Vol. 7 No. 29
May I move the motion which follows on the Orders of the Day? It reads as follows:—
That the provisions of Standing Orders 86 and 88 as to the giving of notice for the taking of the Fourth and Fifth Stages of a Bill be suspended to permit of the Fourth and Fifth Stages of the Local Government (Rates on Agricultural Land) Bill, 1924, being taken to-day, Tuesday, 24th June, 1924.
If there is opposition to the motion which stands in the name of the Minister for Lands and Agriculture, I must consider the question of accepting it.
I want to say that I think this is too much. We have just passed the Committee Stage of a Bill, and though there has been no opposition to it, to ask us now to agree to suspend the Standing Orders in order to take the succeeding stages, no matter how trifling may have been the amendments to the Bill, is asking the Dáil to loose its control. This is rather a matter of putting a stop to this galloping method, and in the circumstances I am opposing the motion. There is another motion a little later on in regard to another Bill, which is, in my view, much more urgent.
I think the Dáil will need to be more careful about allowing such Motions as these to pass. As I said two or three days ago, when we thought we were working to a time-table, there might be some justification for this, but when all that has disappeared, and we are simply asked to gallop through legislation, I urge on the Dáil the necessity for taking a little care and putting a little rein on the Ministerial desire to get through business.
I do not think the Minister will lose anything by postponing this for at least one day, and I would suggest to him that the Dáil would be much more agreeable to take the final stages of the Bill as the first business to-morrow, if he desires to present the Bill to the Seanad then. I do not know what his intentions are. I suggest that there is no need to take those further stages to-day without notice. I am asking the Dáil to oppose the motion because there is no case made for it, and as far as I can, I want to put a stay upon this method of galloping through legislation.
I do not know whether the Deputy means that under no circumstances, good, bad, or indifferent, should the Fourth and Fifth Stages of a Bill be taken. He may mean that, and there may be something to be said for it. That is the only attitude consistent with his opposition. Whether this Bill is good, bad, or indifferent, and whether its defects are small or great, it is an urgent measure. I know its limitations. It is only an expedient, and a second-rate expedient at that, but such as it is it is extremely urgent.
It is a Bill dealing with the collection of this year's rates. It is obvious demand notes should be sent out as soon as possible, and there should be no holding up of the rate collection. The Bill consists of five sections, and it is extremely simple. It has been before the Dáil for a month, and Deputies must know every clause of it by heart if they are really interested. Here it is three weeks after being introduced, and there are verbal amendments proposed by myself to the Bill. I do not believe any body really wishes to deny the extreme urgency of the Bill and the necessity for having no holding up of the collection of rates; also, it is a very short and simple Bill. I put it to the Dáil that if the taking of the remaining Stages is justified in any case it is justified in this, and I ask for approval of the Motion which I have on the Order Paper. Deputy Johnson knows enough about Parliamentary procedure to know that a little time makes a lot of difference, and the getting of the Bill through the Dáil to-day instead of to-morrow would facilitate matters greatly.
I appeal to Deputy Johnson to withdraw his opposition to this Bill, and in speaking on the Bill now I take the opportunity of correcting a mis-report of my remarks on the Second Reading. This report appeared in the "Irish Times," where it was stated that I opposed this Bill on behalf of the farmers. What I said was that I accepted the Bill. We do accept it as a second rate expedient. We think that the proper way of relieving the agricultural community is by increasing the agricultural grant. This is not a grant. It is a totally different thing altogether. It is something that we have got to pay back, and pay back with interest, and our point of view is that a grant is the only thing that would meet the situation. However, there is an effort made to tide us over a difficulty. Deputy Cooper alludes to this as being within a certain cycle of depression——
I am afraid the Deputy is not speaking to the motion.
Oh, I know very well I am out of order, but I think now I have got in everything I wanted to say.
I appeal to Deputy Johnson not to oppose this motion. From my own experience I know that there are demand notes for over two months lying up in the county council offices, and it will take two or three weeks after the passing of this Bill into law to get them changed in accordance with the decision the individual county council may arrive at as a result of the Act. That will mean that if this Bill is held up in the Seanad there will be no rates collected at all until August. For that reason I would ask Deputy Johnson to waive his objection.
I only wanted to try to prevent this method of getting through legislation. This is a very simple thing, but you all know the story: "It is only a little one." But the next may be bigger. In view of what the Minister said I will not oppose this motion, but I hope that it will not be taken as an acquiescence in this method of legislation.
I move the motion.
The Seanad will be informed accordingly.
