee has now written for a second time to the Secretary General of the Department of Health.

We have only a minute for each of these questions.

This makes a mockery of the business we do. It is wholly unacceptable that a Minister or senior civil servant not only refuses to co-operate with a committee of this House but also acts to actively frustrate its work. We need a substantive response from the Taoiseach on this matter to make it very clear to his own ministerial team and, perhaps more important, the public administration — senior civil servants, including Mr. Watt himself — that Mr. Watt has no authority or role in frustrating the work of any committee, the committee in this case being the finance committee of this House.

We are way over time.

Will the Taoiseach intervene to ensure that the information sought by the finance committee is furnished-----

I thank the Deputy.

-----and that the Minister for Health and Secretary General appear before the finance committee?

The Deputies are getting very frustrated over there.

I wrote to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, last week on foot of his request for suggestions on how we should deal with the ongoing housing emergency while at the same time providing the accommodation needed for Ukrainian refugees. I outlined detailed proposals and asked that we discuss the issue this week. We now have a housing emergency on top of a housing emergency; it is a matter of vital urgency. If the Minister is asking for opinions — I have certainly furnished mine — we need to debate them. I understand he has briefed the Cabinet on proposals. Are we going to discuss this matter? I think we can have a win–win whereby we seriously impact upon the housing and homelessness crisis and accommodate Ukrainian refugees, but it will take unprecedented emergency measures. These need to be debated as a matter of urgency in this House. I appeal to the Taoiseach to make time available this week to have that discussion.

As the Ceann Comhairle knows, I have been asking at the Business Committee for weeks to have a full and comprehensive debate on agriculture, including the pig industry – you name it. The Taoiseach said earlier that he believed we would come back relaxed after Easter. We would be only for the Mutt and Turf Show and the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, talking on every radio station about locking up grannies and anybody who gave a bag of turf to their neighbours. We need a full debate on agriculture and the attack going on in rural Ireland. The Taoiseach seems to think it is doing grand and he acknowledged that he burned turf himself, but we want a debate on this. It is the Government that created this mess. The Tánaiste said banning turf was like taking wine off the people in France, which is kind of a nice catchphrase, and the Taoiseach said he would pour oil on troubled waters. Then we heard some expert on RTÉ the other day saying we were burning wet turf. With a gallon of petrol, you could not burn a sod of wet turf. The Government is on a different planet. We need a debate here on agriculture and all things rural.

I thought the aromatic flavour of wine was more berry-like and that whiskey was more peat-----

That is funny. The Taoiseach should talk to his Tánaiste.

The Taoiseach should see whether he will be laughing when he-----

The Taoiseach is on the green tea.

The Deputies all need to relax a bit.

The Taoiseach is drinking too much green tea.

The Taoiseach is relaxing too much. He should come down to Kerry and see whether they will laugh when they see him coming.

People will not be stopped from using their own turf. I do not know how many times I have to say it in the House. It disappoints the Deputies-----

Will the Taoiseach tell it to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan?

-----that I say it because they want to believe people will be stopped. It is a great campaign; it is fantastic. Keep running it on, lads. Keep jumping up-----

Let us tell the people of rural Ireland they are being deprived and will having nothing, and that they are being destroyed.

What does the Taoiseach tell his backbenchers?

It is a great line. The Deputies have played it over and over and continue to do so because it kind of works for them now and again.

What about the backbenchers?

What about the people?

What about the people?

However, the substance of the issue is this: people who have their own bogs have no issue in terms of using turf.

They can share turf with their neighbours. The traditional practices regarding turf will continue. This winter there is no issue at all. All of the arguments have been that now is not the time and it should not happen this winter. It will not happen this winter anyway in terms of timelines. I have to make that point. I apologise to Deputies. I want to have a sense of perspective about this, but some Deputies do not want to entertain that at all. That is fine. They are over the top in terms of their presentation.

In terms of Deputy McDonald's points, I dealt with that in my response. The Minister is not refusing to go before any Oireachtas committee. I have made that point. We need to identify which committee, or whatever the Oireachtas wants to decide regarding that. Ministers are clearly aware of their responsibilities in that regard. An external review is under way. That is my view. It is a matter to be resolved. I do not know which committee will deal with it, or if a number of committees will deal with it.

Pass the parcel.

That is not an answer. That is entirely-----

The substantive point is the more relevant point on the Order of Business. People raise issues on the Order of Business normally to change the Order of Business in terms of debating time and getting more hours. I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for responding to the Minister's request for submissions on the Ukrainian crisis. We have six hours of debate on legislation this week. If Deputies are agreeable, we could agree to a debate on this issue next week. We should have a substantive debate on it, and I would welcome that.

The Minister for Health and the Secretary General of the Department of Health, Mr. Robert Watt, have both refused - refused - to attend the Oireachtas committee on finance. Furthermore, the Secretary General has failed to furnish that committee with documents it has requested; in fact, he has not even given it the courtesy of a response. I have in my hand a copy of the latest letter from the committee to the Secretary General, in which the committee Chair notes the lack of engagement and the apparent unwillingness to discuss and clarify matters of significant public concern. I put it to the Taoiseach earlier and I put it to him again that this is just unacceptable behaviour.

Thank you, Deputy.

It is unacceptable that Government Ministers and-----

Your time is up now, Deputy McDonald.

But I want-----

The time is up.

I want-----

I am sorry. The time is up.

-----a substantive answer to this question. Will the Taoiseach ensure-----

Please, Deputy. Your minute is up.

-----that Robert Watt, the highest paid civil servant in the land, is-----

Deputy, please, will you co-operate?

-----not allowed to frustrate the work of the finance committee? I want confirmation of that from the Taoiseach and confirmation that he will, if necessary, intervene.

Please, Deputy. The time is up.

The Deputy keeps saying the Minister for Health has refused. The Minister for Health this morning said publicly that there is no question but that he will go before a committee.

The finance committee.

When? Tomorrow?

Yes, including the finance committee.

The invitation is for tomorrow.

The Deputies are interrupting again. The truth is simple. I repeat it for them again. The Minister for Health has said there is no question but that he will go before the finance committee or any other committee that asks him to go before it.

What about Robert Watt?

He has helpfully suggested that there is an external review, an external independent review which the Deputy and other Members of this House asked for - it always moves on, of course - and that when that has happened and has been concluded, he believes a better conversation could be had before the committee. That is all.

What about Robert Watt?

That is all. On the issue of a public servant, I do not like the witch hunt nature of the approach that has been adopted. As far as-----

There is no witch hunt.

It certainly has that ring about it.

There is no witch hunt.

That needs to be watched as well.

There is no witch hunt.

I am not aware of who has written to Mr. Watt or whether people have written separately, but will I pursue that issue.

The committee should not have to hunt down public representatives.

I have the letter here. I can cross the floor to the Taoiseach and put the letter in his hand.

Please, we are out of time. Other Members questions will not be reached.

This goes to the heart of how we do our business in the Oireachtas. It is unacceptable that any civil servant, Robert Watt or anyone else-----

Can we stop the clock please?

-----believes they can frustrate the work of an Oireachtas committee. That is unacceptable.

It is completely unacceptable that anybody would try to interfere with the proper workings of the House. It is also unfair and unacceptable that the time criteria set out would be frustrated either. All of it is unacceptable.

I think it is of a different scale and order, respectfully.

Your point is valid. Nonetheless, let us all lead by example. I call Deputy Bacik.