The business that it is proposed to finish to-day is No. 2—the Public Health Bill. I move that the Dáil sit later than 2.30 p.m. and that the Order for the adjournment be taken not later than 10.30 p.m. to-night. If that motion is agreed to, it is proposed that the Forestry Vote, No. 53, be taken between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. and between 6.30 and 7.30 p.m.
Motion to Sit Late.
I protest against the proposal to sit late to-day—to do between this and 10.30 p.m. what cannot be done between these hours. That is the first ground of my protest. My second ground is that I came into the Dáil this morning without any notice that such a proposal was going to be put before us. There was ample opportunity for consultation and discussion as to what it was possible to do in relation to the Committee Stage of the Public Health Bill between this and 10.30. Nobody who has considered the amount of work that requires to be done on the Public Health Bill could think for a moment that the Committee Stage could be completed between this and 10.30 p.m. without implying very substantial closures. We assisted in every way last night. In deference to the wishes of the Parliamentary Secretary, we ceased the discussion on the amendments dealing with the mother and child that were before the House. We took it that we would have an opportunity of going back over them. As regards the important amendments moved by the Parliamentary Secretary in substitution of Section 85, we actually passed them through the House without getting the information that we wanted to get. I, personally, wanted to get more information in regard to them, but in deference to the Parliamentary Secretary's wish to get the thing finished last night, as far as that particular section was concerned, we did not carry on the discussion, because I realised that if we carried on the discussion on that section yesterday, especially in view of the importance of the information required about it, the discussion would take practically the whole day.
I felt that such things as had been said to us on that yesterday by the Parliamentary Secretary could perhaps, with advantage, be put before us when we came back. For that reason, and not because we got the information that we would all desire to have, we allowed amendment No. 83, which replaces Section 85, to go through. I submit that the Government have given no consideration at all to the proposal that they are now putting before the House, and that we will not finish the Committee Stage of the Public Health Bill between this and 10.30 p.m. to-night. It is unreasonable to ask people who have been sitting every week since the end of January and who in relation to the Public Health Bill have been in committee on 15 consecutive days discussing different aspects of that measure—it is unreasonable to ask them at this hour, and without any notice, to sit late, especially in view of the short adjournment there is to be over Easter. As I say, we have been sitting continuously since the end of January. We are having a short Recess, and we are going to be sitting continuously for a very long period immediately the House reassembles after Easter.
It would not be possible to have foreseen the need for a long sitting to-day until the progress made on the Bill had been ascertained. The Deputy will understand that it will make an appreciable difference as regards the organisation of business after the Easter recess if the Committee stage of the Public Health Bill be disposed of to-night. It will enable amendments which arise out of the Committee Stage discussions to be prepared, and the Report Stage to be taken early in the next session. If the Committee Stage is not finished to-night it will mean much more congestion of business in the next session than even at present appears to be likely. It is desirable, therefore, that the House should finish the Committee Stage of the Bill to-day. If, in the course of the discussion, it is indicated that the Committee Stage may not be finished to-day, then the House will sit on Tuesday of next week to finish it.
We have protested time and time again against the imposition of important legislative measures on top of financial measures at this time of the year. If the Government are going to take up the attitude that they are going to sit next week in order to finish the Public Health Bill, then that Bill should either have been introduced long ago or not introduced at all. If the Government are going to do that, they are simply humiliating and reducing Parliament to the position in which it cannot do its work. I have done my best to allow as many members as possible of our Party to remain in the country to look after the important and urgent business connected with food production. I intend to continue to do that. At the same time, I intend to keep in the House, in a reasonable way, any members of the Party that can usefully assist the Government and the country in transacting its legislative business. We have withheld no attendance here that was necessary in order to see that the work of Parliament was carried on properly. I intend to continue to do that, but I am not going to agree without a very serious protest, and I will have to consider what form that protest will take —I am not going to continue to acquiesce in a scheme of carrying on Government business that gives no consideration to any Party in the Dáil, and that gives no consideration to the importance of the measures that are passing through the Dáil or of the difficult situation that exists in the country, a situation that requires a large number of people to look after food production. I submit very seriously to the Tánaiste that this is an unreasonable proposal and that it is an unbusinesslike proposal.
