I have indicated at several stages that I do not wish to press the House unduly in regard to the passage of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill or to curtail discussion in any way and, accordingly, I propose that we take No. 1 only today and that we take Report and Final Stages next week along with the Referendum Bill.
Order of Business.
Will the Leader of the House tell the House why Report Stage will not be taken today if we finish Committee Stage? It would appear that having got through Committee Stage it would be logical that we would take Report Stage. Also, I should like to know when it is intended to take the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 1982 which has gone through the Dáil and is legislation that should be debated here as soon as possible.
In view of the problems which have arisen recently with regard to school transport, will the Leader of the House tell us when it is hoped to take item No. 10?
In case any impressions may be formed I should like to state that it was agreed by the House that the Housing (Homeless Persons) Bill would come up for mention on the first sitting day after Easter. Out of courtesy to the major issues that were being discussed at the time I did not make the point but I would not like it to be understood in any way that I was conceding the fact that that item is to be mentioned very soon, I hope.
In regard to the points raised, firstly, Senator Lanigan asked why we could not proceed immediately from Committee Stage to Report Stage on item No. 1. I am suggesting that we take the Committee Stage today. There is one amendment for Committee Stage but also there will be discussion on the Schedule and on the sections of the Bill. There may very well be points that Senators will raise on the discussion of the sections or of the Schedule that would bring forward possibly alternative wordings, alternative ways around this particular problem. This matter has been exercising the minds of legislators and others for quite some considerable period. The length of this debate resulted from the difficulty in reaching agreement in regard to wording. An opportunity should be given to Senators, having discussed this Bill on Committee Stage, to be able, in the few days following, to make up their minds whether they want to put down amendments for Report Stage. They would not have that opportunity if we decided to proceed directly from Committee to Report Stage today. That is the reason I am suggesting just No. 1.
In regard to the Companies (Amendment) Bill, this is a Bill which originated in this House. It was sent to the Dáil. There have been something of the order of a dozen amendments made in the Dáil. They are, I understand, largely technical amendments and not ones of any great importance. That Bill was passed by the Dáil a few hours ago. Again, I would think this is best taken next week when we would have a proper green print of the Bill as passed by the Dáil and, possibly, also an opportunity of reading the debate in the Dáil before it comes back to us. I hope that it will be available in time for a discussion.
I also understand that there is some possibility that the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited (Amendment) Bill which was being discussed in the other House this morning, may well pass today. In that case we would have for next week with regard to Government business, the Report and Final Stages of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution Bill, the Companies (Amendment) Bill and the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited (Amendment) Bill.
In regard to the question of Private Members' Business, I might say with regard to item No. 10, that in order for it to be taken two things are necessary, first, that it should be designated by the Fianna Fáil grouping as their priority motion and, secondly, that it should be the turn of the Fianna Fáil grouping to propose the motion. It will be taken when these two conditions are satisfied.
In regard to item No. 4, the Housing (Homeless Persons) Bill, Senator Ryan put down this Bill and it was agreed that it would be mentioned immediately after Easter. My last discussions with Senator Brendan Ryan on this point were that it would be suitable to him if it were taken in June rather than earlier. I see no reason why——
On a point of order, I did not ask that the Bill be taken. My discussion with the Leader of the House was in regard to whether the Bill would be discussed. The point I raised was that it would be mentioned on the first sitting day after Easter. It was the Leader of the House, in fact, who clarified that point very specifically, that all he was agreeing to was the fact that the Bill would be mentioned, not whether it would be discussed. They are two separate things.
I am sorry if I detected an eagerness — that was not there — on Senator Brendan Ryan's part to take the Bill immediately. There is a further point in regard to this. I was also given to understand that in fact there had been an understanding between Senator Ross and Senator Brendan Ryan that item No. 5 would be given priority over item No. 4. If this is not so, I would be glad if the representative of the Independent grouping would indicate which is the priority item.
Order of Business agreed to.