That concludes the business, except the question of the adjournment. I do not know whether it would be the wish of the Seanad to fix a date, or to adjourn and leave the fixing of a date for the next meeting with your Chairman. It is entirely a matter for yourselves. There is always a certain difficulty about fixing a date, because we have to provide a programme, and it is not always so easy, but if it is the wish of the Seanad to adjourn to a definite date, I suppose that you would say this day week. If you do not wish a definite date then I suppose the alternative would be to leave it to your Chairman to fix the earliest date that the business requires.
THE ADJOURNMENT.
AN CATHAOIRLEACH
I propose this day week. I think the Seanad ought to meet regularly.
I suggest that unless there is some business to be done, the very large expense that is incurred in bringing a great number of Senators up here should be avoided. There is neither sense nor reason in bringing people here wasting time which is valuable both to them and to the country. Of course, I do not for a moment mean that the Seanad should give the go-by to any business that is of importance, but if it is not of any great or pressing importance I would suggest that the meetings should be as few as possible. I have been attending a great many boards on both sides of the water, and I have always found that the Board that did the least talking did the best work. I suggest that it should be left in the Chairman's hands to call the Seanad together when there is sufficient amount of business.
AN CATHAOIRLEACH
The difficulty about this day week, I understand, is this that it is quite possible that when you assemble I would have to tell you that there was nothing for you to do, and that depends upon the progress that may be made with certain more or less controversial Bills at present going through the Dáil. It is quite possible that if you fix to meet this day week you might find you had no business to do. Should you leave the matter to me, with the assistance, perhaps, of the Deputy Chairman, if we find by Monday, or by Saturday, that we could have business for you on Wednesday sufficient to justify calling the Seanad together, of course, we would do so.
I think that under the circumstances it is possible that this would be the right course to adopt. There is one Bill which I certainly would not like to see delayed unnecessarily, and that is the Electoral Bill, and I think there is a very good reason why, as soon as it reaches us, we should not delay by putting it off for a week. There is another matter of some importance, and that is, when we receive a Bill, there should be at least one week or thereabouts to consider the Bill before it reaches the Committee Stage. I think after what we saw to-day—if I am in order in pointing it out—we virtually made the Committee Stage out of the Report Stage of a Bill. If we had properly amended the Bill in Committee, then on the Report Stage there would only have been consequential amendments which would have been more or less to set right discrepancies that would have arisen in the Committee Stage. The suggestion was made when you, sir, were away, that a fixed day each week should be set down for meeting of the Seanad, say Tuesday or Wednesday, and if by the previous Saturday business has not been handed in, that a telegram should be sent to each of the members conveying the fact that there would be no meeting that week. The advantage of that would be that when there was no business Senators would not be brought to Dublin and incur expense.
AN CATHAOIRLEACH
Of course that is another alternative, that is to say, to fix the meeting for this day week at 3 o'clock, unless I was satisfied by Saturday that there would not be a sufficient programme, in which case you would then receive a telegram. I am not certain myself that that is the most business-like way of doing things, but it is a matter entirely for you.
May I point out that that was intended as a general suggestion?
If the Senators are to have Bills in their hands a week in advance, so as to consider what amendments may be desirable, would it be possible to hold weekly meetings?
AN CATHAOIRLEACH
It is immaterial as to how I shall put it to the Seanad. I shall ask the opinion of the Seanad as to whether we should adjourn until this day week, or until a date of which you will receive notice later.
I propose the latter alternative.
AN CATHAOIRLEACH
It is proposed that the Seanad do now adjourn, and do not meet again until they have received notice convening them for a special date, issued by the Chairman.
Motion put and agreed to.
The Seanad adjourned at 6.8 p.m.