I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. The House is aware that the Dáil has agreed every year since 1947 to extend the life of the section of the Trade Union Bill which empowers the Minister for Industry and Commerce to relieve Irish trade unions in certain cases from the obligation to maintain in court the full amount of deposit required by the Act of 1946. The Bill which was passed last year to maintain the life of that section is due to expire on the 8th July and it is proposed in the present Bill to continue the section further. The only difference between this Bill and previous Bills is that I am not putting in a time limit in this Bill. The practice up to the present has been to introduce a Bill extending the section of the 1946 Act for a further year.
The House, I think, is aware that there is a need for the recasting of trade union legislation following a decision of the Supreme Court, and that certain discussion have been proceeding with a view to deciding the form which that Bill should take. It is impossible to forecast when these discussions may lead to the submission of proposals to the House, but it is a reasonable certainty that until that is done nobody will propose to alter the position which now exists under the Act of 1946 in respect of the unions which have been permitted to operate with reduced deposits. Therefore I think it is better to leave that position without period in point of time until the matter has been reviewed by the Dáil.
