With due deference to the delegation about to address us, I propose a suspension of Standing Orders so that the committee can briefly call for an extension of the deadline applying to the farm waste management scheme. It is very important that it should do so.
Business of Joint Committee.
That will come up under the heading of any other business.
I am proposing a suspension of Standing Orders.
That is what I wanted.
I agreed to let--
I had no advance notice and if Senator O'Brien wishes to support that proposal, then we will have all-party agreement on the matter.
Deputy McGrath requested that they be let in on that issue at the end of the meeting, and I have agreed with him.
I second the proposal to suspend Standing Orders.
We only need a brief discussion on this so that we can unanimously, as a committee, call for the attention--
I will raise it at the end of the meeting. I would now like to welcome Mr. Mick Cronin, principal officer--
The proposal has been seconded, so we have to--
These officials have been waiting for a long time.
With due respect, if this committee does not--
We will deal with it in due course.
A proposal has been made and seconded, so it will have to be dealt with.
I wrote to the Chairman last week about this.
That is correct, and I agreed to let this issue be brought in under any other business at the end of the meeting. I am standing by that.
We have officials here so we should go ahead. I am sure we will have a contribution to make under any other business.
There is a proposal before the committee that has been seconded. If the committee members wanted to vote it down--
We are not voting it down.
There is no need for a vote. We are not playing politics.
It will be dealt with at a later stage.
We are not playing politics. We can deal with this in five minutes.
What is the difference between dealing with it at the end of the meeting and now?
With due respect to the delegation, it is the most urgent issue at the farm gate.
I am sticking to the agenda.
It is also an urgent issue for the countless thousands of people who are working in the steel industry and the concrete business, and who will lose their jobs if this deadline is not extended. That is what is at stake here, as are the health and safety issues on farms where this work is carried out because of weather-related issues.
I have agreed already to deal with this issue. I would like to welcome Mr. Mick Cronin, principal officer--
There is a proposal before the committee and this must be dealt with.
I have agreed to discuss the issue in one hour's time. What is the difference between an hour's time and now? I am sticking to the agenda that is before me.
The manner in which the committee deals with this reflects the urgency it attaches to it. There is a proposal that we suspend Standing Orders. If the committee decides not to suspend Standing Orders, that is well and good.
In fairness, the Chairman has a letter from one of our members looking for a debate on this, so we are on the one path.
I am calling in the officials.
That letter should have been circulated, so that we could have had advance notice. We would have discussed this matter as a group--
I have told you that the matter will come up at the end of the meeting.
We have spent five minutes arguing this.
Exactly, we could be done with the issue by now.
I would like to welcome Mr. Mick Cronin, principal officer--
I suggest that in order to deal with this matter--
The meeting stands suspended for five minutes.
Sitting suspended at 12.17 p.m, resumed in private session at 12.22 p.m. and went into public session at 12.29 p.m.