Perhaps, before I move the Vote, we might come to a certain understanding regarding the block of Estimates for the consideration of which the Dáil proposes to devote about four hours this evening. As the House is aware, it has been customary to have a separate debate on Votes 8, 9 and 10— that is, the Votes for the Office of Public Works, Public Works and Buildings and Employment and Emergency Schemes. I have no doubt that many members have particular problems to put before my Parliamentary Secretary, and might, perhaps, desire that there should be a certain allocation of time as between the Vote for the Office of the Minister for Finance and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and the other ancillary or dependent Votes for which responsibility is customarily taken by the Minister for Finance. I would, perhaps, suggest to the House for its consideration that we might divide the four hours into two parts, that one half, or two hours, should be devoted to what might be described as the Finance Estimates proper and that the remainder, the other two hours, might be devoted to consideration of the Votes relating to the Office of Public Works.
Committee on Finance.
I suggest that one and a half hours should be given to the Vote for the Office of the Minister for Finance and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and that two and a half hours be given for the Office of Public Works.
Was not that discussed at the Committee of Procedure and Privileges and was it not determined there? I do not profess to remember clearly but I thought it was determined there that the best way was to let the four hours be devoted to the two Votes as their sub-division on the lines suggested by the Minister would present insuperable difficulties. The Parliamentary Secretary represented the Government and he may have a clearer recollection of what the general agreement was.
I suggest to the Minister that in the first part of the Finance group there is not anything of real consequence, from a debating point of view.
Wait and see. I know that the Deputies as a rule are keenly interested in the Vote for the Office of Public Works and the Office itself, and in the Votes for Public Works and Buildings and Employment and Emergency Schemes and I do not want to preclude any——
If the Minister moves the Votes and lets us see what time we will have, it will be better.
I would normally propose to move Vote 6, the principal Vote, the Vote for the Office of the Minister for Finance, and in that connection I would propose to make a review of the administration for the past year of that office. I do not mind doing that and leaving it to the consideration of the House as to whether the House would be prepared to discuss my statement at length or would prefer to deal with the more immediately pressing matter.
I thought there was a large nigger in this woodpile.
Do not be smelling a rat.
Fours hours as they come, and we will judge by the Minister's statement how far it is necessary to chase him around Dáil Éireann.
If the Deputy wishes to air his eloquence for four hours, I suppose I shall have to listen and hope that my purgatory will be eventually shortened.
Suppose the Minister were to divide the time into two portions, how long does he think the first portion would take?
That will depend, I should say, on the number of interruptions I encounter.
How long does the Minister propose to take?
A half-hour or three-quarters of an hour. I do not know how long it will take me to deliver myself of the subject matter of my statement. I assume that, perhaps, it will take me three-quarters of an hour.
Move all your Votes.
No. I will proceed in an orderly fashion. We can only have a discussion on one Vote at a time, and, with the permission of the Chair, I propose to move the principal Vote first, the Vote for the Office of the Minister for Finance.