It is intended to deal with No. 1 on the Order Paper only to-day—the Housing (Amendment) Bill—and, on the Adjournment, I think we will have to adjourn sine die, because we are not sure when the Dáil will finish the Appropriation Bill. We may not be meeting until 1st of August, that is, next Wednesday week. The Minister for Local Government is not available this morning, but it is hoped that he will be available later. It is proposed to go on with the debate on the Housing (Amendment) Bill.
Order of Business.
I submit that the business for which the Seanad was summoned this week was to deal with the motions, in addition to whatever Bills might become available. I think some of us came up here prepared to go on with these motions and, as far as the first motion on the Order Paper is concerned, dealing with agriculture, I would be quite willing to go on with it. I know that the Minister for Agriculture is absent, but I think it would be in order at least to allow any Senators who wished to speak to the motion to express their views, and then the Minister will have an opportunity of reading the debates and dealing with the matter later. The debate could be adjourned for that purpose after some of the Senators had spoken.
Senator Cogan did not speak to me about this matter. My understanding was that the House would sit this morning to accommodate the Minister on this matter of the Housing (Amendment) Bill. The Minister for Agriculture is not available and I am not able to interfere with Senator Cogan's right to open the debate, if he desires to do so. I may point out that the matter referred to in Motion No.3 could be quite properly raised on the Appropriation Bill itself. However, Senator Cogan has his rights in the matter and I am not prepared to interfere with him.
We will leave that matter in abeyance and see how far we get with Item No.1. What decision will be taken about the next meeting of the Seanad may be clarified by the time we reach midday. The Whips may have some discussion, perhaps, as to how business may be ordered to meet the convenience of the House generally.