Business will be taken as on the Order Paper—Nos. 2 and 5. There will be no time allowed for Private Deputies' business. Government business will not be interrupted. It is intended that the Dáil will meet on Tuesday next to complete the Second Stage of the Social Welfare Bill.
Order of Business.
I would like to ask the Ceann Comhairle if the Government proposes to take time to-day to discuss a matter of urgent public importance, namely, a leakage of confidential information in regard to the Budget?
If the Deputy intended to raise a matter of that kind, he should have given me prior notice. I have no notice of what the Deputy is referring to therefore I cannot make a statement on the matter. There is nothing about it before the House.
Immediately the Minister for Finance sat down, Deputy Dunne raised a point of order which stymied me from following the Minister for Finance. I do not want to butt in on the Deputy's point of order, but if that point of order is settled I want to comment on the Minister for Finance's suggestion that the House should sit on Tuesday. That Order is not made, I take it.
There is really no point of order. If there was a matter which the Deputy considered to be of urgent public importance, to be examined, he should have notified me.
I give you preliminary notice now and I will ask you later to give me an opportunity of raising the matter at the end of public business after 2 p.m.
I will have to consider that.
I reiterate my protest against asking the House to sit during Holy Week to discuss public business. I understand that there is a desire on certain sides of the House to discuss the Social Welfare Bill next week. I have no desire to divide the House as to what it is going to do on Tuesday. However, I do say this I protest absolutely against this most unnecessary action on the part of the Government in deciding that the House would sit on Tuesday. I say that for myself and for a number of my colleagues. As far as I am concerned, I am not going to ask any member of the Fine Gael Party to come here to transact public business during Holy Week. The Taoiseach can have his own opinion on that. I have mine.
The House has got to decide these matters.
I cannot allow a general discussion on this. The Deputy can protest, but the Order is that the House will normally adjourn until the next sitting day.
I am only making a suggestion. As far as the Social Welfare Bill is concerned, everybody has said in this House that they accept the Bill. If that is so and if that is the decision I feel that the Bill could be dealt with this evening. However, if there is to be a debate, I certainly say that we must sit on Tuesday.
Deputy Cowan ought to get out of the habit of interpreting the mind of every Party in the House, including the Fianna Fáil Party.
The General is going to arrange things for us all.
No. Do I understand that the House is making an Order now?
The House will normally adjourn, according to Standing Orders, until the next sitting day.
And the next sitting day will be next Tuesday.
The next sitting day will be next Tuesday.
This is unprecedented and unnecessary.
It is not unprecedented. It happened twice before—in 1923 and in 1940. It did not meet in Holy Week, 1945, as the Deputy said yesterday.
The General can go into his tent and pray.
The protest can be made, and the House will adjourn until the next sitting day.
If Fine Gael feels so strongly about it, why not divide the House?
We cannot divide the House.
It appears to me that the Fianna Fáil Party seem to be divided.