Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 4 Oct 1922

Vol. 1 No. 17

DEBATES ON ADJOURNMENT. - ARTICLE 34. SECTION 2.—LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS.

The Chamber/Dáil Eireann shall in relation to the subject matter of money bills as hereinafter defined have legislative authority exclusive of the Senate/ Seanad Eireann.

A Money Bill means a Bill which contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following subjects, namely, the imposition, repeal, remission, alteration or regulation of taxation; the imposition for the payment of debt or other financial purposes of charges on public moneys or the variation or repeal of any such charges; supply; the appropriation, receipt, custody, issue or audit of accounts of public money; the raising or guarantee of any loan or the repayment thereof; subordinate matters incidental to those subjects or any of them. In this definition the expressions "taxation," "public money," and "loan" respectively do not include any taxation, money or loan raised by local authorities or bodies for local purposes.

The Chairman of the Chamber/Dáil shall certify any Bill which in his opinion is a Money Bill to be a Money Bill, but if, within three days after a Bill has been passed by the Chamber/Dáil, two-fifths of the members of either House by notice in writing addressed to the Chairman of the House of which they are members so require, the question whether the Bill is, or is not, a money bill shall be referred to a Committee of Privileges consisting of three members elected by each House with a Chairman, who shall be the senior judge of the Supreme Court able and willing to act, and who, in the case of an equality of votes, but not otherwise, shall be entitled to vote. The decision of the Committee on the question shall be final and conclusive.

Mr. O'HIGGINS:

In moving the adoption of this Clause I might state that the need for all that detail in the Clause with regard to a Money Bill arises from the fact that there is considerable dispute and controversy about the question of what is, and what is not, a Money Bill between the British House of Commons and the House of Lords, and it is to provide, so far as we can, against any friction between Seanad and the Dáil in our Constitution that this particular Article is so detailed. First of all great trouble has been taken to define, so far as it can be defined, what is a Money Bill, and there is provision in case of a difference of opinion for arriving at a decision. The matter would be referred to a Committee of Privilege, consisting of 3 Members elected by each House, but the Chairman shall be a Judge. The Chairman shall only exercise a Casting Vote in case of a division.

Motion made and question put: "That Article 34 be added to the Constitution Bill."

Agreed.