Before calling the Minister, there are two messages from Seanad Éireann.
Seanad Éireann has passed the Nítrigin Éireann Teoranta Bill, 1977, without amendment.
A message has been received from the Seanad stating that it has made an Order appointing a Select Committee to be joined with the Select Committee appointed by Dáil Éireann to form the Joint Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities.
The text of the message will be set out in the Official Report and in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Dáil.
Following is the message from the Seanad:
Seanad Éireann has made the following Order:—
(1) That a Select Committee consisting of eight members of Seanad Éireann (none of whom shall be a delegate to the Assembly of the European Communities) be appointed to be joined with a Select Committee appointed by Dáil Éireann to form the Joint Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities to examine—
(i) such programmes and guidelines prepared by the Commission of the European Communities as a basis for possible legislative action and such drafts of regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions of the Council of Ministers proposed by the Commission,
(ii) such acts of the institutions of those Communities,
(iii) such regulations under the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and
(iv) such other instruments made under statute and necessitated by the obligations of membership of those Communities,
as the Joint Committee may select and to report thereon to both Houses of the Oireachtas;
(2) That in the absence from a particular meeting of the Joint Committee of a member who is a member of Seanad Éireann, another member of Seanad Éireann may, with the authority of the absent member, take part in the proceedings and vote in his stead; and that members of Seanad Éireann, not being members of the Joint Committee, may attend meetings and take part in the proceedings without having a right to vote;
(3) That members of Seanad Éireann who are delegates to the Assembly of the European Communities be notified of meetings and be allowed to attend and take part in the proceedings without having a right to vote;
(4) That the Joint Committee, previous to the commencement of business, shall elect one of its members to be Chairman, who shall have only one vote;
(5) That all questions in the Joint Committee shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and voting and in the event of there being an equality of votes the question shall be decided in the negative;
(6) That every report which the Joint Committee proposes to make under this order shall on adoption by the Joint Committee be laid before Seanad Éireann forthwith whereupon the Joint Committee shall be empowered to print and publish such report together with such related documents as it thinks fit; and
(7) That five members of the Joint Committee shall form a quorum of whom at least one shall be a member of Dáil Éireann and at least one shall be a member of Seanad Éireann.