Deputy Durkan, on a point of order.
Order of Business (Resumed).
I indicated earlier that I wished to raise an item.
That is correct, butthe Deputy is well aware that all my predecessors——
I am well aware of everything; I have been here all morning. I have never known a precedent whereby a Member wishes to raise an issue on the Order of Business, on promised legislation, to be told that he or she can wait until next week. We cannot operate like that.
None of my predecessors allowed the number of questions on the Order of Business that I allow.
I did not ask any question on the Order of Business but I am entitled to do so if I wish and the Ceann Comhairle is not entitled to rule me out of order and tell me that I will have to wait until next week.
Deputy, there is a limit to the number of questions allowed on the Order of Business.
Since when did we set that precedent in this House? If I want to ask a question on the Order of Business that is in order——
Deputy, that has always been the way. Unfortunately——
The Ceann Comhairle will not even listen to what I have to say.
The Ceann Comhairle should listen to the Deputy's point of order.
I have allowed more Members to ask questions on the Order of Business than any other Ceann Comhairle in the history of the State.
So what?
If Deputy Durkan wants to check that, he will find that it is correct.
Then I want to register a protest.
We have to call a halt to it at some stage and get on with the main business of the House.
I do not wish to become the victim of the Ceann Comhairle calling a halt.
The Deputy is not becoming a victim. In the last week at least eight Deputies were asked to defer their questions to the next day.
That is fine, I have no problem with that. However, I have not known, since I first came into this House, of a situation where a Member was ruled out of order on the basis of a question that was in order, though the Ceann Comhairle had not even heard it and did not wait to hear it——
It has nothing to do with the questions. It has to do with the time in the House.
The Ceann Comhairle is now telling me that I can raise the question next week. That is the problem. We cannot get answers to questions and when we get the opportunity to ask questions, the Ceann Comhairle rules them out of order. I strongly object to that.
I do not rule out questions.
The Ceann Comhairle ruled me out.