I think it is foolish to try to rush the Public Health Bill now. There is still a large number of sections to be dealt with and they are very important sections and some of them are very contentious. There is a number of amendments in the name of the Parliamentary Secretary and in the names of Deputies of other Parties which require very careful consideration and discussion and any attempt to rush the measure now or to closure discussion on it would be an insult to this House and would make it impossible for the House to do business as it should. The Tánaiste should withdraw that proposal and allow discussion on the Public Health Bill to take its normal course.
I do not think anybody could seriously suggest that the Public Health Bill is being rushed and there is certainly no desire to impose a closure of any kind, but, obviously, public business must be done and if the programme for the session has been upset, we must try to make up the deficiency in some way. The only possible way of making up the deficiency is by giving extra time.
You are not going to do it by sitting late to-day. I beg to be clear as to what the Government's proposals are. The Tánaiste has indicated that he is going to sit until 10.30 to finish the Public Health Bill and he has intimated that if it is not finished by 10.30 the Dáil will be asked to sit next week in order to try to finish it before Easter. Is the motion being moved now, Sir?
I have moved the motion.
I did not understand that. I understood that we were getting an intimation that the Government had that in mind. I am hoping to induce the Government to a sense of reason with regard to it, so that they will take between now and 11.30 or 12 to consider it before they would move such a motion.
I want to point out that the House is not in Committee and that Deputies may not speak more than once.
I do not know what condition the House is in.
The House is being reduced to a state to which it ought not to be reduced.
The House is regulating the Order of Business for the day.
I understood the Minister stated explicitly on the last day that the House was adjourning until 30th April.
That was on the assumption that the business ordered for the week would be finished.
There was no question of that.
There was no question. It was never indicated that there was any question.
I submit that Deputy Coogan is entitled to speak on this motion.
Certainly.
And we are entitled to hear some kind of considered reply from the Government to the arguments that may be put up from any side of the House.
The Deputy may not speak more than once.
At the present rate of progress, there is no hope of finishing this Bill at 10.30 or indeed by next week. No hope whatever and I think this is a deliberate move to closure discussion on this Bill.
On the contrary, it is a motion to facilitate discussion. There is a great deal of public business which must be done in the next session.
It is nearly time the Government woke up.
A number of Bills have to be passed. Whatever the importance of the matters to which Deputy Mulcahy referred, the most important function of members of the Dáil is to get public business discharged and to give whatever time is required for that purpose.
Question put and declared carried.
The Order of Business will be No. 2 and No. 3. No. 3 from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock and from 6.30 to 7.30.
I am not going to continue discussion of the Public Health Bill under the conditions indicated by the Tánaiste to-day and I am not going to sit in on the beginning of the discussion here. The amendments that are down in my name or in the name of any member of our Party will not be moved. We will give the Parliamentary Secretary plenty of time to consider them between this and Report, and we will put them down again for Report. I am not going to sit in the House where the Government conducts its business in the way in which it is conducting it. We have been sitting here since the end of January and we have been giving very close attention to business. The Government indicated to us that they were going to adjourn to-day until 30th April. The Tánaiste has now indicated to us that if we do not finish the Public Health Bill by 10.30, we are going to sit next week. You cannot finish the Public Health Bill by 10.30. You cannot do it and the Government either know that and are deliberately acting like this, or they have given no consideration to the matter at all.
It is, of course, open to the Deputy to adopt the course of not moving the amendments standing in his name and of having them retabled for Report. That has frequently been done for the purpose of facilitating business. As to whether or not he takes part in the business of the Dáil, is a matter for his own conscience.
My own conscience is perfectly clear. We have sat here since the end of January. The direction of Government business for the last week has been an astonishing business. We could never know what we were going to do. Again I want to say that I am not going to sit here and discuss the Public Health Bill under the conditions indicated by the Government.
Would the Deputy tell the House why he did not divide on the motion?
Private Members' business will not be taken at 12 o'clock.
Would the Minister tell the House why he has not sat here for the last ten days?
The Minister for Local Government asks why we did not vote on the motion to sit late. I want to divide on it. The Government has been conducting its business in the last ten minutes in such a way that it is impossible to know what is happening in the House. I have already indicated that it was not clear that there was a motion before the House.
If the Deputy keeps on talking, he will soon have nine members of his Party in the House.
We have been working for many weeks up to to-day and I did not see nine members of the Government Party here. However, I am not going to continue the discussion of the Public Health Bill under a proposal that we are to be forced to sit next week unless we finish it to-day, after the Government had formally indicated to us that we were to adjourn to-day until 30th April.