It is proposed to take business in the following order—Nos. 1, 3 and in No. 4, Votes 61 to 44 inclusive—as on the Order Paper, and the motion in the name of Deputy Lemass and Deputy Little will be taken with the Vote for Wireless Broadcasting.
Order of Business.
Would the Ceann Comhairle bear my request in mind?
At 11.30 p.m., Deputy Flanagan's Question 34.
I would like, on a matter of personal explanation, to refer to the fact that on Wednesday last the Minister for External Affairs denied the truth of a statement I made in regard to a Clann na Poblachta advertisement during the election which wound up "Give MacBride the reins of Government." When the Minister denied this statement a second time I said I would bring the advertisement along, and here it is.
The statement by the Deputy referred to a Clann na Poblachta poster.
I have also the Official Report of July 14th, column 307: I said, "I should be glad to hear from the leader of Clann na Poblachta whether he proposes to carry out the promises he made to the electors or is he going to betray the voters who voted for him on the assumption that if they elected to ‘give MacBride the reins of Government....'" Deputy Lehane objected to my use of the word "MacBride," and I said "when I said ‘Give MacBride the reins of Government', I was quoting from a Clann na Poblachta election advertisement." The Minister for External Affairs then denied it, an on the second denial I said I would bring the advertisement along here. I have two, and if he wants more I will get them but two ought to be sufficient.
That is not a personal explanation.
It is a personal explanation, as he denied the truth of my statement.
I know that there are some Deputies who would contradict anything the Chair said.
It is a personal explanation because the Minister implied that Deputy Aiken was guilty of a falsehood.
The rule of the House is, then, that it is open to a Deputy to come to the House on a point of personal explanation to contradict every incorrect statement made by another Deputy?
Does the Minister——
When Deputy Killilea has answered the Minister I might get in. There is no such rule. The contention of the Deputy is that his veracity was impugned and to that extent he might be in order, but I do not want the debates of last week to be discussed for another week on matters of personal explanation.