Vol. 225 Wednesday, No. 3 17 July 2013 DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SEANAD ÉIREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) Business of Seanad 217 Order of Business 218 Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage ����������������������������������������������������������������������229 Special Olympics Ireland: Motion 281 Business of Seanad 311 Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages 311 An Bille um an Dara Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Deireadh a Chur le Seanad Éireann) 2013: Tairiscint chun Bille a chur faoi Athchúrsa 313 Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013: Motion to Recommit 313 An Bille um an Dara Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Deireadh a Chur le Seanad Éireann) 2013: An Tuar- ascáil 318 Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013: Report Stage 318 Adjournment Matters ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������352 17/07/2013PPP01500Environmental Policy 352 17/07/2013PPP01800Child Protection Issues 354 17/07/2013RRR00250Garda Vetting Applications 357 17/07/2013SSS00300Disability Allowance Appeals ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������359 SEANAD ÉIREANN Dé Céadaoin, 17 Iúil 2013 Wednesday, 17 July 2013 Chuaigh an Cathaoirleach i gceannas ar 1030 am Machnamh agus Paidir. Reflection and Prayer. Business of Seanad 17/07/2013A00200An Cathaoirleach: I have received notice from Senator Kathryn Reilly that, on the motion for the Adjournment of the House today, she proposes to raise the following matter: The need for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to discuss the updates to the environmental impact assessment directive made by the European Parliament environment committee in terms of the inclusion of the extraction of unconven- tional fossil fuels I have also received notice from Senator Deirdre Clune of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Education and Skills to implement the recommendations of the sixth report of the Government’s special rapporteur on child protection relating to cyberbullying and homophobic bullying I have also received notice from Senator Denis Landy of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Justice and Equality to give an update on the progress made in reducing the waiting time for Garda vetting in view of the fact that 23 staff have been deployed from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and another 31 staff from other sections of the public sector and that these staff completed their training on 15 July 2013 and are now available to tackle the unacceptably high delays of up to 14 weeks I have also received notice from Senator Mary Moran of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Social Protection to address the long delays in the pro- cessing of disability allowance payments I have also received notice from Senator Lorraine Higgins of the following matter: The need for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to 217 Seanad Éireann initiate a direct construction programme for local authority houses in County Galway I regard the matters raised by Senators Reilly, Clune, Landy and Moran as suitable for discussion on the Adjournment and they will be taken at the conclusion of business Senator Higgins may give notice on another day of the matter she wishes to raise Order of Business 17/07/2013A00400Senator Maurice Cummins: The Order of Business shall be No 1, Protection of Life Dur- ing Pregnancy Bill 2013 - Committee Stage, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Busi- ness and to adjourn no later than 4 pm; Private Members’ Business to be taken at 430 pm and to conclude no later than 630 pm; No 2, Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 630 pm and to conclude no later than 7 pm; No 3, Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013 — Report Stage, to be taken at 7 pm and to adjourn at 10 pm if not previously concluded I congratulate Senator John Gilroy on his book, A Cry in the Morning, which is being launched at 7 pm today He has informed me that everybody is invited to the launch 17/07/2013B00200Senator Denis O’Donovan: I, too, congratulate Senator John Gilroy and hope to be able to attend the launch, subject to the proceedings of the House I wish him well and commend him for his efforts We are giving a commitment that we will not oppose the Order of Business, even though we may wish to do so, because we have a full programme of legislation before us which may run until midnight It will be an extremely long and busy day I hope the debate on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 will be reasoned and tempered and expect no less from this House I am deeply concerned about the Government’s attitude towards the health service across the country Yesterday we heard about cutbacks in mental health services This House has discussed suicide and other important issues Any cutback to mental health funding is a back- wards step and should be resisted We will return next term with all guns blazing on cutbacks in mental health services and other areas of the health service I am particularly concerned about the reports that have been acknowledged by the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch It is a frightening statistic that only ten out of 109 public nursing homes meet the new standards set out by HIQA The Minister of State has acknowledged that it will cost several hundred million euro to rectify the problem People like Eamon Timmins of Age Action Ireland have called on the Government to ensure HIQA standards are complied with by the 2015 deadline I urge the Government to act with urgency on this issue The pa- tients in these nursing homes are primarily elderly Some are in their 80s or 90s There was a situation recently in my own area where a small home run by a geriatric association was closed and its 11 elderly occupants faced terrible inconvenience as the health board went about the al- most impossible task of finding new accommodation for them. It is appalling that the Govern- ment failed to make provision in the last two budgets to make a start on this task The Minister of State has suggested no home will close, but if they do not meet the standards laid down, will we be running a two tier system? Are the standards for private nursing homes at higher than those applying to public homes? That would be an appalling vista I urge the Leader to arrange 218 17 July 2013 a specific debate in the next term on elderly care and the nursing home debacle. If money has to be spent to ensure the elderly are treated fairly and properly, we must spend it I am putting the Leader on notice that the issue will be top of our agenda when we return in September We will be forcing vote after vote on the issue until such time as the Minister of State assures the elderly that they will have a safe home and a proper place in which to live out the rest of their days 17/07/2013B00300Senator Mary Moran: I support Senator Denis O’Donovan’s call for a debate at the earli- est opportunity in the new term on the issue of elder care and mental health services The pro- gramme for Government pledged to take up the cause of people with mental health issues and to do all we could in this regard. It is only right and proper that we reflect on where we are and how best we can make progress I join in the congratulations to Senator John Gilroy on the launch of his book He has put a lot of work into it and deserves great credit for it I wish him all the best with his endeavours I refer to the issue of the Magdalen laundries and the refusal of the four religious orders to contribute to the compensation fund, as was announced yesterday. I find it extremely disap- pointing and insulting to the victims of the laundries As someone who attended a convent school run by one of the religious orders in question, I am deeply disappointed It is shameful that they have decided their only co-operation will be to provide information, records and care for people who were in their care This decision is a huge setback The Government tackled the issue of the Magdalen laundries for the first time and the apology given in the Dáil by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste represented a great day for politics, but we need to do more The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, said on radio this morning that there was no way of insisting on them paying up. I ask the religious orders to reflect on their decision and do the moral thing I do not think this compensation should be pushed onto the taxpayer It would be a great day if the religious orders admitted their guilt Their response has been ex- tremely