THE action of the Provisional IRA in disrupting the British Grand National last Saturday was condemned by all parties when the Seanad resumed yesterday.
The Leader of the House, Mr Maurice Manning, also asked the Seanad to join in condemnation of the murder of an innocent Catholic man by what appeared to be some loyalist group.
Mr Manning, speaking on the Order of Business, had heard contributions from many of the senators highly critical of the IRA's action and of the recent burning of churches in the North. He described the burning of churches as "absolutely barbaric" and added that it was important also to remember the killing of the innocent Catholic man.
The matter was raised by Mr Joe O'Toole, who expressed sympathy with the British people who had to put up with so much disruption last week because of road closures and the disruption of the Grand National.
Mr John Dardis said he could not understand the warped logic of the Provisionals and he had hg there was a broad understanding that major sports events were left out of these matters.
Ms Jan O'Sullivan (Lab) also joined in the condemnation, and Mr Paddy MacGowan said the Provisionals had done more to damage the economy of this country than any other single body.
Mr David Norris said he believed that the Provisionals had scored a "spectacular own goal" in hitting the race.
Mr Michael O'Kennedy said it was impossible to get into the minds of the Provisionals. He and his party did not just condemn this action but condemned "the IRA, full stop". He also wanted to condemn the actions of those who destroying places of worship in the North.
Mr Feargal Quinn said those who had watched the race disruption last Saturday must have been impressed by the way mounted police had help in crowd control. He said he had raised the matter of mounted police with the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, some time ago.
Mr Shane Ross said he was in Britian Britain when the disruption took place and this had unleashed a great deal of anti Irish feeling. He said that instead of condemning the Provisionals, the Government should take action and stop "pussy footing with Sinn Fein".
A BILL described by the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, as the most important legislative provision affecting the administration of central Government since the original Minister and Secretaries Act of 1924, was introduced in the Seanad yesterday.
Mr Quinn said that the Public Service Management Bill formed an essential element of the Strategic Management Initiative which was the product of an on going process of administrative research, analysis and discussion at political and public service level.
He said that in moving the process forward his central aim was to equip the country with the best possible structures and systems of public administration entering the new millennium.
He said Section 3 of the Bill provided that members of the Government were responsible for the administration of their departments and reinforced the fundamental role of Dail Eireann in calling Ministers to account publicly for the stewardship of their departments.
The range and extent of matter for which an individual Minister was now theoretically and legally accountable had become so vast as to make the process of accountability almost unreal. "The notion that every minister can even know about, let alone direct and manage every action, every day in his or her own department, is absurd," he said.
The Bill addressed this crucial issue but it did not in any sense remove the Minister from the process of accountability.
Mr Quinn said that the Public Service Management Bill was a historic departure from previous approaches to pubic service reform.
The Bill would provide a statutory basis for a new management structure in the Civil Service. It addressed the core issue of the assignment of authority, responsibility and accountability to secretaries and through various levels within the department.
Mr Quinn said the secretaries of departments would be known in future as secretary general and would be required to submit a strategy statement to his or her minister at least every three years.
He said the change in name resulted from his personal observation of the hoops that a Civil Service chief of an Irish Department had to go through to explain this place in the existing scheme of things to counterparts from others administrations.
But, he said, the change was more than cosmetic and it would be followed by more changes in the archaic and somewhat mystifying titles which abounded in the Civil Service.
He said he was confident that the measures in the Bill would open up the organisation, role functioning and operation of departments of state to public scrutiny to a degree never seed in the history of the state.
Welcoming the Bill, Mr Feargal Quinn said that it shifted matters away from "administration" to "management" and the terms of the Bill made this possible.
The Bill now goes before the Dail.
THE Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates, will contact the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, later today in an attempt to ease the problems for beef farmers as political pressure builds on the Government over the problems in the beef sector.
The Minister was in telephonic contact with Mr Fischler yesterday to ease restrictions on EU intervention and on the level of subsidies under the GATT agreement.
In the Seanad yesterday both Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats demanded an emergency debate on the farming crisis when the House resumed after the Easter recess. There were also demands for a debate on the Single Currency issue, especially where it relates to agriculture, which is one of the sectors which may suffer badly when Ireland joins.
The demand for the EMU debate came from Mr John Dardis, who called for a coherent strategy and what he termed a realistic (Government strategy, especially there was real hardship out in the farming community where there was a crisis with falling prices.
Mr Michael O'Kennedy said the alarming crisis was very grave and it was also a crisis for the national economy because of the importance of farming.
"He urged the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, to match EU aid for farmers, who were being compensated for the BSE crisis, and the revaluation of the Irish Green Pound, pound for pound, as had happened in other European countries.
The Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, who was in the Seanad said he would welcome a debate on the EMU issue if there is a demand for it but suggested that it take place after April 17th.
AN American institution has offered "a considerable sum of money" for the facade and other historic remnants of the old Abbey Theatre, the Seanad was told.
Mr Don Lydon (FF) said that he had become aware that an offer had been made for the artefacts which had been taken down and kept safe by the former city architect, Mr Daithi Hanly.
The Leader of the Seanad, Mr Maurice Manning, said that he would bring the matter to the attention of the Minister.