I move:
That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders and unless the Seanad shall otherwise resolve, the following provisions shall apply in respect of each week in which the Seanad sits:—
(a) on the first day of sitting the Seanad shall meet at 2.30 p.m.; and
(b) on the second and any subsequent day of sitting the Seanad shall meet at 10.30 a.m.
This motion is similar to one agreed by the Seanad on 24th March, 1976. The hours of sitting on Wednesdays and Thursdays prior to that date had been 3 p.m. to the customary hour of adjournment of 10 p.m. In order to bring forward the customary hour of adjournment to 8.30 p.m.—with any matter for discussion on the adjournment being taken 30 minutes before the adjournment time—it was agreed that the Seanad should meet at 2.30 p.m. on the first day of sitting in any week and at 10.30 a.m. on the second and any subsequent day.
The revised pattern of sittings met with general approval and I propose, having consulted with the other groups in the Seanad, that it be reintroduced. It involves, also, suspending the sitting for lunch on days when the House sits at 10.30 a.m. but that there be no tea-break, unless, exceptionally, the state of business allows it.
The arrangements I have mentioned do not require a formal motion except in relation to the time of sitting, which is specifically dealt with in Standing Order No. 18. This is the motion I now recommend to the House.
Agreed and ordered accordingly.