It is proposed to take Nos. 1 and 3 on the Order Paper.
Order of Business.
Might I raise two matters on the Order of Business? The first relates to No. 7 on the Order Paper which is the Adoption Bill, for which Senators Horgan, Owens and I have been pressing. I note that the Minister for Justice is in the House today and I should like to get an undertaking that he will come to the Seanad and take this Bill before long. This is a Private Members' Bill and has been on the Order Paper for almost a year and we are very anxious to have a Second Reading. There is widespread interest throughout the country in this matter.
The second matter relates to item No. 3, which is the motion that Seanad Éireann takes note of the White Paper on the European Communities. I ask that item No. 22, which is a motion in the names of Senator Horgan and myself be taken in conjunction with this. This motion relates to the summit conference later this year and it asks:
That Seanad Éireann notes with concern the exercise of wide legislative powers by the European Council and Commission, bodies which are not subject to direct democratic control, and calls upon the Government to seek the reform of the Community institutions, and in particular the implementation of direct elections to and the strengthening of the European Parliament, when this topic is discussed at the summit conference of the ten countries later this year.
When this matter was raised on the Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill on 24th February, 1972, by Senator Horgan it was regarded by Senator Eoin Ryan as being put down without sufficient notice for the Government's consideration and he said, and I quote from the Seanad Official Report for 24th February, 1972, column 508:
It would be unfair to the Parliamentary Secretary and undesirable as far as the Members of the House are concerned to attempt to discuss this motion without any notice of it. It is, I understand, intended to have a separate discussion on the merits of joining the European Communities at a later date and possibly Motion No. 23 could be taken at that time. I do not believe anybody is in a position to discuss it this morning.
Senator O'Higgins then said:
Could we have agreement that on the general discussion this motion will be taken with it?
Senator Ryan said: "It would be appropriate."
In other words he was indicating that it would be appropriate to have this motion taken with Senator Ó Maoláin's motion on the substance of the European Communities. I argue that it would not just be appropriate, it would be a very constructive debate. We should look not just at the substance of the European Communities but at the institutions themselves. There is the political factor of the summit meeting later this year and the Seanad could contribute very positively to the debate at this stage by debating the second motion as well which is in line with this. There is little likelihood of a debate on the separate motion before this House adjourns and this would be a great pity. Therefore, I ask that Motion No. 22 on the Order Paper be taken with Motion No. 3 and discussed together and also if a date could be fixed for the Adoption Bill.
I should like to mention two points on the Order of Business. I should like to add my voice to the request made by Senator Mary Robinson and to ask the Minister for Justice if he can give any indication when he will be prepared to take the Adoption Bill, 1971, which, as has been pointed out, has been on the Order Paper for some considerable time.
Secondly, I should like to ask the leader of the House if he could now give an indication when Motion No. 17 will be discussed by the Seanad which is the Interim Report on Equal Pay. The Minister for Finance referred to this in his Budget Speech.
As the Minister for Justice is in the House I should like to ask the Leader of the House if he can give any indication when item No. 4 on the Order Paper, which is the Charities Bill, will be taken.
With regard to Senator Robinson's Adoption Bill, I hope to be able to let her know in a fortnight's time on what date it will be discussed.
Regarding item No. 22, I understand a report has been presented to the Government within the last couple of days on this matter. This is the report of a committee appointed to inquire into the matter, of which Senator Robinson is a member and a signatory. Until such time as the Government have had an opportunity of considering what the views were on this report it would not be appropriate for the Seanad to discuss it. It would take another four or five weeks before we can deal with the Second Stage.
On a point of information, the report to which Senator Ó Maoláin has referred, and on which I was working, was a report for the Commission of the European Communities. A copy is to be presented— an unofficial copy has been sent to the Government. It is not a report to the Government for their consideration as such. It is a report to the European Commission for their consideration and their attitude towards a summit. Therefore it would only be one of the factors involved.
I do not think it is a reason not to have a debate now on item No. 22. Having this motion taken now and discussing the need to strengthen the institutions would be a helpful contribution as well as this Vedel report which the Government may well look at but which was not a report to them. which they are not in any way bound by, which they are not expected to adopt in any formal way. Therefore it is only one of the matters they might look at in planning——
The Senator has already spoken on the Order of Business.
It was a factual representation——
I allowed the Senator to reply to that but it seems to me that the Senator is making another speech.
What I should like then is to propose the following amendment to the Order of Business: "That No. 22 be added to Nos. 1 and 3."
The intention is to take No. 22 with No. 3.
If I may be forgiven, I am sure Senator Ó Maoláin did not mean to ignore my request but he did neglect to reply to the question I raised on Motion No. 17. I should again like to draw his attention to it.
This procedure of allowing Senators to make speeches makes it impossible to reply to each individual without taking notes. I was not taking notes. In reply to Senator Owens' question, the Government have accepted the principle of equal pay. As soon as an opportunity presents itself I will make certain that that motion will be discussed.
Amendment put and declared lost.
Order of business agreed to.