Vol. 234 Thursday, No. 8 2 October 2014 DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SEANAD ÉIREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) Insert Date Here 02/10/2014A00100Business of Seanad 534 02/10/2014B00100Order of Business 534 02/10/2014D00300Visit of Malaysian Ambassador 539 02/10/2014D00500Order of Business (Resumed) 539 02/10/2014J00100Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages 551 02/10/2014P02300Adjournment Matters ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������563 02/10/2014P02400Garda Station Closures 563 SEANAD ÉIREANN Déardaoin, 2 Deireadh Fómhair 2014 Thursday, 2 October 2014 Chuaigh an Cathaoirleach i gceannas ar 1030 am Machnamh agus Paidir. Reflection and Prayer. 02/10/2014A00100Business of Seanad 02/10/2014A00200Senator oirleach: I have received notice from Senator James Heffernan that, on the motion for the Adjournment of the House today, he proposes to raise the following matter: The need for the Minister of State at the Department of Finance with responsibility for the Office of Public Works to outline the cost of maintaining and insuring recently closed Garda stations and to state whether he has considered giving preference to community and voluntary groups to use these buildings for community use, in particular, the temporary use of the former Garda station in Kilfinane, County Limerick, by Kilfinane ForestAFC. I regard the matter raised by the Senator as suitable for discussion on the Adjournment and it will be taken at the conclusion of business. 02/10/2014B00100Order of Business 02/10/2014B00200Senator Ivana Bacik: The Order of Business is No 1, Freedom of Information Bill 2013 - Report and Final Stages, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. 02/10/2014B00300Senator Denis O’Donovan: I am compelled again to raise the unfortunate issue of the Mc- Nulty debacle From listening in the corridors last night and this morning, I am aware oil was poured on troubled waters at the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting and its members seem happy there is no heave against the Taoiseach. While that may be the case, there are still many questions to be answered----- 02/10/2014B00400Senator oirleach: That is not relevant to the Order of Business 02/10/2014B00500Senator Denis O’Donovan: Many questions for this House and the public still remain to be answered Yesterday, I reiterated that the issue of the vacancy of the Seanad seat arose because 534 2 October 2014 of Deirdre Clune’s election to the European Parliament The Seanad by-election concerns this, not the other House I have demanded and will continue to demand that the Taoiseach comes before this House to tender a full explanation to Members here about the shenanigans that went on A number of outstanding questions remain The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gael- tacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, has not done herself proud in the replies she has given She mentioned in one of her statements that she wanted regional balance when she appointed Mr McNulty to the board of IMMA, the Irish Museum of Modern Art. If one reflects on that, she was also aware that he was a potential Seanad by-election candidate and that once he became one, he would have to resign from the board Is this a simple ruse? The Minister ignored the cap of nine members for the board of IMMA and enlarged it to 11 members, a bit like the bank- ing inquiry shenanigans that happened here some time ago There is also the further question of why, despite the clear suggestion that a woman would have been the preferred candidate, did the Taoiseach and the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht chose to ignore this Some are claiming this debacle is over. It is not because the Seanad by-election will take place on 10 October. What if Mr. McNulty is elected by Government party Members? If he is, it will create a serious crisis because he has already withdrawn from the race Has the Taoiseach directed the Members of his parliamentary party not to vote for him? For anyone to claim this is over----- 02/10/2014B00600Senator oirleach: We cannot discuss the by-election. This is all speculation. 02/10/2014B00700Senator Denis O’Donovan: Whatever way this pans out, these are questions that must be answered I reiterate my demand that the Taoiseach, no one else, should come before this House to explain what has happened I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Taoiseach comes to the House today to answer questions on this issue A similar amendment was rejected on yesterday’s Order of Business but this side of the House will keep on insisting on this until the Taoiseach comes into this House and shows respect for this Chamber In a ref- erendum last year, this Chamber was protected by the people The issue of the vacancy of a seat here is a matter for the Seanad It was very remiss of the Taoiseach and the Leader yesterday to reject this proposal I hope the Deputy Leader today will change the view of the Govern- ment side and request the Taoiseach to come to the House Even if it were for next Tuesday or Wednesday, I would then withdraw my amendment to the Order of Business. The many unanswered questions concerning the debacle of the McNulty affair - which I accept is unfortunate for that man - affects the status and dignity of this House. We need those answers and the only person to provide them is the Taoiseach 02/10/2014B00800Senator Paul Coghlan: With respect, Senator O’Donovan is flogging a dead horse. 02/10/2014B00900Senator Diarmuid Wilson: The Taoiseach is not a dead horse Is the Senator suggesting the Taoiseach is a dead horse? 02/10/2014B01000Senator Paul Coghlan: He and the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, have given full explanations. While I know it might not be relevant to the Order of Business, a Chathaoirligh, the Taoiseach asked that Mr. McNulty’s wishes be re- spected 02/10/2014B01100Senator oirleach: Does the Senator have a question for the Deputy Leader? 535 Seanad Éireann 02/10/2014B01200Senator Paul Coghlan: I welcome the revised model for ministerial appointments which is implicit in what Senator O’Donovan is calling for All of this has been dealt with A report will be made by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, and brought back to Cabinet within six weeks. The new model will be operable fully from 1 November which we all respect and support I gather there will be an announcement today regarding Part V of the planning process While we await the details, I understand it will provide for more flexibility and improve the situation as regards social housing and housing generally 02/10/2014B01300Senator Sean D. Barrett: I want to raise the issue of the decline in the international rank- ings of Irish universities as published today Trinity College Dublin dropped out of the top 100 while University College Dublin out of the top 200 There has been a dramatic decline during this recession in the State funding of universities with an increase in fees and the use of some private incomes The staff to student ratio has deteriorated It is over 18 compared with 11 in the United Kingdom. If the Irish universities were ranked by funding, none would get remotely near the top 200. We must invite the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O’Sullivan, in here to discuss the implications of this To have 20% more students and to lose 2,500 staff means fewer courses are on offer and the quality of the graduates will suffer The rankings are seriously defective in that they underestimate areas where Ireland has been successful in the past in the humanities, the social sciences and so on but they have an interna- tional impact There is a funding crisis There is an increase in Government attempts to control universities, which is a mistake. There were financial problems which should not have been allowed to occur. Our briefing note on higher education prepared by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service states: “Quality is something which has become ‘increasingly government- driven rather than institution-led’ . .”. That is a mistake. It has involved layers of bureaucracy. We need people in the classroom. People of all senior ranks in universities should get back to lecturing. There are problems like that. There were some expense account scandals that the Comptroller and Auditor General had to investigate in Waterford and elsewhere. We need more resources for the classroom The numbers are based on 2012 and will get worse before they get better. This could be a point of decline in Irish education. Nobody wants to see that. I thank the Cathaoirleach for the extra time 02/10/2014C00200Senator Michael Mullins: It is very difficult to take what Senator O’Donovan said this morning seriously and to see the Fianna Fáil Party making such a major issue of one board ap- pointment. This is the party that was hammered in the 2011 election and yet before it left office stuffed boards with its supporters and cronies that ran into seriously inflated numbers----- 02/10/2014C00300An Cathaoirleach: Does the Senator have a question for the Leader? 02/10/2014C00400Senator Michael Mullins: At this stage the people want us to get back to discussing the real issues of the day, such as how we can accelerate the success of the Action Plan for Jobs How can we get more people back to work? We all welcome the fact that the live register fig- ures published yesterday show a further decrease in the numbers unemployed Employment is now at its highest level since 2009 The numbers on the live register have fallen by 4% since the launch of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, from 151% in February 2012 to 111% in September 2014.