We propose to take the Order Paper as it stands with three exceptions, that is, to take No. 10 as No. 2; to discharge No. 7 until the first meeting of the Dáil after the Christmas adjournment; to discharge No. 12 and take it on the 16th December, when I hope we shall be in a position to deal with it.
ORDER OF BUSINESS.
When will the Army Pensions Bill be circulated?
The Bill is in course of preparation. A rough draft had been made and it was found when the draftsman was finished with it that it was not in conformity with the opinions of myself and my advisers, so that it is necessary for the Committee to re-assemble again and go into the matter. I regret the delay in this matter, but it is unavoidable. The Bill is rather contentious and will take a good deal of preparation before it can be brought up for Second Reading. I do hope, however, to be able to take the Second Reading on December 16th. I wish further to say that it is possible I may have to ask for leave to withdraw the present Bill and substitute a new one.
I was going to make that suggestion myself. The whole procedure seems to me to be disorderly. Leave was given to introduce a Bill. Presumably the Bill had been submitted and evidence at least given that it was a serious attempt at legislation, and, therefore, a First Reading was conceded. But the Bill, apparently, does not exist and I would urge as a matter of procedure and order that the Bill ought to be withdrawn until the new Bill is ready.
The reason I did not ask to have the Bill discharged to-day or withdraw it was that I want to show at least that there is some bona fides behind it—to leave the present Bill until I am in a position either to proceed with it or to ask leave to withdraw the Bill and introduce another.
How can the Minister talk of bona fides when the Bill has been promised for two years?
Is it not a fact that the President stated the other day that the Second Reading Stage was not being taken owing to the fact that the Attorney-General was attending the Imperial Conference?
That statement is only partially correct.
As I said, this Bill requires a good deal of thinking out. On the face of it it looks to be a very simple matter, but when the law officers and draftsman came to frame it as sections of an Act of Parliament they found considerable difficulty. That is the only reason why the Bill is not being taken to-day. As a matter of fact, the Committee considering it are sitting at the moment in the House, and I hope that there will not be any further delay about it.
May I ask if the Minister will consider the advisability of employing the draftsman and the lawyer, who were responsible for drafting the Public Safety Bill in twenty-four hours, to draft this Bill? Then we might get it some time.
The Minister has raised another point of importance. He says a Committee of this House is sitting on the Bill.
I did not say that. I said there was a Committee sitting on it at the moment in this House—a Departmental Committee.
I should like to ask the Minister if he will explain how it is that the Committee sitting on the Bill is still sitting after the First Reading has been passed. Was the Bill not ready? Had the Committee not been sitting before it was decided to bring in the Bill?
Yes. The heads of the Bill were got ready and the Bill was introduced before the adjournment in order that it might be taken as first business when the Dáil re-assembled. The holiday period intervened and the draftsman had other work to do, and it was not possible to have the Bill ready at the time. The Bill was introduced in what might be called dummy form and the draftsman prepared the long title. The opinion has now been arrived at that the long title will not suit the Bill as now drafted. Therefore, it is necessary to recast the whole thing.
Was the Minister, when he introduced the Bill with the long title, thinking of blocking any other effort?
Certainly not.
Order No. 12 discharged, to be taken on 16th December.
As to No. 13 on the Order Paper, I should like to mention that when this Bill was given a Second Reading I suggested to the Minister that it was desirable with a Bill of this importance and magnitude that as much time as possible might be given before the Committee Stage, and he was good enough to state that if a further week were desired in connection with the consideration of the Bill he would grant it. I have been requested by several people who are interested to ask that that further week should be granted before the Committee Stage is taken.
That agreement was pretty well entered into when I was asking to have the Committee Stage set down. The Deputy is now pressing that that further time should be given, and I propose to discharge Order No. 13 and set it down for this day week.
Orders No. 2 and No. 13 discharged, to be taken on Tuesday, December 7th.