It is proposed to take business as set out in the Order Paper, in the following order: No. 10 (Votes Nos. 56 and 57), No. 6 and No. 14. It is proposed that public business be not interrupted to take Private Deputies' business.
Order of Business.
I wish to raise a matter that, in my view, affects seriously the privileges of this House. Last night the House was discussing, in Committee on Finance, the general Budget Resolution out of which the Finance Bill flows and in respect of which the authority to print was given last night. At the very time when the Minister in charge of the Budget debate and in charge of the Resolution in Committee on Finance was dealing with this matter, another member of the Government informed another body and informed the country through the radio and through the newspapers this morning that a provision was going to be inserted into the Finance Bill of which no notice whatsoever had been given previously in this House.
I want to make it perfectly clear beyond question that I am raising no objection whatever to the amendment of which the Tánaiste last night gave public information, because I think it is an extremely good amendment and it is an amendment which, in fact, was indicated as being desirable by Deputy Costello as far back as last February. I do want to suggest, however, that when this House is in Committee on Finance, is actually discussing the Budget Resolution out of which the Finance Bill flows, for another Minister outside this House to inform other people of what the Finance Bill was going to include before this House was informed, shows what can only be described as an insultto the Dáil in its consideration in Committee on Finance of the general Budget Resolution. It was misconceived, to put it mildly, that that should be the method of bringing to the notice of the Deputies of this House an amendment which it was proposed to include and of which due notice should have been given in the first instance to this House while the debate was actually at that moment in progress.
The Deputy's contention appears to be that the Government must give no intimation to the public of its intentions regarding legislation until the terms of the legislation are put to the Dáil. That, in my view, is an unsustainable contention and, may I say, that precedent has not been established in the past. May I remind Deputy Sweetman that an announcement concerning a very important piece of legislation relating to the External Relations Act was made to the public in Canada before it was announced to this House?
At that time the House was not sitting; last night the House was sitting. Apart from anything else I would like to know does the Tánaiste consider it proper that this House should be asked to vote in connection with a Bill without being informed of the provisions upon which that Bill is to be based?
The House will not be asked to vote for the Bill until the Bill is before the Dáil.
The House was in Committee on Finance, and it was just a slick little trick by the Tánaiste.
You are becoming very virtuous.
However, I am glad to note you are following Deputy Costello's advice.
If Deputy Costello gave that advice it must have been through a very secret organisation because it was never published.
It was given at the Fine Gael Ard-Fheis and it was published even in the Irish Press.It has been published in very many places,and will be again in Wicklow and in Cork.
If Deputy Costello gave that advice I was not conscious of it.
It is the second time within a fortnight that you have followed the advice of Deputy Costello.
I will have to examine my conscience.
You had better look at Deputy Costello's record in the 1936 Social Insurance Act.