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Dáil Éireann Vol. 747 Thursday, No. 1 17 November 2011 DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES DÁIL ÉIREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) Déardaoin, 17 Samhain 2011. Leaders’ Questions ……………………………… 1 Order of Business ……………………………… 6 Access to Central Treasury Funds (Commission for Energy Regulation) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages ………………………… 15 Review of Serious Incidents including Deaths of Children in Care: Statements ………… 16 Health (Provision of General Practitioner Services) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Second Stage (resumed)……………………………46 Referral to Select Committee ………………………… 60 Topical Issue Matters ……………………………… 60 Topical Issue Debate Regulatory Bodies……………………………… 61 Payments to Bondholders…………………………… 63 Schools Building Projects …………………………… 66 Army Barracks ……………………………… 68 Ceisteanna — Questions Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Priority Questions …………………………… 71 Other Questions …………………………… 79 Questions: Written Answers …………………………… 93 DÁIL ÉIREANN DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL OFFICIAL REPORT Imleabhar 747 Volume 747 Déardaoin, 17 Samhain 2011. Thursday, 17 November 2011. ———— Chuaigh an Ceann Comhairle i gceannas ar 10.30 a.m. ———— Paidir. Prayer. ———— Leaders’ Questions Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív: A Thánaiste, the decision of the Government to close the embassy to the Holy See is, I believe, a mistake. It is a wrong choice diplomatically, politically and economically and it certainly will not add to Ireland’s position in the world. The saving involved could have been found quite easily by making other adjustments within the €150 million over- head Vote of the Tánaiste’s Department. The Tánaiste himself said that this decision was taken because the Vatican or the Holy See has no economic importance. When has Ireland decided that issues such as human rights, Third World aid, freedom of religion, the environment, disarmament or democracy, are no longer important and that everything is just a matter of economic gain? It is interesting to note that in taking this decision, the Tánaiste is going against what is happening in other countries. Britain, Australia and Russia, have all chosen to upgrade their diplomatic missions to the Holy See while we are deciding to take away the resident ambassador. The Vatican is a major player in world diplomacy. The Tánaiste said last July that the Holy See has one of the largest diplomatic corps in the world, making the Vatican an important listening post and crossroads on a range of global, social, political and international issues of interest to Ireland. What has changed in the meantime to change the Tánaiste’s opinion? It adds nothing to our international reputation to be closing down missions when what we could be doing, as did the Tánaiste’s predecessors, is ensuring that efficiencies are made in other ways. 1 Leaders’ 17 November 2011. Questions [Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív.] Is it the Government’s intention to reverse the decision regarding the Vatican and the other two missions involved and to find savings within the Department’s Vote in other ways? The Tánaiste: I also said at that time and throughout the summer that the Government has been conducting a comprehensive review of expenditure across all Departments. As part of this exercise, I reviewed the diplomatic service and the diplomatic missions and I decided to recommend the closure of three resident missions and the Government agreed to this recom- mendation. These are the missions in the Holy See, in Teheran and in Timor Leste. I regret it is necessary to close any missions and I would hope that in the course of time, as the country recovers, that we will be able to return to the question of whether we should have resident embassies in those locations. However, at this time, it is not the Government’s intention to reverse the decision and that decision will stand. This country will continue to have diplomatic relations with the Holy See. We intend to appoint an ambassador to the Holy See who will be a senior diplomat located in Dublin and who will service the Holy See directly from Dublin. In respect of the other two missions, it is our intention to accredit an ambassador in a neighbouring country to Teheran and to have the ambassador in Singapore service Timor Leste. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív: Can the Tánaiste say exactly how much money will be saved by the withdrawal of the resident ambassador to the Holy See? Were there no other options to make what in total is a savings of approximately €1 million — €1.2 million — out of €150 million spent in overheads in the Department? Will the Tánaiste not agree that the €500 million expen- diture on Irish Aid is very important and that much of this funding goes to sub-Saharan Africa, where the church, for example, is involved in 25% of the health care providers and where 12 million young children attend church schools? In that connection, does he not agree that our contribution to Irish Aid is very important? Does he not believe that a connection with an organisation that has 1.3 billion people or 17% of the population of the world as adherents, which has 220,000 parishes throughout the world—— Deputy Simon Harris: This is a homily. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív: ——is an important place for us to be in terms of the issues I have raised such as human rights, disarmament, the environment, etc? Does the Tánaiste not find it extraordinary that we have managed to fund this residency over all the years when we were a much poorer country and that he has to make this decision now? I do not believe it was made for money reasons because I do not believe he could not have found the money elsewhere within the Vote. Deputy Emmet Stagg: Did Opus Dei prepare the question? The Tánaiste: The total savings are in the order of €1.2 million. I acknowledge and I agree with the Deputy that it is important to maintain diplomatic relations with the Holy See—— Deputy Jerry Buttimer: Hear, hear. The Tánaiste: ——and diplomatic relations are being maintained with the Holy See. I also agree with the Deputy that it is important to respect the position of the Catholic Church in this State and that is the reason when the Government made the decision to close the embassy in the Holy See, I communicated that decision personally and immediately to both Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin. I agree that on issues of human rights and the envir- 2 Leaders’ 17 November 2011. Questions onment and a whole range of areas it is important for this country to be actively involved. This is why we will continue our engagement in the multilateral organisations which are established by the United Nations and other bodies for the conduct of those matters. We will work with the Holy See through those agencies. Similarly, our aid programme is not channelled through the Holy See or any other state but is channelled in a bilateral way by the State and, in a number of cases, through multilateral agencies. That is why, in our review of the embassies, we believed it important to maintain our embassy network, especially in those countries in which we have a significant aid programme. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald: Later today the Government is set to announce the slashing of a further 14,500 staff from the public service. Has the Tánaiste, or the Government, given any consideration to the impact these cuts will have on frontline services which, as we speak, are already under immense pressure? Has the Tánaiste considered that his agenda, rather than delivering public service reform, will create a public service slum in this State? When the Tánaiste came into office he pledged that the choices his Government would make would be fair. What we have seen is, on the one hand, 14,500 jobs to go, adding to the 450,000 people on the dole and, on the other hand, another senior civil servant about to walk away with a pension of €114,000 and a lump sum of €204,000. Where is the fairness in that? We have already seen the scandal in which more than €8 million of taxpayers’ money goes to the pensions of former Ministers, many of whom, such as the former leader of the Tánaiste’s party, Dick Spring, are still in employment. We see the cronyism of the last Government continue. Twenty people with affiliations to Fine Gael or the Labour Party have been appointed to State boards since the Government took office. Five of the six judges appointed by Government on the Tánaiste’s watch have political affiliations to Fine Gael or the Labour Party. Deputy Jerry Buttimer: Not to yours, anyway. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald: At the same time, the Government refuses to call for account- ability at the very highest levels of the Civil Service and insists in continuing with the appoint- ment of the outgoing Secretary General of the Department of Finance, Mr. Kevin Cardiff, to the European Court of Auditors. An Ceann Comhairle: Thank you, Deputy. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald: I understand the Tánaiste’s party has gone so far as to ask one of its elected officials to be silent in her criticism of that matter. How does the Tánaiste square that circle? Public service reform is not about slashing numbers in the service. More important, what has the Tánaiste to say to citizens who rely on public services and who do not, at this time, receive the services they require? What will the slashing of further resources from those services mean for them? The Tánaiste: Deputy McDonald asked whether the Government had considered the impact of the reforms to frontline services which the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, will announce today.
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