It is proposed to take business in the following order: Nos. 1 and 6 (resumed).
Order of Business.
On the Order of Business, I wish to ask the Tánaiste to tell us when it is proposed to take No. 16—the Ombudsman (No. 2) Bill?
I cannot indicate to the Deputy at the moment but, speaking from recollection, it has been circulated and it is really a question of finding time in the queue at the moment. The Deputy knows that we are concentrating on the budget, but thereafter there are a number of Bills, one of which is No. 16 to which the Deputy refers, which it is hoped to take as soon as possible.
The Tánaiste referred to a queue. My concern is where it is in the queue, but perhaps that is an unfair question to ask. I shall raise the matter tomorrow morning and the Tánaiste might be able to give me an answer.
The Tánaiste will not be here tomorrow.
Next week, I mean.
The Deputy is getting confused.
You fellows are all weekenders.
I do not think that the Deputy has made his query quite clear.
Would the Deputies let the Tánaiste reply to the question on the Order Paper?
The fact is that, although there are a number of pieces of legislation in the queue, the order in which they are taken depends to a very great extent on agreement between the Whips. To ask me on the next day which place this Bill has in the queue might not be very fruitful. It will depend on the agreement of the Whips of all parties.
The Government order business.
Yes. If the Deputy wants us to put it in a fixed order and stick to that we shall do that, but I do not think that is what the Deputy wants us to do.
It can be discussed in the meantime and I can raise it on the next sitting day.
I want to say something about the Employment Guarantee Fund Bill. At 5 o'clock yesterday I was informed by our Whip that the Government wanted all Stages of this Bill, which had not been printed or circulated at the time, to be taken next week. It is a bit unreasonable to expect the Opposition to take this measure when it has been part of the national understanding for the last three or four months. The funds were provided in the Estimate circulated a month ago. For the Government to come along and say that they want all Stages on the following week with less than 24 hours' sitting time is not reasonable when it could have been done a fortnight ago. I understand the position is that they cannot get the money from the employers if they do not have the Bill passed before 6 April. Is that correct?
Yes.
That was the reason I had been given. If that had been explained earlier we would certainly have facilitated the Government. We can certainly see the necessity for the fund and we approve it, but it is unreasonable to expect all Stages in a two-day sitting week.
Hear, hear.
I am quite willing to facilitate the Government by having the Second Stage on Thursday morning, but not all Stages.
I can tell the House that Deputy Lynch would have raised holy hell if we had tried to do something like that in our time.
Deputy Kelly might let the business go on.
This Bill could not be introduced until one could precisely estimate what was the level of surcharge, which has now been determined at .35 per cent, to yield the amount of £10 million. It was not possible before this to estimate that precisely, particularly in view of budgetary changes and the lifting of the ceiling to £7,000. In fact, it was felt that it might be more than .35 per cent. Now that it has been estimated, it is being introduced as quickly as possible after that. I can tell the Deputies that the tripartite committee have agreed on this. The House has already discussed it on the Supplementary Estimate last year, so I cannot imagine the Deputy being taken either without notice or otherwise on the issue of principle or on the issue to be discussed in this Bill.
That is quite patently nonsense. The figure could have been estimated long before this. A question by me was answered by the Minister—last week. I think it was—which gave a precise figure of the amount of money to be collected under what used to be called the stamp for the increase from £5,500 to £7,000. Therefore, if the Minister wanted to get a figure for £10 million it was quite easy to calculate it from that. I do not understand what new factors have arisen between the signing or acceptance of the national understanding and today that made this so urgent or that indeed allowed the Government to be so tardy in introducing it.
As far as the Chair is concerned, we certainly cannot debate it now. We have agreement to take the Second Stage next week.
On Thursday.
Wednesday.
Thursday was the agreement. I do not know what happened since.
Is it Wednesday or Thursday? The Chair must know.
I think it was Wednesday.
It does not matter what anyone else thinks. The agreement was that it would be taken on Thursday morning and we would consider taking next Stage on the following Tuesday. I got no word back from the Fianna Fáil office since.
We must move on. The Chair suggests that the Whips should agree between themselves whether it is Wednesday or Thursday. Does Deputy Cluskey wish to say something?
I just want to point out that, because of the nature of this Bill and the desirability of having it passed, despite the Government's gross incompetence in ordering business we are prepared to co-operate.
I shall not be tempted.