Is the President moving this Motion now for fixing the date of the conclusion of the present Session, and date of re-assembly of the Oireachtas or is he leaving it over until to-morrow?
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE. - DATE OF DISSOLUTION.
I think I will ask to leave it over till to-morrow. If the Dáil meets at 11 to-morrow there is still one Bill to go before the Seanad and we could make provision for that, but we would not have to keep the Dáil long.
Are we to meet before or after the Seanad to-morrow?
I suggest that we should meet at the ordinary hour, or better still, at the hour we met to-day.
I am perfectly willing if the Dáil so desires.
The motion then is "That the Dáil adjourn until 4.30 p.m. to-morrow."
That introduces some complexity in the wording of this motion, in view of the action that is now being taken. The last paragraph says that a message be sent to Seanad Eireann to advise the Seanad of the passing of these Resolutions, and to request that the Seanad may be pleased to consent to the conclusion of its present Session accordingly. Obviously in that case the Seanad must sit after the Dáil. If the position here be transposed I do not see how the procedure adopted in that motion can be put into effect.
Before passing from this can the Minister give us an assurance now, or by to-morrow, at any rate, before this Resolution is proposed suggesting a Dissolution, that the promise with regard to the publication of the Register on this date, the 8th August, will have been fulfilled. I think it would be very unwise for us to agree to a Resolution urging the Dissolution until we have the Register available, because after we have dissolved we will have no control whatever over the publication of the Register. I would urge that it is much more in keeping with the intention of Legislative Assemblies that at the end of a Dissolution there should be in being, at least, the means of electing a successor, and in the absence of a Register there are no such means. We were promised that the Register would be ready for publication on this the 8th day of August, but I am informed that it is not available to-day.
I am instructed that the Register will be available on Friday, at latest. Practically the whole of it is printed, but in some districts it will not be available until Friday, and the publication of a complete Register has been delayed until Friday so that it may be available for everyone at the one time, and so that there will be no danger of anyone getting an advantage out of the fact that part of it might be ready before the whole was complete. It has not been given out to anyone yet. As a matter of fact, I have not seen it myself, but I think it is only fair that it should be available for all persons on the one date and at the one time. I now beg to move the following motion:—
(1) Go gcríochnóidh an Siosón so den Oireachtas agus de gach Tigh de le linn deire suidheanna an dá Thigh ar an 9adh lá so de Lúnasa, 1923; ar choiníoll ná críochnófar Siosón Sheanaid Eireann gan a thoil féin.
(2) Go socruítear dáta ath-thionóil an Oireachtais agus gurb é dáta é sin ná Dé Céadaoin an 19adh lá de Mheadhon Fhoghmhair, 1923.
(3) Go gcuirtear teachtaireacht chun Seanaid Eireann a chur in úil don Seanad gur ritheadh na rúin seo agus á iarraidh ar an Seanad toiliú leis an Siosón so aige do chríochnú dá réir sin.
(1) That the present Session of the Oireachtas and of each House thereof do conclude at the termination of the Sittings of the two Houses on this the 9th day of August, 1923. Provided that the Session of Seanad Eireann shall not be concluded without its own consent.
(2) That the date of re-assembly of the Oireachtas be fixed, and that the same shall be Wednesday, the 19th day of September, 1923.
(3) That a message be sent to Seanad Eireann to advise the Seanad of the passing of these resolutions, and to request that the Seanad may be pleased to consent to the conclusion of its present Session accordingly.
The only change made in this Resolution as originally drafted was to change the date of the termination of the sittings of the two Houses from the 8th August to the 9th of August. It will be necessary to send some kind of intimation to the Seanad, which meets at 12 o'clock to-morrow. The original intention was that the Dáil should meet at 11 o'clock to-morrow, but I see now, in consequence of this Damage to Property Act, that there will be some difficulty about that.
Would it not suit the requirements of the Minister if we said in the resolution "the present session to conclude the termination of its sittings on the 9th or the 10th of August, as the case may be, instead of saying on this the 8th." I still press my point that we ought not to dissolve until, as a matter of fact, the Registers are published. If it is possible to meet again on Friday, and that the announcement is then made that the Register is available, that will suffice. I think the Dáil should remain in being until the Register is actually available for the public.
I have taken the very last day for the Dissolution in this Resolution. If we were to meet on Friday the elections would have to be put back for another week. On the question of the publication of the Register I can assure Deputies that it will be ready on Friday next.
May I ask if the Minister can give us a time-table with regard to the elections?
The Dissolution is fixed for the 9th day of August, the nominations for the 18th day of August, and the date of the polling is fixed for the 27th day of August.
In view of the fact that the polling will take place on the 27th August, is not the interval for the re-assembly of the Dáil, which is fixed for the 19th September, rather too long?
Deputies will remember that when the League of Nations Bill was passed it was decided to make arrangements for attendance at the Conference which I understand will he held in Geneva on or about the 10th, September. I understand that the meeting of the Conference on that date will be an important one. Allowing for attendance at it on that date, and for the return journey, my opinion is that the delegates could not be back before the 15th September. That would only leave four days to make the necessary preparations for the re-assembly of the Dáil. I therefore do not think we could meet before the 19th September.
I would have thought that the result of the election might have had something to say to attendance at that Conference. It would be much more satisfactory, I suggest, for whoever is going to that Conference as the head of the Executive to be able to say that in so going he had the confidence of the Dáil. If the meeting of the Conference is postponed until after that date the position of the responsible Minister might be a very different one. It might be much more satisfactory for him to know that in going to that Conference in Geneva he already had secured the confidence of the newly-elected Parliament.
If I am not returned at the elections I certainly will not attend the Conference of the League of Nations.
Question put, and agreed to.