It is proposed to take the business as on the Order Paper, items 8 to 17 inclusive, except that item 15 will be taken after item 13. Vote 74 (Repayments to the Contingency Fund) will be taken before Vote 26 (Law Charges). The motions for Money Resolutions will be taken in their appropriate places. If the business on the Order Paper is completed to-day it is proposed that the Dáil will adjourn until Wednesday next, 26th February.
Order of Business.
On the Order of Business, I want to make representations to the Government. It is, I think, pertinent, in view of the impending disappearance of the Seanad, to point out that there has been the peculiar practice in the House of setting down 16 or 17 Bills for one day; it is well known that Ministers have no intention of taking the Second Reading of all these Bills on that day. But Deputies do not know which of these Bills will be taken on a Wednesday until the Tuesday night previous to that Wednesday. I would point out that it is absolutely impossible for Deputies to prepare themselves to handle the business in an intelligent way with only 12 hours' notice of that business. The time, I think, has come when the Government should give at least one week's notice to the House of the business they intend to handle on any one day, and if they intend to change their programme a week's notice could be given. Otherwise a great deal of business will pass through this House without receiving the considered examination which it ought to get.