Before I call the Leader of the House on the Order of Business I wish to make an announcement for the information of the House on the progress report on the reconstruction work in the Seanad Chamber. This report follows from the visit made by Senators to the site of the Chamber at the end of the last session which by all accounts was successful.
The Office of Public Works report as follows:
As indicated to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, the Commissioners of Public Works are extremely conscious of the wish of the Members of Seanad Éireann to reoccupy the Chamber after the Easter recess and all of our efforts are now being directed towards that end.
Provided no further unforeseen problems are encountered, we are reasonably optimistic of meeting that deadline which is considerably earlier than our projected completion date of end of 1989.
The work of restoring the temporary Chamber for use as a Seanad AnteChamber will be undertaken as quickly as possible after the restored Chamber is successfully back in use.
The repairs to the ceiling are now very well advanced and have proceeded very satisfactorily to date. Decoration of the ceiling will commence shortly.
A further progress report will be made when the need arises.