Sitting of Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 1749010823009957 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
Order of business
Speeches load per item. Summaries shown here are AI-generated and labelled; verbatim text is on each speech page.
- 1 Opening Announcements: Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill - Supreme Court Determination 2 speeches
- 2 Papers Papers Presented and Committee Reports 8 speeches
- 3 Petitions Petitions 5 speeches
- 4 Oral question Oral Questions: Question Nos. 1-6 34 speeches
- Mr. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. (Prof.) Sena Nanayakkara JJB
AI summary The Hon. (Prof.) Sena Nanayakkara formally raised a parliamentary question. No substantive details of the question or related policy matter were provided in the excerpt.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. (Dr.) Hansaka Wijemuni - Deputy Minister of Health and Mass Media JJB
AI summary On behalf of the Minister of Health and Mass Media, the Deputy Minister requested one week’s time to respond to the question before the House. The question was ordered to stand down.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Anuradha Jayaratne, Attorney-at-Law NDF
AI summary A question was raised to the Minister of Justice and National Integration regarding the proposed construction of new law chambers in Kandy. The request sought details on the project, including its planning, implementation, and relevant administrative arrangements.
- The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law - Minister of Justice and National Integration JJB
AI summary The Minister said the Ministry is aware of the Kandy Bar Association’s request regarding lawyers’ chambers, following a discussion on 14 March 2025. He stated that the Ministry does not collect data on lawyers without chambers, but the Bar Association’s 2024 register lists 1,051 lawyers in the Kandy judicial zone. He noted that a Cabinet decision of 9 September 2024 approved transferring the relevant land portion to the Ministry of Justice, with the Kandy Bar Association to enter directly into a lease agreement with the UDA and undertake construction without government funds. The Ministry has since written to the Minister of Urban Development to facilitate the Bar Association’s access to the land.
- The Hon. Anuradha Jayaratne, Attorney-at-Law NDF
AI summary Anuradha Jayaratne raised the issue of a 60-perch land parcel originally acquired in 1990 for a court complex and prison, later allocated to the CEB but now available for expansion of lawyers’ chambers after CEB and UDA agreement. He said the current requirement for junior lawyers to pay Rs. 62 million upfront is impractical, noting comparable lawyers’ complexes elsewhere were not subject to such charges. He asked the Minister to intervene and allow the land to be provided on a fair monthly lease based on government valuation instead of an upfront payment.
- The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law - Minister of Justice and National Integration JJB
AI summary The Minister clarified that several plots acquired in 2006 were allocated for the Kandy Court Complex, a lawyers’ complex to be built at lawyers’ expense on lease, and parking. He stated that the 40-perch block mentioned had not been transferred to the Ministry of Justice, and that the Ministry cannot acquire separate land solely for lawyers’ chambers under its current mandate. He added that if the disputed 60 perches are within the acquired court land the matter can be discussed further, but current information indicates the CEB block is outside the allocated court area and available internal space has already been used.
- The Hon. Anuradha Jayaratne, Attorney-at-Law NDF
AI summary Anuradha Jayaratne stated that the land in question falls within the original 4.5-acre extent and said he could produce the survey blocking-out plan to verify this. He clarified that the request was not for a free grant, but for a fair lease arrangement to enable junior lawyers to afford chambers.
Land & Housing Full speech → - The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law - Minister of Justice and National Integration JJB
AI summary The Minister responded that the challenged decision was made by the Cabinet under President Ranil Wickremesinghe and stated that it was legally valid. He said that if the disputed 60 perches fall within the originally acquired land, the matter could be discussed separately, while noting that providing office space for lawyers is outside his Ministry’s remit. He added that if the land belongs to the Ministry, it would be willing to discuss and facilitate the matter with the Urban Development Authority.
- Mr. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. (Dr.) Najith Indika JJB
AI summary Dr. Najith Indika formally raised a Question before the House. No substantive issue, proposal, or policy matter was stated in the provided excerpt.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Ananda Wijepala - Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs JJB
AI summary The Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs requested two weeks’ time to provide an answer to the question. The question was ordered to stand down.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. J.C. Alawathuwala SJB
AI summary Hon. J.C. Alawathuwala raised Question No. 3519/2025 to the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government regarding pension discrepancies affecting government servants who retired before 31 December 2015. The question sought clarification on the issue and any measures being taken to address disparities in their pension entitlements.
Public Finance Full speech → - The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government JJB
AI summary The Minister stated that there is no pension discrepancy, noting that pensions for public officers retired on or before 01.01.2017 have already been revised under Public Administration Circulars 14/2019 and 03/2016. He said the 2025 Budget provides Rs. 10,000 million to revise pensions from 01.07.2025 for those retired before 01.01.2018, with further revisions planned for retirees before 01.01.2020 under stages 3, 4 and 5 of Circular 03/2016. He also noted that public sector salary increases will take effect from 01.01.2025, with payments from 01.04.2025 without arrears, and that the cost of living allowance for pensioners will continue at the level set under the 2024 Budget.
Public Finance Full speech → - The Hon. J.C. Alawathuwala SJB
AI summary J.C. Alawathuwala raised a supplementary question on pension anomalies affecting retirees from 2016 to 2020, noting that they had been informed the correction would be added from January 2020 but that it was later deferred by circular under the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration. He asked what action the Government has taken, given earlier statements by the President and Hon. Wijitha Herath that resolving this anomaly was a priority.
