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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 5 Oct 2021

Vol. 1012 No. 1

Sittings and Business of Dáil: Motion

I move:

That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, or in the weekly schedule agreed by the Dáil on 11th May, 2021, and unless the Dáil shall otherwise order, the following arrangements shall apply in relation to the sittings of the Dáil on 12th, 13th and 14th October, 2021:

(1) (i) the Dáil shall meet at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, and at 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday;

(ii) on Wednesday, the Dáil shall adjourn not later than 9.30 p.m.;

(iii) on Thursday, the Dáil shall adjourn on the conclusion of topical issues;

(iv) Leaders’ Questions within the meaning of Standing Order 36 shall not be taken on Tuesday, and on Wednesday and Thursday shall be taken as the second item of business after Oral Questions taken pursuant to Standing Order 46(1)(b);

(v) there shall be no Order of Business on Tuesday within the meaning of Standing Order 35;

(vi) within the meaning of Standing Order 35, there shall be no Questions on Promised Legislation on Tuesday or Wednesday;

(vii) Oral Questions to a member of the Government under Standing Order 46(1)(b) shall be taken on Wednesday and Thursday at 10.30 a.m.; otherwise no Oral Questions under Standing Order 46(1) shall be taken: Provided that written questions under Standing Order 50(2) shall appear on the Order Paper and be answered in the normal way;

(viii) private members’ business shall not be taken;

(ix) topical issues under Standing Order 37 shall not be taken on Tuesday or Wednesday and shall be taken on Thursday as the last item of business;

(x) leave may not be sought under Standing Order 42 to adjourn the Dáil on a specific and important matter of public interest;

(xi) no Committee report shall be taken on Thursday evening pursuant to Standing Order 159(2); (xii) any divisions demanded on Tuesday shall be taken immediately; and

(xiii) subject to there being deferred divisions on hand, the weekly division time shall be taken on Tuesday night, as outlined in paragraph (2)(iii);

(2) in relation to the sitting of the Dáil on Tuesday, 12th October, 2021, the following arrangements shall apply:

(i) the Dáil shall sit later than 10.30 p.m. and the motion for the General Financial Resolution shall be moved not later than 12 midnight;

(ii) subject to subparagraph (iii), the business to be transacted shall be the Budget Statements and Financial Motions by Deputy Pascal Donohoe, Minister for Finance, and Deputy Michael McGrath, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and statements made pursuant to subparagraph (b), and the following arrangements shall apply:

(a) the Budget statements of Minister Donohoe and Minister McGrath shall not exceed 45 minutes each;

(b) following the Budget statements of the Ministers, statements may be made by the spokespersons on Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform for the parties and groups in Opposition in the following order and in accordance with the following arrangements:

— Sinn Féin – not exceeding 60 minutes in the aggregate, and

— the Labour Party, Social Democrats, People Before Profit-Solidarity, the Regional Group, the Rural Independent Group, and the Independent Group – not exceeding 45 minutes in the aggregate each, and all members may share their time; and

(c) following the statements made pursuant to subparagraph (b), the sitting shall be suspended for 30 minutes, and on the resumption of the sitting, a Minister or Minister of State shall move an allocation of time motion for the Financial Motions; and

(iii) upon the moving of the General Financial Resolution, the debate shall be adjourned and, subject to there being deferred divisions on hand, the weekly division time shall be taken immediately, and the Dáil shall adjourn forthwith on the conclusion of the weekly division time, or on the moving of the General Financial Resolution, as appropriate; and

(3) in relation to the sittings of the Dáil on Wednesday and Thursday, 13th October and 14th October, 2021, the business to be transacted shall be the business outlined in this Resolution along with the resumed debate on the General Financial Resolution, to which the following arrangements shall apply:

(i) on Wednesday—

(a) after Leaders’ Questions, Leaders’ speeches shall be taken, in the following order and in accordance with the following arrangements:

— Taoiseach and Tánaiste – not exceeding 30 minutes each;

— Green Party – not exceeding 20 minutes;

— Sinn Féin - not exceeding 30 minutes;

— the Labour Party, Social Democrats, People Before Profit-Solidarity, the Regional Group, the Rural Independent Group, and the Independent Group – not exceeding 15 minutes each, and all members may share time; and

(b) the sitting shall be suspended for an hour on the conclusion of Leaders’ speeches and shall not be otherwise suspended pursuant to the weekly schedule agreed by the Dáil on 11th May, 2021;

(ii) on Wednesday and Thursday—

(a) apart from the Leaders’ speeches, the resumed debate on the General Financial Resolution shall be conducted in 100-minute speaking rounds, in accordance with the arrangements contained in the report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform adopted by Order of the Dáil on 30th July, 2020; and

(b) when there are no further members offering, the debate shall adjourn, and, in any event, on Thursday 14th October, 2021, the debate shall adjourn not later than 6 p.m.; and

(iii) on Thursday—

(a) any member may move for leave to introduce a Bill in accordance with Standing Order 174, and

(b) the sitting shall be suspended for 40 minutes on the conclusion of Questions on Promised Legislation and shall not be otherwise suspended pursuant to the weekly schedule agreed by the Dáil on 11th May, 2021.

Question put and agreed to.
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