Vol. 373 No. 15
It is proposed to take Nos. 12 and 4. It is also proposed that Dáil Éireann at its rising for the summer recess, do adjourn until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 14 October 1987.
I move:
That Dáil Éireann at its rising on 26th June, 1987, do adjourn for the Summer Recess.
Have the Government considered bringing back the Dáil sooner than the day the Taoiseach has mentioned? Could he outline to us the reasons why the Adjournment of the House is going to be so long, given the scale of the problems, economic and other, that we are facing? Secondly, is the Minister for Energy going to make any announcement on changing the exploration terms on either the oil side or the mineral side?
That does not arise on the Order of Business this morning.
I am asking the Taoiseach if the announcement should be made in the House, not outside the House.
On the time of the Adjournment I would like to point out that the House will resume a week earlier than last year when the Deputy was, partially at least, responsible for these matters. Secondly, I am quite satisfied that what the Government propose in this respect is the right way to do our business. My intention is that from now on the Government will get down to detailed, thorough work on the finances in particular and on economic development generally and at the same time the legislative process will be carried on in the Seanad. We are going to put a number of Bills to the Seanad where they can be dealt with in detail and difficulties, anomalies and problems teased out there so that, when we return in October we will have, I hope, a reasonably expeditious passage for this legislation through the Dáil on the basis that the general debate and discussion will have taken place in the Seanad and without, of course, curtailing the debate, the legislation will have a relatively simple passage through this House. It is urgently necessary that the Government should concentrate in the months ahead on dealing with the departmental Estimates and the economic situation and progressing the very important discussions we are having with the social partners on a medium term economic plan.
A Cheann Comhairle, have you received our amendment to the Order of Business to delete the words "14 October" and substitute the words "2 September"?
I have.
Can I move that amendment?
I will afford the Deputy an opportunity to move his amendment shortly.
This morning I gave notice to you, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order No. 30, that I intended at the commencement of business today to request leave to move the Adjournment of the Dáil for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter of public interest requiring urgent consideration. The urgent and important matter which I wish to raise is the decision of the milk management committee of the EC to renege on a promise to grant Ireland a derogation from the new regulations relating to the selling of butter into intervention due to come into force on Monday next.
Yes, the Deputy has given me such notice. I regret that I cannot accede to the request as Standing Orders do not provide for the moving of such a motion on a Friday sitting. However, the Deputy can raise this issue in the course of the Adjournment Debate which is now in progress.
Naturally, I am disappointed that I do not have an opportunity to proceed with this motion today. Two matters now arise. I have a difference of opinion with you, Sir, on the question of the interpretation of the Standing Order——
The Deputy is entitled to that.
I would like to have this looked at by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. Secondly, perhaps more important, it is altogether ludicrous that when the House is in session such an urgent and serious matter cannot be raised. If the interpretation of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges is in line with your own, that such an urgent matter could not be raised on a Friday, I would ask that consideration be given to an amendment of the Standing Order to enable such a serious and urgent matter to be raised on any day on which the Dáil is sitting.
That is a matter for the House. If the House decides to amend Standing Orders the Chair will faithfully oblige and carry them out.
I seek your guidance, Sir, as to the relative position of this proposal on the Order of Business about Wednesday, 14 October vis-à-vis the three amendments which are down to motion No. 4 and which I and others put down yesterday. If this proposal on the Order of Business today is carried, does that mean that the three amendments fall to the substantive motion? Is it not appropriate that that matter be decided on the motion for the Adjournment rather than on the Order of Business?
I will entertain the amendments although they could be deemed late at this stage. I should point out that on many occasions in the past when a motion similar to No. 4 was on the Order Paper the proposal for the date of reassembly was included on the Order of Business.
The amendments are down to a motion, the motion that Dáil Éireann at its rising on 26 June do adjourn for the summer recess when no date was given, and the three amendments ——
The motion before the House——
If this motion is carried this morning on the Order of Business does it mean that the three amendments fall and will not be put at 4 p.m.?
It does of course.
This is most unsatisfactory.
It is astonishing to me and to my colleagues that Deputy O'Malley seems to be so anxious for the Dáil to sit longer hours and days when practically every day we do sit is wasted with wrangling arguments by him.
Hear, hear.
That is very helpful.
Order. Deputies who have tabled amendments to the date fixed for the Adjournment of the House may move these amendments now.
I move amendment No. 1:
To delete the words "for the Summer Recess" and substitute there for the words "until the 2nd September, 1987".
Can these amendments be debated at this time?
The Adjournment debate is a suitable vehicle for expressing that point of view and indeed the Deputy has already done so.
I was not allowed to move the amendment yesterday for some reason I cannot follow. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle would not allow it.
The Deputy's amendment is identical with that of Deputy Mac Giolla. They may be discussed in the ordinary way on the Adjournment debate.
May I ask the Taoiseach, in view of the statement made yesterday by the Fine Gael spokesman on Health, Deputy Allen, on Cork local radio that a compromise had been reached between the parties on the issue of £22 million extra for the health services if he will make a statement on the matter?
That does not arise now.
