I move:—
"That, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Standing Orders 79 (1) and 85, the Committee Stage and Report Stage of the Finance (Increase of Income Tax) Bill, 1931 be taken to-day."
Suspension of Standing Orders.
I second.
Unless we get some reasons for this motion it ought not to be allowed to pass. I think that this ought not to become a habit, an automatic habit, in respect to Finance Bills. Inasmuch as the House will be meeting to-morrow, and as the Senator who moved the motion has not put forward any reasons why the Bill should be passed through all its stages to-day, I think the House ought not to agree to this proposition.
Possibly a solution of the difficulty would be met by deleting from it the words "Report Stage." Then, under our Standing Orders, the Report Stage could be taken to-morrow as well as the Final Stage.
When I spoke to Senator Milroy about the matter I was under the impression that the House would only be meeting for the one day. I do not mind if the Report and Final Stages are not taken till to-morrow.
There is just one point that I would like to deal with. Senators can see from the Order Paper that the House will be very fully occupied to-morrow with the Committee Stages of two very important Bills—the Town Tenants Bill and the Apprenticeship Bill. What advantage is to be gained in the interests of the taxpayer by deferring the Report and Final Stages of this Bill until to-morrow I do not see. If all the stages of this Bill are taken to-day, then the House will have a free day to-morrow to give consideration to the two important Bills I have referred to.
Perhaps the House would agree to take the Report and Final Stages of this Bill as the first business to-morrow.
Cathaoirleach
The House, if it desires, can come to that agreement, but unless there is agreement now it will be necessary for me to put the motion that has been moved by Senator Milroy.
If those who propose speaking on the later stages of this Bill would give the House some indication that they intend to put forward some arguments in addition to those that we have already heard on the Second Reading Stage it might be worth while postponing the remaining stages of the Bill until to-morrow, but if we are not going to get any new arguments then I think it would be better to dispose of this Bill to-day. The sooner that this Bill is passed the better it will be from the administrative point of view. In the absence of new arguments being put forward, I think it would be better for the community and everybody else if we got rid of the Bill to-day. If it is postponed until to-morrow we may have a discussion similar to that which we had to-day and that would really be only wasting the time of the House.
Of course we cannot show Senator Jameson or anybody else that we will have new arguments, but we can promise that we will produce them. Certainly we would like to have an opportunity of replying to the last bolt that the Minister flung when he thought there was no one to reply to him. Senator Milroy, always thinking of the taxpayer, said that it would be in the interests of the taxpayer to have the Report Stage taken to-day.
What I said was that nothing was to be gained in the interests of the taxpayer by postponing the Report Stage until to-morrow.
I suggest that we comply reasonably and consistently with the Rules and Standing Orders of this House. This Bill can be taken to-morrow and the Minister can be here. Then why suspend the Standing Orders, especially as the Minister has no objection to the Bill being taken to-morrow?
I desire to support what Senator Johnson has said, that it is becoming the practice in the case of most important Bills to have motions put down for the suspension of Standing Orders so that all stages of them may be taken in the one day. On almost all the Order Papers that we get now, we find a notice to the effect that it is proposed to take very important Bills through all their stages in one day. I say that is wrong in principle. The Standing Orders of the House lay down the procedure to be followed with regard to the taking of the various stages of Bills. No case for urgency has been made in regard to this Bill. Whenever urgency has been shown in the case of a particular Bill the House has never refused to meet the wishes of the Minister. I suggest that it is bringing the proceedings of this House down to the level of a farce to have these motions put on the Order Paper continuously—to have most important Bills rushed through when no case for urgency whatever has been made.
We know that no argument that could be put forward would alter this Bill. In fact the House has not the power to alter its provisions. But for the sake of decency, and for the proper carrying out of the business of the House, I suggest that when we have Standing Orders we ought to comply with them and not rush through important Bills with indecent haste. There is no reason in the world why all the stages of this Bill should be taken to-day in view of the fact that we are meeting to-morrow. No alteration can be made in it, but when we have Standing Orders we ought to adhere to them. If we do it will prevent people outside saying that this is a useless Assembly.
In view of the fact that the Seanad will be meeting to-morrow and that the Minister is quite agreeable that the Standing Orders should be adhered to, I just wish to point out that it was to facilitate the Seanad and not the Government that this motion was put down.
We are not so innocent as all that.
It was because of the fact that the Seanad usually sits but for one day, and that this Bill is urgently needed that the motion was put down to suspend Standing Orders so that Senators would not be brought back to-morrow for the purpose of dealing with the remaining stages of it. In view of the fact that the House is meeting to-morrow and that these reasons do not now apply, I think the House can agree to take the remaining stages of the Bill to-morrow.
Cathaoirleach
I have a motion before me and I will put it to the House now unless it is withdrawn by the consent of the House.
In view of the circumstances that have arisen, I ask leave to withdraw it.
If Senator Milroy withdraws the motion entirely, then all we can do to-morrow will be to take the Committee Stage. There will not be time for the Senator to give notice to have the remaining stages taken to-morrow, so that the Bill will have to remain over until next week. I suggest to the Senator that he should amend his motion by deleting the words "Report Stage." If that is agreed to, the Committee Stage can be taken to-day and the Report and Final Stages to-morrow in accordance with our Standing Orders.
I agree. I ask leave of the House to move my motion in this amended form:—"That notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Standing Order 79 (1) the Committee Stage of the Finance (Increase of Income Tax) Bill, 1931 be taken to-day."
I second.
Question put and agreed to.