This amendment was moved by Deputy Briscoe last night. On that occasion, and I want this on the record because I consider it an absolutely appalling thing to have occurred, the Minister apparently offered to accept this amendment if we would let the Bill through, having refused the amendment of Deputy Briscoe on its merits. The Minister, as Minister, does not think this amendment should be incorporated in the Bill and will not accept it but, in effect, he offered it to us as a bribe if we would let the Bill through. I want to make an emphatic protest against this kind of thing in this House. That amendment should either have been accepted on its merits or rejected on its merits. In fairness to the Minister, as it might be mistaken as to the quarter from which I suggested the Minister had been prompted, I should say that it was from his left that he was prompted and not from his right in that regard.
Supplementary and Additional Estimates. - Local Government Bill, 1954— Committee.
Major de Valera
On a point of order. I take full responsibility for anything I say here and, if I receive promptings from either right or left, I take full responsibility for them and I think it is very, very unfair of the Deputy to make the suggestion he did he suggested last night that I took prompts from the right. That is very, very unfair.
Major de Valera
I did not.
I take full responsibility for anything I say in this House. I do not care what my predecessors did; I am responsible, and I only, for anything that I say.
Major de Valera
Quite, but I only wanted to make it clear from which quarter the prompt came.
The Deputy should not refer to the quarter from which prompts come. The Minister, and the Minister alone, is responsible.
Major de Valera
It was not from his official advisers.
I did not take advice from anyone, official advisers or anyone else.
Major de Valera
It was a disgraceful suggestion anyway.
From the Deputy.
Major de Valera
Imagine such a thing occurring in any Legislature. If we are going to barter things like that here there will be another story.
The Deputy appealed to me for barter all through this Bill.
Major de Valera
It should not be barter. It should be on the merits.
I should not say the Deputy, but the proposers have appealed to me on the question of barter in relation to many amendments here. This is not my Bill. This is the Bill of my predecessor. This Bill which is now being criticised by Deputy Major de Valera is Deputy Smith's Bill and I will make no apology for barter because I do not think there is very much in it.
Major de Valera
The Minister cannot get out of it like that. It is his Bill now and the provisions in it are his provisions.
Deputy de Valera on amendment No. 49 now.
Major de Valera
The simple suggestion in this amendment was to include a provision for consent. Now the Minister does not see fit to meet that. When we were on the point of adjourning last night I was raising the point that it requires legislation to vary local government boundaries. We have here in the White Paper some sample references to anticipated variation of boundaries. Now in the local government code a provision for the alteration of the particular type of boundaries involved here seems to be something new, not related merely to a particular enactment but something general irrespective of whether there are alterations or not in the boundaries.
I move to report progress.