Vol. 276 No. 13
I move:
That a sum not exceeding £1,120,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the period commencing on the 1st day of April, 1974, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1974, for such of the salaries and expenses of the Supreme Court, the High Court, the Circuit Court and the District Court, as are not charged on the Central Fund.
Could I inquire what progress has been made, if any, on the provisions of new courts in the Smithfield area of Dublin for which a site was bought more than two years ago?
I have not got the specific information with me. I can make inquiries and communicate with the Deputy. I am sure the House recalls that the practice has been on an occasion such as this not to seek the kind of detailed information which Deputies are now seeking. I do not fault them for changing the practice but obviously, if the detailed information sought were to be made available here there would be a library of documentation and we would not get through the Estimates which it has been agreed to get through in an hour.
The Minister will appreciate that notice was given yesterday, and agreed to by the Taoiseach, that the kind of procedure we are following now would be followed. I do not think anyone would expect the Minister for Finance to know all the details of every Estimate but, on the basis of the arrangement made, one would expect an answer from the Minister for Justice if he were here to Deputy O'Malley's question.
