I move:
That Standing Order 30 of the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann relative to Public Business be amended by the deletion of "4 o'clock p.m." and the substitution therefor of "11 o'clock a.m."
The amendment to Standing Order 30 proposed in this motion was recommended to the Dáil by the Commitee on Procedure and Privileges in the Report circulated last week.
The Standing Order provides that:
Questions must be in writing, and must reach the clerk not later than 4 o'clock p.m. on the third day preceding that on which they are to be asked, not reckoning a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
The application of the five-day week to Government Departments has had the effect of reducing the time available for preparing replies to questions. For example, questions may now be handed in at Leinster House shortly before 4 p.m. on a Friday for answer on the following Wednesday but as Saturday is no longer a working day in Government Departments, work on preparing the replies may not start until Monday. Clearly in these circumstances the time is too short to enable Departments to prepare replies. The proposal is that the period be extended by requiring that questions be handed in by 11 a.m. on the day prescribed instead of 4 p.m. I recommend it to the House.