Before we proceed with the Orders of the Day will the President say what business will be arising, other than that tabled for to-day, for the remaining days of this week?
BUSINESS OF THE DAIL.
I propose to take, so far as the Agenda is concerned, the items on the paper in the order in which they are down, with the exception of No. 5, which is to be taken after No. 8. I intend to see the Committee on Privileges, which will meet to-morrow morning, and I will lay before them a programme, or rather what will aim at being a programme, of business after the 1st April. Before reaching that stage, there are a number of Bills passing through the Dáil and I intend to discuss with the Committee the business to be done up to the end of the financial year. I am not in a position to make any announcement until I have seen the Committee on Privileges as to the business for the remainder of the week. I think it will be possible for us to arrive at a working arrangement as to the business for the rest of the session.
The real point of my question was, if we manage to conclude to-day the business on the Order Paper what business would there be for to-morrow?
I do not anticipate the business on the Agenda finishing to-day. If that happy hope of the Deputy be realised, I do not think the Dáil will meet to-morrow, but it is possible that on the adjournment I will move that it meet on Friday.
What is the programme to be for next week? I want to raise a protest over the way in which things panned out last week. There was only one day on which business was done, and Deputies were coming from the country on the following day, Thursday. We do not want the same thing to happen again, and we do not want Deputies to come up at the expense of the State unless there is business to be done. If there is very little business to be done, I suggest that the Dáil should not meet next week.
The Deputy knows that it was not possible to take up previously the Bills which are down on the agenda for to-day. They had to go through their courses. At the interview which I hope to have with the Committee on Privileges, it is possible that we may be able to devise a method of dealing with business in the course of the Session, so that when we reassemble in the autumn there will be business. As Deputies know, measures must go through their First and Second Reading before they can be taken in Committee. No business was left over from last Session, and it was thought that the Local Government Bill would be before us with what amendments the Seanad chose to put in. That, to some extent, would have relieved the necessity of calling members up for a day. That, however, is unavoidable until a certain amount of business has accrued. I regret it, but it is inevitable.