I move:—
That Dáil Éireann approve the nomination by the Taoiseach of Deputy Gerald Bartley for appointment by the President to be a Member of the Government.
The appointment of Deputy Bartley to be a member of the Government is a necessary preliminary to the changes in the Government which I foreshadowed when the appointment of the present members of the Government was before the House, and again on the Second Reading of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 1959. Deputies will be aware that the assignment of Departments to members of the Government is a prerogative of the Taoiseach. I may say, however, for the information of the House, that if this motion is approved, I propose to terminate the assignment of the Department of Lands and Fisheries to Deputy Erskine Childers and to assign that Department to Deputy Michael Moran, now Minister for the Gaeltacht. I intend to ask the present Minister for Lands and Fisheries, Deputy Erskine Childers; to take charge of the new Department of Transport and Power when the Ministers and Secretaries Bill comes into operation. Deputy Bartley will be assigned the Department of the Gaeltacht.
