Good morning,
Loathe as we are to mention the B-word at a time when many of us are settling in for a short Easter break, many of our domestic political issues have been recently sidelined because of the unending Brexit saga.
First and foremost, the biggest political issue put on the back-burner has been a general election.
When the saga surrounding the national children’s hospital began to unfold, Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen boldly declared if it wasn’t for Brexit the Government would be gone.
We are told it is in the “national interest” that Irish politics remains stable during this pivotal time, and it’s a hard point to argue against.
There is, however, the small issue of electoral polling, and all the recent statistics show neither Fine Gael nor Fianna Fáil have made significant inroads to justify pulling the plug.
Other important issues have gone by the wayside, too, and many of them are important health-related issues.
A tribunal to provide a non-adversarial legal approach for women affected by the CervicalCheck scandal, and an ex gratia scheme for those women, are still not in place. We are also still waiting for a new law on opt-out organ donation and for action on exclusion zones to sit alongside the abortion legislation.
It's not just health though - there are serious and glaring crises in the rental and housing market. It was also hoped the national broadband plan would be finalised by now, but, as we learn from Fiach Kelly today, we will wait a while longer for that too.
Despite all this, the main topic of conversation in Leinster House today will relate to one organisation and one man: the FAI and John Delaney.
Minister for Sport Shane Ross will appear before the Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport this afternoon where it is expected he be questioned on funding for the scandal-hit organisation.
In a piece this morning, Harry McGee writes the FAI board will come under enormous pressure to step down in its entirety today after politicians poured scorn on its decision to allow Delaney temporarily step aside from his senior role.
Members of the parliamentary committee examining governance within the association have described the actions taken by the board on Monday as “insulting”, “offensive” and not going far enough.
“Five leading members of the committee from across the political spectrum told The Irish Times the crisis had now reached a stage where members of the board need to resign en masse, if public confidence in the FAI were to be restored.”
Watch this space.
Cabinet turns to mother-and-baby-homes report
Cabinet meets this morning for what is expected to be its last gathering before Easter, and Minister for Children Katherine Zappone will bring some key updates on the Mother and Baby Homes Commission.
The fifth interim report, which will be published this afternoon, will look into the issue of burial arrangements for those who lived in the institutions. Another report from the collaborative forum, where former residents can express their views, is also expected to be published.
The Mother and Baby Homes Commission, chaired by retired Circuit Court judge Yvonne Murphy, was set up in February 2015 after Galway-based historian Catherine Corless published research that revealed death certificates for 796 children at the Tuam mother-and-baby home with no indication of their burial places.
The commission has been tasked with investigating 14 mother-and-baby homes, as well as four so-called county homes, which operated across the State at different times between 1922 and 1998.
Today’s report into burials is likely to be one of the most important documents released by the commission to date.
Zappone will brief former residents and survivors before holding a press conference.
Destruction of a world treasure
Finally, it would be remiss to provide an early morning digest of the big news without mentioning our lead today.
Lara Marlowe has a dispatch from Paris about how 400 firefighters tackled the blaze at the world-famous Notre Dame.
One poignant quote came from 80-year-old Bernard, a retired chemical engineer.
“I went to the cathedral often. I am devastated. At my age, I will never see it rebuilt. The only thing that comforts me is that I believe the whole world will help us rebuild it.”
Best Reads
Jack Horgan-Jones writes about how the Web Summit founder is behind a tax ads campaign.
Commercial rivals to the VHI say they have no plans to follow the semi-State health insurer's lead by providing wider access to cancer drugs for some private patients, writes Paul Cullen
US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi - who is in Dublin this week - says there would be"no chance whatsoever" of a US-UK trade deal if the Northern Ireland peace agreement was weakened by Brexit.
Kitty Holland writes about how more than a third of young people leaving State care that are working with one specialised charity are either homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Playbook
Dáil
Leader’s Questions kicks off at 14.00.
At 14.32 the Order of Business will be taken before a motion on the Defence Forces at 14.32.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will take questions at 15.02.
At 15.47 Simon Coveney will take questions on his brief; expect a bit on Brexit, of course.
Topic Issues are up at 17.17.
Government business is at 18.05 with a Department of Transport motion on the Ireland-US pre-clearance agreement. A new deal was recently agreed by Government that would see pre-clearance facilities at Dublin and Shannon airports expanded. There will also be statements on GP contract reform, and the Greyhound Racing Bill is also up. This seeks to improve the governance of the sector.
At 20.00 Private Members’ business will be taken, and it’s Fianna Fáil in the driving seat with the Civil Liability and Courts (Amendment) Bill 2019, which aims to tackle insurance fraudsters.
The Dáil adjourns at 22:00.
Seanad
It’s looking like a relatively short day in the Seanad.
Proceedings kick off at 14.30.
The Order of Business is at 15:30.
At 16:45 the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Bill 2019 is up. This Bill seeks to “bring clarity to the permit and licensing approach to small scale, local gaming and lottery activity, updating certain stake and prize limits and standardising the minimum gambling age at 18”.
Also at 16.45 Aircraft Noise (Dublin Airport) Bill 2018 will proceed through committee stage.
The Seanad adjourns at 18.30.
Committees
The Joint Committee on Climate Action meets at 12 to unveil its report: “Climate change: a cross-party consensus for action”.
The Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport also meets at 12 to discuss governance at, and funding to, the Football Association of Ireland. Minister for Transport Shane Ross is up.
At 15.00 the Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment is back to discuss the Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill 2017.
At 15.30 the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine will discuss The Future of the Beef Sector.
