Before proceeding with the Orders of the Day, I would like to ask the Minister for Justice when it is likely that the amendments made to the Intoxicating Liquor Bill in the Seanad will be considered by the Dáil? Can the Minister say why the Bill was printed and circulated amongst Deputies with the amendments made by the Seanad, without the Dáil having an opportunity of considering the amendments?
INTOXICATING LIQUOR BILL.
The Bill has not left the Seanad, and, therefore, it could not be considered by the Dáil. We cannot consider the Bill from the Seanad until it has left the Seanad. The Seanad has not yet taken up the Fourth Stage of the Bill.
I received the Bill this morning as amended in the Seanad.
As amended in Committee; the Fourth Stage has not been taken yet.
Is it customary for amendments put forward in the Seanad to be included in the Bill? Is it not waste of money in printing?
Is it not the case that whereas we have our Bills printed as amended in Committee, the Seanad have been complaining that they have not had that done? This is the first instance in which it was done, and if it was waste of money we have been wasting money here for a long time.
As it is the first instance in which it was done, I want to ask whether the Dáil will have an opportunity of discussing these amendments, and when?
The Minister could not answer that question. When the Seanad is finished with the Bill, it will be spent back to the Dáil, and the Dáil is obliged to discuss the amendments. The Deputy may rest assured that the Dáil cannot escape discussion of the Seanad amendments. The Minister cannot say when they will be discussed, nor can anybody in the Dáil foresee the course of business in another place.
If these amendments are discussed, and if the Dáil disagrees with them, the Bill goes back to the Seanad, and if the Seanad adheres to their amendments, will the Bill automatically become law after 270 days, just as the Act of 1923 became law?
If the Deputy consults the Constitution he will see that the position is plain.
The grievance in the country is that the 1923 Bill was not legally passed. The fact that it was on the Statute Book was forgotten until it was found that it was an Act. The same thing may apply to this Bill. As far as I am concerned, I intend to oppose the amendments made by the Seanad.
If the Deputy waits until the Bill comes back from the Seanad all these questions will arise and will have to be solved.