Public Finance Full speech → - The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government JJB
AI summary The Minister stated that an approved pension revision had previously been suspended without payment. He said the Government is now taking steps to pay the arrears in stages.
Public Finance Full speech → - The Hon. J.C. Alawathuwala SJB
AI summary Asked for specific timelines and details on how the proposed staged payments would be made. The intervention sought clarification on the payment schedule and implementation process.
Public Finance Full speech → - The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government JJB
AI summary The Minister stated that the 2025 Budget includes a proposal to make relevant payments to pensioners. He added that future Budgets would also provide for such payments to ensure no pensioner is disadvantaged.
Public Finance Full speech → - The Hon. J.C. Alawathuwala SJB
AI summary Hon. J.C. Alawathuwala raised the hardship faced by pensioners following the economic downturn and pointed to the disparity between cost of living allowances paid to serving public officers and pensioners. He asked what steps had been taken to fulfil the pre-election promise to equalise those allowances, noting that both groups face the same prices for essential goods.
- The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government JJB
AI summary The Minister said the Government would prefer to pay pensioners the same cost of living allowance as serving public officers, but noted that pensioners have historically received a lower allowance, citing the 2024 increases to Rs. 6,025 for pensioners and Rs. 17,800 for serving officers. He said differences may reflect work-related costs borne by serving officers, but affirmed that pensioners should receive a fair pension and allowance to live with dignity, with steps to be considered in future Budgets. He also stated that reductions in medicine prices would benefit both pensioners and serving officers.
- The Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna SJB
AI summary The Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna raised Question No. 542/2025 to the Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs regarding the issuance of new passports. He sought details on the matter, requesting information from the Ministry on the current arrangements and related figures for passport issuance.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Ananda Wijepala - Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs JJB
AI summary The Minister provided data on passport issuance, stating that about 3,000 applications are received daily and 246,714 passports were issued between 1 January and 16 May 2025. He said around 4,000 passports are issued per day across one-day, regular, foreign mission, emergency, and backlog-clearing categories. He stated that one-day service applications are processed within a few hours, passport validity is not extended, and a 24-hour one-day passport service has been implemented from 18 February 2025.
Law & Order Full speech → - The Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna SJB
AI summary Harshana Rajakaruna raised concerns about continuing delays in issuing passports, citing a payment receipt for an application lodged on 11 July 2023 and noting that applicants are still receiving appointments up to six months later. He said the appointment system has reduced queues but not solved the underlying problem, and questioned whether the Government, after 7–8 months in office, has taken action to address the delays.
Infrastructure Full speech → - The Hon. Ananda Wijepala JJB
AI summary Hon. Ananda Wijepala stated that the passport backlog has been reduced since the introduction of a 24-hour service, with 303,483 passports issued out of 349,483 applications received. He said 56,769 of the earlier backlog of about 110,000 applications had been cleared, leaving 43,231 pending, and that urgent applicants can now obtain a passport within a day under the one-day service.
Public Finance Full speech → - The Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna SJB
AI summary Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna stated that around 43,000 items or cases from the previous year’s accumulation remain unresolved. He raised this as a point to the Minister, implying a request for clarification or action on the outstanding backlog.
Public Finance Full speech → - The Hon. Ananda Wijepala JJB
AI summary Ananda Wijepala said the passport backlog was inherited from previous administrations and that daily issuance had been increased from about 1,200 to 4,000 while pending applications were being cleared. He outlined measures including 24-hour office operations, increased capacity at provincial offices, a forthcoming Jaffna office opening, tenders for an e-passport system, and recruitment of 186 officers to address staffing shortages in the Department of Immigration and Emigration. He also noted ongoing court action related to passports and said the Government had completed about 69 per cent of the steps needed to improve efficiency.
Infrastructure Full speech → - The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna SJB
AI summary Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna informed the Speaker that he had not yet asked his second supplementary question, indicating a procedural clarification during the debate.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna SJB
AI summary Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna briefly intervened to state that he was seeking a clarification. No substantive policy position, proposal, or question was recorded in the provided excerpt.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna SJB
AI summary Harshana Rajakaruna clarified that he had not asked a second supplementary question.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Speaker procedural
- The Hon. Speaker procedural
- 5 Oral question Oral Question: Yala National Park - Safari Jeeps and Employee Issues (Q.571/2025) 10 speeches
- 6 Oral question Oral Questions: Irrigation Reservoirs and Land Settlement (Q.578/2025 and Q.3519/2025) 13 speeches
- 7 Oral question Oral Questions: Plantation Community Infrastructure and Transport Issues 4 speeches
- 8 Procedural Standing Order 27(2) Matter: Public Security and Gang Violence; Special Statement on Tamil Genocide Memorial 32 speeches
- 9 Procedural Points of Order and Privilege Matter: Death Threats to Hon. Rohana Bandara 39 speeches
- 10 Debate Debate: Order under the Excise (Special Provisions) Act - Electric Vehicle Tax Revision 4 speeches
- 11 Debate Debate: Order under the Excise (Special Provisions) Act - Electric Vehicle Tax Revision (Continued) 107 speeches
- 12 Adjournment Adjournment Motion: Land Settlement Gazette Notification 2430/2025 (Tamil Lands in North and East) 12 speeches