It is proposed to take business in the following order: No. 6 (resumed). Private Members' Business from 7 p.m. to 8.30 p.m., will be No. 24 (resumed).
Order of Business.
Yesterday by way of Private Notice Question I tried to raise the matter of the present dispute in RTE which is affecting certain television services. I was refused permission to raise that matter and I should like if the Taoiseach or the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs or the Minister for Labour would intimate the moves being made by the Government to settle the dispute. Will the Government make a statement on the matter?
The Deputy cannot raise the matter in this way.
They are being gagged at the moment.
I should like to give notice of my intention to raise on the Adjournment, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, a circular issued by the Minister for Education on 12 May in relation to the proposed cuts in the school transport services.
I shall communicate with the Deputy.
With regard to the debate which is about to be resumed, on the Finance Bill and the White Paper of January 1980, I should like to inquire which member of the Government, if any, will mention the White Paper and deal with it in the course of his speech seeing that the Minister for Finance who published it did not say one word about it yesterday.
I do not think that arises.
It would be of interest to the House to know whether the Government will say a few words about their own White Paper.
I should like to point out that it was the Government's proposal that the White Paper be taken with this debate on the Finance Bill. At two hours notice it was put to us that the White Paper should be discussed and, in those circumstances, I presume the Government will deal with some of the points in it. It is reasonable to ask when.
The Chair was only notified that it would be permissible to refer to the White Paper. The Chair does not have anything to do with the question of who replies.
I did not get any notice either.
Either we are debating the White Paper or we are not. If this is the best the Government can do by way of providing a debate on the White Paper at least a member of the Government should defend it, or disclaim it if they wish.
The idea of discussing the White Paper in conjunction with the discussion on the Second Stage of the Finance Bill was not a Government proposal. I understand it was something which emerged in discussions between the Whips. It was not a specific Government proposal.
Is it intended that any member of the Government will speak on this White Paper? I did not get any reply.
Are we going to hear a statement from the Government on the RTE dispute?
I will not permit it.
The Taoiseach has suggested that the proposal in relation to the discussion on the White Paper did not come from the Government side but my understanding is that an official on the Government side put this to us and proposed it. It was not our suggestion. In those circumstances the Government have an obligation to deal with the White Paper in one way or another. The Taoiseach seems to have been misinformed about this matter.
My understanding is that it was not a specific proposal from this side but it emerged in discussions—I am not sure from what side it emerged—with the Whips that this was a possible way of dealing with it. We fell in with that.
It was put to us by one of the Taoiseach's officials that we should agree to this at two hours' notice and we were left with no alternative.
Why did the Minister for Finance, seeing that the scope of the debate had been widened, not refer to the White Paper in the course of his speech?
I cannot permit a discussion on this matter.
As far as we are concerned the proposal came from the Government Whip. It is somewhat irrelevant at this stage seeing that the White Paper was published with a total disclaimer by the Government for its content.
We are not discussing the White Paper now in this unusual manner.
It is an unusual White Paper.