It is proposed to take Business in the following order: Nos. 7, 8, 5, 9 and 10.
Order of Business.
Perhaps it would be now appropriate for the Government to give consideration to the repeal of the Offences Against the State Act, the Bill which is down in my name. Would there be any possibility that the Minister for Defence could inform the House whether any recent consideration has been given by the Government to adopting this measure themselves? Now that they are moving across to settle all matters in Great Britain in these talks, it would be appropriate if we tried to sort out a few things here.
The Deputy is aware that the Taoiseach, in reply to a similar intervention by him on the Order of Business, indicated that the Government were not prepared to give time to this measure and that is the continuing position.
The Minister has stated that the answer was that things are now the same. Things are not the same.
We cannot have a statement on this matter.
I am not making a statement. I am asking the Minister is he aware that things are not the same.
I want to raise a point of a different nature. While realising the dilemma in which the Government find themselves in relation to Deputy Blaney's Bill, that is, the repeal of the Offences Against the State Act——
It is not a dilemma.
——in respect of which one party composing the Coalition have committed themselves to be completely against, my question arises out of the question that was debated in the last couple of minutes. Recognising the difficulty the Minister for Transport and Power is in, I would like to ask the Minister for Defence if he would indicate on behalf of the Taoiseach whether he would make available time for the discussion of this fuel problem between now and the end of the session, say, for three or five hours.
If the Leader of the Opposition would repeat the question in the morning on the Order of Business I shall give him the answer.
Further arising——
If the Deputy is going to advert to the previous matter it is not in order.
I am not. I want to find out from the Minister—and again perhaps this information could be made available on the Order of Business in the morning, if that is convenient—whether or not we are to have any time specifically made available to discuss what may be discussed or not discussed during the talks this week.
That would be a matter to be considered when the talks in London have concluded.
It is all in the papers today.
I am not interested in what is in the papers.