Before we resume discussion of the Bill there are a couple of observations I should like to make regarding certain problems that arise in relation to the meeting of these committees generally. I was with the front bench of my party today and I was asked to put certain points to the committee and in particular to the Minister in relation to the matter. We do not in any way wish to be unhelpful with regard to these matters. We have agreed to take several of these Bills in special committees because we thought they were more appropriately taken here than in the House. But we are running into a major difficulty which affects several of us very seriously. Both Deputy Haughey and I are members of the special committee on this Bill and on the Misuse of Drugs Bill committee, which is also a very long, technical Bill. In addition to that, Deputy Haughey is Chairman of the Joint Committee on Secondary EEC Legislation. He finds that his full time as a Deputy is given to trying to service those three committees. He can literally do nothing else. I am in the difficulty that I missed the last meeting of this committee and I missed the first meeting of the committee. There was nothing I could do about it. I have missed most meetings of the Misuse of Drugs Bill committee and there was nothing I could do about it. It is a matter in which I am interested because I drafted part of that Bill as Minister for Justice. The Secondary Legislation Joint Committee is very important and we want to suggest that at the very most each of the committees should not meet more than once a week. I know there are certain difficulties in relation to this Bill. I and all of us appreciate that. We have the additional difficulty that unfortunately Deputy Colley has been unwell for a number of weeks which throws a heavy additional strain on us. He got certain advice from people competent in this field in the belief that he would be here to deal with this Bill during the duration of its passage. Unfortunately, he has been ill for most of the past three weeks. He is due to leave hospital tonight or tomorrow but will not be back here before the end of next week.
Deputy Haughey is snowed under with all these other committees. My knowledge of this matter is limited and I find it extremely difficult to deal with such an enormous Bill without the benefit of specialised advice. Apart from the difficulty in getting such advice I have not the time to get it. There are people who have volunteered to give it to me but I have not the time to receive it. I wonder in these circumstances if we could make an arrangement, first, that this committee will not meet more frequently than once a week, notwithstanding the urgency of the Bill and, secondly, could it be arranged that for the future not more than one of these committees would be established or be in existence at the same time.
I understand that we have now been asked to nominate members to go on another special committee which we have agreed to in relation to the Wildlife Bill which is a huge document. Admittedly, we could spread the workload a bit better with a Bill of that nature but it is clear that these committees are going to run simultaneously. We are in serious difficulty. It was pointed out this morning that service on a committee such as this, from a political point of view, no matter what work is put into it, is of absolutely no value. One has only to look around here to see that that is so. A great many Deputies are reluctant to serve on committees of this kind for this reason. If the Bill was taken in the House, the contributions would, in many ways, be more frequent—whether they would be any better is a matter of opinion—but more people would be prepared to take part in the debate.
Deputy Andrews pointed out, for example, that the special committee on the Family Law Bill held five meetings at which the matter was gone into in great detail but although one would have thought that it was a question of some public interest not one line appeared in any newspaper in relation to the proceedings. If similar proceedings had taken place in the House undoubtedly they would have received a good deal of coverage. The result we find is—and I have no doubt that the same would apply, although perhaps less so, to Government back-benchers who would not be expected to take part to the same extent—that it will become difficult because of the virtual secrecy of these proceedings to get Deputies to take part.