I suggest that as to-morrow is a day that most of us would like to go to the Spring Show, the President should move the adjournment of the Dáil until 5 o'clock. By doing so he would facilitate us considerably and we would be very much obliged to the Executive.
PRIVATE BUSINESS. - BUSINESS OF THE DAIL.
I would be agreeable to move the adjournment until 5 o'clock to-morrow if the Dáil would agree to sit until 10 o'clock.
Can the President give any indication now of the business that it is intended to take to-morrow? Is it intended to go ahead with the Committee Stage of the Railway Bill, or are the Finance Resolutions to be taken?
The Finance Resolutions are very urgent. I would have taken them to-day only that the Minister's throat is so bad that he is hardly able to speak. If the Minister were in a position to take the Finance Resolutions to-morrow we would prefer to take them, as time is running against us.
Are we to take it that the Government intend to allow an opportunity to-morrow for the Town Tenants Bill to be taken?
I was going to ask that that Bill be left over for a week.
As that Bill has been postponed already, I think it should be dealt with. A great many people are very anxious about this Bill and very many people are anxious to kill it. People are so anxious one way or another that they should have an opportunity to get over their anxiety.
I am afraid I would have to move that the debate on that Bill be adjourned, as I have not had time to look at it. It was on that account. I was going to ask that it should be adjourned for a week.
I put it to the President that he should say now what is his intention. I think if the Bill is to be taken to-morrow we should be given an opportunity of studying it and deciding what we are going to say. We should not be put in the position of coming to the Dáil and having a Bill taken without time to consider it.
I would rather give the Deputy a little relaxation and not ask him to study it to-night. I am unable to take it to-morrow. If it be insisted on as a Private Member's right, I must give way, but only to the extent that I would move the adjournment for a week.
I would like to support the President. We have so many Bills to consider at the moment that it is unfair to shift further Bills on to us now.
I am not particularly interested in seeing this Bill passed. I am interested from two points of view: first, that it has been placed on the Order Paper for to-morrow, and it is Private Members' day, and that many people are interested in this in different parts of the country. They will be so interested that they will be travelling to Dublin to meet the Deputy responsible for the Bill and others, and then they will find that it has been postponed. I do not think that is quite fair treatment to the Deputy responsible, or to his constituents, and I would urge that the Bill should be taken in the ordinary way. I do not imagine it would require a very long discussion and I would quite agree, if the President desires to postpone the discussion, that he should move an early adjournment. I think that having put the Bill down this week—it was postponed last week —it should be taken, that the case, such as it may be, for the Bill should be made, and those who are keenly interested should have some sort of faith kept with them.
In the case of the Financial Resolutions we have only ten days. Time is running in that case. The first business to-morrow will be the Financial Resolutions, and after that will be the Railway Bill in Committee. Will the President answer the other question? Does he intend to move to take the whole time to-morrow for Government business?
I would urge, with Deputy Johnson, that as this matter has been on the paper for two weeks it ought to get some consideration to-morrow if, as Deputy Johnson says, Deputy Redmond should only be permitted to make his case and the President should then move the adjournment, but he ought at least to be given an opportunity of making it.
I am prepared, if we sit after 9.30, to give him until 10.30, if he likes.
That can be settled to-morrow.
The Dail adjourned at 8.30 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 14th May.