I desire to raise a matter of privilege, the privilege of the Dáil in their relations to the Executive Council. I am referring to the 21st Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction recently issued, or, shall I say, recently published? Though the report is dated 1922, on the front page and on the cover, it is signed 22nd February, 1923. The point that I wish to raise has reference to the method of presentation of this report. Hitherto the reports, signed by the Vice-President of the Department, were submitted, through the Chief Secretary, to the Lord Lieutenant, and thereafter published. But there has been a change, as perhaps the Deputies will realise, in the administration both of the Department and the Government of the country. The recent report is signed, not by the Vice-President of the Department, but by the Minister for Agriculture. It is addressed to His Excellency, the Governor-General, and it is submitted to the President and Members of the Executive Council, in a letter signed by P. Hogan, Minister, in the following words:—
"I submit herewith the Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for the year 1921. The Report should be presented to the Oireachtas in accordance with 62 and 63 Victoria, chap. 60, section 26."
That letter to the President and the members of the Executive Council signed by the Minister for Agriculture is acknowledged by the Secretary to the Executive Council as follows:—
"Minister for Agriculture, —
"A Chara, — I am directed by the Executive Council to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 24th instant, transmitting copy of the Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for the year 1921."
I refer to the Constitution, and I find in Article 54 that "The Executive Council shall be collectively responsible for all matters concerning the Departments of State administered by the Members of the Executive Council," and Article 56 says: "Every Minister who is not a member of the Executive Council shall be the responsible and of the Department or Departments under his charge, and shall be individually responsible to Dáil Eireann alone for the administration of the Department or Departments of which he is the head." Now, this is not an enormous crime, but I want to draw attention to the fact that it is a mistake, and, I think, it is a mistake that should not be allowed to be repeated. The Minister is directly appointed to take charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and be responsible to Dáil Eireann alone. I submit that he ought, therefore, to have submitted his report to Dáil Eireann alone, and not even to the Governor—General. The Governor-General certainly would require a copy. Dáil Eireann is the body to whom this Report should be submitted. My principal reason for bringing this forward is that I want to guard against what I think is a tendency in the wrong direction, that is, to make Ministers who are not members of the Executive Council subordinate to the Executive Council. When the Minister for Agriculture, who is responsible to Dáil Eireann alone, according to the Constitution, submits his Report to the President and Members of the Executive Council, asking them inferentially to present this Report to the Oireachtas, it is the wrong way about. The Dáil, I submit, should be the recipient of the Reports, and the Members of the Executive Council and the President should, as a matter of course, have a copy. I have raised it, because I want, as I say, to guard against what I think is an unfortunate tendency and a misunderstanding, and a forgetting of the relations of the Dáil and the Ministry and those Ministers who are not Members of the Executive Council, and their relations also to the Executive Council. I think it is important rather as a sign than anything else, and I would submit that it is not in accordance with the intention of the Constitution, and not in accordance with the duty of the Minister.
