Before we go on to No. 5 there is a matter that I want to refer to. Yesterday I asked the Tánaiste if full reports of the speeches that were delivered at Strasbourg were available and whether copies of them would be made available in the Library. Can the Minister say whether, if they are available, it is proposed to place them in the Library?
Speeches at Strasbourg.
As a member of the Government which sent the first delegation to Strasbourg, Deputy Mulcahy must know very well that it is not the practice to send back to the Department of External Affairs or to the Government scripts or reports of the speeches made at Strasbourg.
That is not true. I was there and I know.
The Deputy may have done that.
I know what was done.
Of non-Government Deputies, no.
When the Deputy was a Minister and when I was with him at Strasbourg a copy of his speech as well as mine was sent back officially to the Department of External Affairs and the Deputy must know that, and that went for every other member of the delegation.
I want to contradict what Deputy Sweetman has said. Deputy Sweetman has said something which may have been done in the ordinarycourse but was not done with my knowledge.
We were all in the same room.
Deputy Mulcahy may not know that no copy of any of the speeches made at Strasbourg—with the possible exception of a speech by Mr. Crosbie, which appeared to have been given advance publication—publication in advance of its delivery—has been sent back to Dublin.
My question yesterday asked if the Government was getting copies of these speeches, in view of the circumstances that have now arisen.
If the Deputy would be good enough to address that query in the ordinary course to the Minister for External Affairs, he would get a reply which would be effective and definite; and I suggest that he put a question on the Order Paper.
Do I understand that, in spite of the circumstances which have arisen, we have to wait until a Deputy puts down a question on the Order Paper to get any statement from the Government in the matter?
I am not aware that any special circumstances have arisen. I do not know what sort of build-up the Deputy is engaged on.
Could we get confirmation from the Minister, he having described Deputy Cowan as "the Red Nuncio" that the Deputy now discharging the function of Red Nuncio at Strasbourg is doing so on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Government?
May I ask who appoints these delegates and whom they represent? Is it the Government or the House?
As has already been said, these Deputies represent the general composition of this Chamber. They are not representative of the Government per se, nor are they, I assume, representative of the Opposition.Many of them are selected and recommended or suggested to the Government by members of the Government Party, first of all, then by members of the Opposition Parties and then by members of various Independent groups. There is a very limited number and it has to be chosen to be as representative as possible of the general personnel of this Chamber.
I am an independent Independent and I was never consulted.
It was rather suggested the other day that you were and that you were responsible for it. I did not believe it.
As one Deputy who was partially responsible for the selection, I wish to make no apology whatsoever.
Now perhaps we could hear Deputy ffrench-O'Carroll.
I do not know whether Deputy Lehane was responsible for appointing Senator Stanford, but I want to say that all delegates go to Strasbourg as representative of the various groups here. Senator Stanford was in the same position as Deputy Cowan. I did not hold Deputy Norton responsible for what Senator Stanford said in 1951 in Strasbourg when he was a substitute there.
Mr. A. Byrne
There was no meeting of Independents to salect candidates.
Is Deputy Cogan man enough to stand over Deputy Cowan as Deputy Dr. Browne did? Deputy Dr. Browne had at least enough courage to stand for him.