A Cheann Comhairle, I should like to seek your guidance on a matter of order concerning the sitting of the House tomorrow. I understand it is intended that the House will sit from 10.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. I should like to know if the business before the House tomorrow will be our no confidence motion in the Minister for Finance or what will the business be?
Business of Dáil.
As the Deputy knows, the Chair does not arrange the business of the day nor does he play any part in the arranging of it. Unless the House decides otherwise the House will sit tomorrow morning at 10.30, in accordance with Standing Orders. In accordance with Standing Order No. 25 at the commencement of public business tomorrow morning the Taoiseach will outline the business for the day. That is in accordance with Standing Orders and the Chair does not know any more or less about it than that.
Is the Chair not in a position to let me know if the House is meeting tomorrow for the purpose of considering the no confidence motion which the Fianna Fáil Party have on the Order Paper?
No. The Chair would not know and the Chair suggests to Deputy Haughey that his Whip contact the Government Whip on this matter. That is a matter for the Deputy. It is only a suggestion from the Chair, but the fact is that the Chair cannot help.
What suggestion is the Chair making?
The Chair is suggesting that, if the Deputy does not already know and wishes to know the business for tomorrow, his Whip should contact the Government Whip. That is only a suggestion.
I am grateful for the suggestion but I wonder if the Chair's understanding of the situation as it has developed over yesterday and today is the same as mine, namely, that the House is meeting specially to consider our no confidence motion. Is that the impression the Chair gathered from what has been said here yesterday and today?
If the Chair were to convey his impressions of things to the House he would never be out of trouble. I have no knowledge of it apart from what the Deputy has said.
Dún Laoghaire): There may be a misunderstanding in regard to this, although some of the statements made were inaccurate. I do not believe in coming in here to discuss problems that should be discussed outside. However, we had better get this into perspective. What happened was that yesterday the Leader of the Opposition rightly raised the question of the £500 million, expressed his concern, felt the public should be told about it and that this should be explained to them. The Taoiseach offered to sit on Thursday specially to discuss this matter. That was to facilitate a request from the Opposition. The Opposition have tabled a no confidence motion in the Minister for Finance which does not discuss the £500 million solely but also refers to the budget. That is a Private Members' motion that could be dealt with next week if the Opposition so wish. It is important to stress that the public and the Opposition rightly want to raise this matter.
The question is what is happening tomorrow.
(Dún Laoghaire): Yes, and we should not start arguing about this. It was to facilitate the Opposition that the Dáil should meet tomorrow.
That is our motion.
(Dún Laoghaire): We have always had special debates here. The Opposition Whip and I have worked out a system where Members can make their case and it does not have to be a motion.
The Government are running away from it again.
(Dún Laoghaire): We are not running away from anything. The Deputy should not be so silly. The Deputy has made a silly remark. In fact, we have offered time.
The Minister should stop the trickery now.
I am not going to permit a long debate on this.
(Dún Laoghaire): I accept that. I should like to clarify another point, that there was agreement not to sit on Thursday. That statement is true but, again to facilitate the Opposition, it was decided to sit. The Minister for Finance was away yesterday and will not be back until 9.30 this evening. Therefore, we could not have the debate today.
I do not blame the Minister for Finance.
Does he have the £500 million with him?
(Dún Laoghaire): It was in order to facilitate the Opposition that we decided to sit specially tomorrow. That was not breaking any agreement. We understood from the staff of the House that work had to be done on the Chamber and it would have to be closed down. As Members will see work has been done and I cannot see that any more is necessary. I have checked on that and been told that the work on the Chamber is practically completed. Therefore, we are not inconveniencing anybody by sitting tomorrow morning to discuss this matter. It is very unfair to the Government who have offered time that they should be dragged into a controversy as to how the House should discuss this matter.
The Minister is now elaborating.
I should like to put one point to the Chair and the Chief Whip for consideration. We put down a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Finance. That motion was down when the Taoiseach answered me and everybody in the House assumed that we were sitting tomorrow to consider that motion. In fact, if one looks at today's daily newspapers one will see that they all report that the House will sit tomorrow to debate the Fianna Fáil no confidence motion. It is not twisted on this side of the House.
(Dún Laoghaire): That is not true and the Opposition Whip is well aware of that.
I did not interrupt the Deputy. Every newspaper carries the same report today as to what transpired in the House yesterday, that the undertaking was that the House would sit tomorrow to debate a no confidence motion. I should like to ask the Chair for guidance in regard to the following point. Is it not a well established tradition in the House that a no confidence motion of this sort by tradition and precedent is awarded almost immediate priority?
The Chair might have views on it but it is not the Chair's business to give impromptu decisions on Standing Orders and I am not going to do that.
With all due deference, the Chair frequently exercises the function of the interpreter of Standing Orders and is our guide as to precedent. My recollection for a long time in the House — I am asking the Chair if a precedent confirms me in my opinion — is that a no confidence motion of this type is invariably given immediate priority by the Government of the day. Surely I am entitled to seek from the Chair guidance on precedent as the Chair is the arbiter on precedent and the person in the House who keeps us all up to precedent.
(Dún Laoghaire): The motion does not have anything to do with the £500 million.
All the Chair wishes to say is that if there is any attempt to breach Standing Orders the Chair will intervene.
That is a very weak answer.
It is not.
Will the Chair indicate if the arrangements for tomorrow will allow for a vote on the Government's handling of the matter?
The Deputy could more properly put that question on the Order of Business tomorrow.
The Minister said they were not running away from anything but they are running away from a vote.
(Dún Laoghaire): What vote?
A vote on our motion.
(Dún Laoghaire): We are talking about the £500 million and the Opposition are talking about the budget but the former does not have anything to do with the budget.
More juggling.
I should like the permission of the Chair to raise on the Adjournment a matter the Chair did not permit me to raise last night, the non-provision of senior cycle education facilities at Caritas College in Ballyfermot. Women outside the House have been parading legitimately with placards for the last four weeks——
I got order to allow the Deputy raise that matter and I do not expect her to be disorderly.
I should like to raise a point of order. There is a great doubt in the minds of many as to what is happening in the House on the occasion of President Reagan's visit. It is possible that the Chair will circulate to us some memorandum, brief or schedule giving us the exact arrangements? Everybody is asking questions but nobody seems to know the answers.
I will get in touch with the Deputy.