The following items only will be taken, Nos. 5 and 2 and at 5 p.m. the Prison Bill, 1972. There will also be an Early Signature Motion. It is proposed to take all Stages of the Prisons Bill today.
Private Business. - Order of Business.
On the Order of Business, I realise the House has a lot of urgent business today and I do not want to hold it up. We are all glad to see Senator Ó Maoláin back again and I should like to ask him if he could direct his mind, at his earliest convenience, to the long list of motions on the Order Paper. I realise that I have been treated with a good deal of indulgence by the House and that during the last year or so, several motions in my name have been taken. But a good number remain and I am particularly interested in getting Motion No. 18 which asks the Seanad to take
note of the personnel and terms of reference of the body appointed to review the working of Radio Telefís Éireann.
If the Leader of the House is able to give any indication as to when this motion might be taken I should be grateful to him.
On the Order of Business, on the last occasion on which the Seanad met the Leader of the House said he would be in a position in a fortnight's time to give a date for the taking of the Adoption Bill. I should like to ask him if he could give a date for that Bill. There is a very widespread interest in it. As a Private Bill it has been a long time on the Order Paper and has been pressed very continously by its sponsors.
I want to be clear as to what is happening. The Prisons Bill is not on the Order Paper. I take it that the Leader of the House will move to amend the Order Paper so as to include it. Secondly, my understanding of the position, rightly or wrongly, is that it is not certain it will have left the Dáil by 5 p.m. Therefore it would be a mistake for us to order it for 5 p.m. It should be ordered for not earlier than 5 p.m. Assuming we get it in the course of the evening from the Dáil, I have no objection to the remainder of the proposition by the Leader of the House, that is that we should continue sitting until we finish all its Stages.
I understood that I said we would take the Prisons Bill not earlier than 5 p.m.
I thought the Senator said 5 p.m.
With regard to Senator Kelly's suggestion, I will certainly see what can be done. I had arrangements made for a motion to be taken this week but it will have to be deferred now because of this new Bill. With regard to Senator Robinson's Adoption Bill, I have arranged with the Minister for Justice that that will be taken in the last week in June.
Is the Order of Business agreed?
Senator
Agreed.