It is proposed to take Nos. 9 and 1. It is also proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that (1), business shall be interrupted not later than 4.45 p.m. today; (2) the proceedings on the resumed debate on the Second Stage of No. 9, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion at 11.15 a.m.; (3) on the conclusion of the proceedings on the Second Stage of No. 9, the sitting shall be suspended until 2.30 p.m.; (4) the Select Committee on Legislation and Security shall meet in the Dáil Chamber at 11.30 a.m. to consider the Supplementary Estimate for the Department of Equality and Law Reform and shall adjourn not later than 2.20 p.m.
Order of Business.
Is the proposal that business be interrupted not later than 4.45 p.m. today satisfactory?
It is apparent from today's Order of Business that the Government has no business to transact in the Dáil even though I have a book full of promised legislation on matters such as the confiscation of the assets of criminals, the dealing in laundering of illegal gains by criminal elements and so forth. The Dáil will effectively adjourn at 11.15 a.m. because this Government cannot produce legislation for us to deal with in this House.
There is, of course, business before the Dáil. We said we would comply in so far as possible to have Bills with the Opposition two weeks in advance. If Deputy Bruton is serious about Dáil business, he knows there is business that can be and will be taken but he does not want to give us the cooperations we require in the House.
That is not true.
The Social Welfare (No. 2) Bill was printed last Thursday and we debated it yesterday. The Minister will be winding up the Second Stage debate in a few minutes. The Taoiseach should be consistent.
It is a very good Bill.
Deputy Doyle must desist.
Why are we not debating the leak of the document?
The Social Welfare Bill was taken by agreement.
Not with the agreement of the spokesperson on Social Welfare on this side.
I deal with the Whips and not the party spokespersons.
The Taoiseach applies the two weeks' rule when it suits.
Will legislation be published before Christmas to compel witnesses to come before Committees of the Oireachtas and will it extend to the investigation of the leak, the subject of Deputy Bruton's motion under Standing Order 30?
I expect that Bill will be published before Christmas.
May I ask the Taoiseach if the Tánaiste will be taking the advice proferred by his predecessor to Dr. Smurfit while this matter is being investigated?
The Deputy should consult Deputy Dukes.
Let us not have extraneous matters of this kind brought in.
I have no problem in dealing with that sort of thing; I dealt with the Labour Party in Government for four years.
(Interruptions.)
Was the Taoiseach not kept informed on foreign affairs?
(Interruptions.)
Are there two Governments in power?
A Deputy
We certainly have two Oppositions.
Order.
Are we still dealing with item No. 1?
That is so.
It is proposed that we adjourn from 11.15 a.m. until 2.30 p.m. and we appear to be scrapping around for bits and pieces in order to pad out the day.
Will the Taoiseach indicate, of the 32 Bills promised, 24 of which still have to be published, how many he expects will be published, this side of the recess? Will we be faced in the next two to three weeks with the Government trying to ram through many Bills which they have not yet brought forward to this House by way of guillotine? Can we have an assurance that today is not a prelude to exceptionally late sittings and guillotines being used to ram through Bills which have not been given adequate thought?
At the start of the session, we published a list of 32 Bills which we expected to be published during this session. The latest information I have is that at least 27 Bills will be published and that there are areas in the other Bills about which there is uncertainty. Full details of this will be given to the party Whips today which will show that more Bills have been produced and published in this session than in any other session in the history of this State.
(Interruptions.)
I have not finished. Do not rush to your feet.
More promises.
(Interruptions.)
The House is going into Committee at 11.30 a.m.——
That is a cover up.
——it is not adjourning.
The Deputy will agree that we cannot debate the matter now.
The committee can meet in G2 and the business of the House can continue here.
I put it to the Taoiseach that we do not have any serious business in terms of new legislation with which to deal today. The Social Welfare (No. 2) Bill is more or less finished as the Minister is concluding his Second Stage speech and the Dáil, for convenience, is adjourning to allow the committee to look at other legislation. We are dragging in an amendment from the Seanad to fill in the latter half of the day after Question Time which is not a serious way of doing business. Of the 27 Bills the Taoiseach expects to be published by the end of the year, how many does he expect will be dealt with by this House before the end of the year?
That will be a matter for the House when we get to them. There are other Bills with which we could deal, for instance, the Greyhound Bill and the Apprenticeship Levy Bill which were not taken at the request of the Opposition. Will the Deputies make up their minds? If they want business there is business which can be discussed.
That is the Taoiseach's job.
I have ordered the business. If Deputies want a Bill instead of the Committee Stage in the House, they can have it now. Will the Deputies make up their minds whether they want to work?
The Taoiseach is running out of steam.
He is embarrassed.
I will order the business, without co-operation, if the Deputies wish.
Is the proposal that business be interrupted not later than 4.45 p.m. today satisfactory and agreed? Agreed.
Is the proposal for dealing with item No. 9, the Social Welfare (No. 2) Bill, 1993 satisfactory and agreed? Agreed.
Will the Minister be able to speak for that length?
Is the proposal for the suspension of the sitting until 2.30 p.m. agreed? Agreed. Is the proposal for the meeting of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security at 11.30 a.m. today satisfactory and agreed? Agreed.
On the Order of Business, will the Government introduce legislation to amend the Official Secrets Act to extend its provisions to Ministers and informal advisers attached to Ministers who may have access to diplomatic and sensitive documents?
Is legislation promised?
It should be.
Does the Taoiseach not consider, in the light of the embarrassment to which he was subjected by a servant of his Government, unnamed and unknown, that such legislation is necessary?
I am not prepared to have a rehash of last evening's disorderly behaviour in this House.
We had a most unsatisfactory answer.
(Interruptions.)
Will the Taoiseach request his Cabinet colleagues who had access to the leaked document to make themselves available to the Garda Commissioner for questioning?
That does not arise on the Order of Business. There are many other ways of pursuing that matter.
It is a very serious question.
(Interruptions.)
Could I recall for the Government the doctrine of collective responsibility as applied in the case of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Hugh Dalton, who resigned because of an inadvertent leak of a budget document? Does that doctrine not still apply to the Government, and who is taking responsibility?
The matter does not arise on the Order of Business. It can be pursued in many other ways.
(Interruptions.)
I am proceeding now to item No. 5.