(Limerick East): The Government promised legislation by way of statutory order to abolish the practices of low cost selling and the taking of “hello money” by retail outlets. The orders had been drafted before the change of Government so why have the Government decided not to bring in the orders? The legislation was promised and the Government are not delivering. Did they change their minds?
The legislation will be brought before the Dáil in the next session. We hope to have it on the Statute Book before the end of the next session.
(Limerick East): A commitment was made to introduce it in this session and since it is a matter which can be done by order and since the order has been drafted why was it not brought in?
The Minister for Industry and Commerce proposes legislation to deal with this matter. The legislation is on the Order Paper and it will be dealt with in the next session.
(Limerick East): The legislation simply confirms that the orders have not yet been laid before the House.
The order has been signed.
Can I put my amendment to the motion on the Order of Business? I think it is the only one that is in order this morning. The motion for the Adjournment is a little more complicated than we understand it to be. I understand the motion will not be put until we are about to vote at 4 p.m. and that rules out amendments during the course of the debate. I want to thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to put down this amendment. When Deputy Bruton was in charge of Dáil reform we made a submission that the summer recess should be not more than two months. That was in 1983. At that stage we got no support from Deputies O'Malley, Molloy, Spring and Desmond.
I appeal to Deputy Mac Giolla to be brief at this stage. I am affording him the opportunity of moving his amendment and he can elaborate on the Adjournment debate.
At each summer recess we similarly made this proposal but we got no support outside our own party and some Independent Deputies. We are delighted that some conversions are coming about and we hope there will be more because the danger of the Dáil becoming irrelevant——
I must ask the Deputy to please desist from elaborating any further at this stage. I am facilitating Deputies who have tabled amendments by proposing to the House that the date proposed to be deleted stand.
I move amendment No. 3:
To delete all words after "26th June, 1987" and substitute the following:
"do adjourn for its Summer Recess and shall resume not later than 2nd September, 1987.".
I move amendment No. 2:
To delete the words "for the Summer Recess" and substitute there for the words "until the 9th September, 1987".
I ask the leader of the democratic centralist party behind me not to read too much into any conversions of which he may read as happening here this morning. I shall give the reasons for moving my amendment during my contribution on the Adjournment debate.
Tomás Mac Giolla rose.
Sorry, Deputy Mac Giolla over-elaboration at this time is quite unnecessary. Deputy O'Malley, have you formally moved your amendment? You have, I take it.
I have.
There is an awful lot of hypocrisy about this. It is important that we should be allowed speak on the basis that we were elected as public representatives.
The three amendments have been moved. I am putting the question: "That the date proposed to be deleted stand".
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Abbott, Henry.Ahern, Bertie.Ahern, Dermot.Ahern, Michael.Aylward, Liam.Brady, Gerard.Brady, Vincent.Brennan, Matthew.Brennan, Séamus.Browne, John.Burke, Ray.Calleary, Seán.Connolly, Ger.Coughlan, Mary T.Daly, Brendan.Davern, Noel.Dempsey, Noel.Dennehy, John.de Valera, Síle.Doherty, Seán. Morley, P.J.Noonan, Michael J. (Limerick West).O'Donoghue, John.O'Hanlon, Rory.O'Keeffe, Ned.O'Kennedy, Michael.O'Rourke, Mary.Power, Paddy.Reynolds, Albert. |
Ellis, John.Fahey, Frank.Fahey, Jackie.Fitzgerald, Liam.Fitzpatrick, Dermott.Flynn, Pádraig.Gallagher, Denis.Gallagher, Pat the Cope.Geoghegan-Quinn, Máire.Haughey, Charles J.Jacob, Joe.Kirk, Séamus.Kitt, Michael P.Kitt, Tom.Lenihan, Brian.Leonard, Jimmy.Leyden, Terry.Lyons, Denis.McCarthy, Seán.MacSharry, Ray. Roche, Dick.Stafford, John.Swift, Brian.Treacy, Noel.Tunney, Jim.Wallace, Dan.Walsh, Joe.Wilson, John P.Woods, Michael.Wright, G. V. |
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Allen, Bernard.Bell, Michael.Birmingham, George.Boland, John.Bruton, Richard.Carey, Donal.Clohessy, Peadar.Cullen, Martin.Deasy, Austin.De Rossa Proinsias.Desmond, Barry.Doyle, Avril.Dukes, Alan.Durkan, Bernard.FitzGerald, Garret.Fitzpatrick, Tom.Harney, Mary.Hegarty, Paddy.Higgins, Michael D.Howlin, Brendan.Hussey, Gemma.Kavanagh, Liam.Keating, Michael. |
Kelly, John.McCartan, Pat.McCoy, John S.McDowell, Michael.McGahon, Brendan.McGinley, Dinny.Mac Giolla Tomás.Mitchell, Jim.Nealon, Ted.Noonan, Michael. (Limerick East).O'Brien, Fergus.O'Keeffe, Jim.O'Malley, Desmond J.O'Sullivan, Toddy.Quill, Máirín.Quinn, Ruairí.Sherlock, Joe.Spring, Dick.Stagg, Emmet.Taylor-Quinn, Madeline.Wyse, Pearse. |
Is item No. 4 agreed? Agreed.
