I call the Acting Leader of the House, Senator Martin O'Toole.
Business of Seanad.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
To clarify any confusion that may have arisen, it has now been decided to take Item No. 2.
I should like to thank the Acting Leader of the House. It was not his fault that there was a degree of unacceptable confusion about the way in which business was ordered today. We were told earlier that the next item of business would be the (multi-storey buildings) Bill. There was confusion and now we are taking the Tobacco Bill. If we want to get through the business of the House as quickly as possible I would ask those responsible on the Government side to ensure that this confusion does not arise in the future.
For the first time in some hours I can agree completely with Senator Manning. I also found this quite confusing and I believe this is unacceptable.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
Is it agreed that we resume on Item No. 2? Agreed.
Is it proposed to take the (multi-storey buildings) Bill after the Tobacco Bill this evening? I know one Minister of State who will not be too pleased if he has to hang around.
Does that mean that we will take all stages of the Tobacco Bill?
It is very hard to estimate that because it will be governed by the amount of time taken by the Tobacco Bill. We on this side of the House regret any inconvenience caused. In fact, the confusion has caused some inconvenience to the Minister, as Senator Manning has said, and, we regret any inconvenience caused to Senators. I am not able to answer the question regarding the (multi-storey buildings) Bill because of the time limit. I listened to the debate for an hour and a half today. It was a very encouraging debate and I learned a lot from it. The Senators approached the Tobacco Bill in a very thorough manner. I am sure the Minister is enlightened by the debate and he will probably refer to that later.