Vol. 269 No. 11
I move:
That a sum not exceeding £92,557,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1974, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Health (including Oifig an Ard-Chláraitheora), and certain services administered by that Office, including grants to Health Boards, miscellaneous grants and certain grants-in-aid.
I should like to say at this point that we have now agreed in a very short time to a total sum of many millions of pounds and the Minister will recall that on previous occasions when he and his colleagues were on this side they made great complaints about this and appeared in their complaints to be blaming the Government for the fact that it was necessary to pass all these Estimates without discussion and in a very short time. I should like to point out on this occasion that very little legislation on the Government's initiative has come before the House, one of the consequences being that in so far as most of that legislation was legislation initiated by Fianna Fáil there was much less discussion from this side of the House than normally would have been the case on such legislation.
Consequently, the situation was easier for the Government this year than it would normally have been for any Government. Despite that, we find ourselves passing these vast sums of money at this stage without any discussion. I understand, as well as the Minister does, the reasons for this. I understand the difficulties involved and the necessity for our doing it. Nevertheless, it is legitimate for me to point out that the previous complaints by the Minister and his colleagues when they were in Opposition should be directed at them now with greater force because, as I indicated, the programme of legislation we have had this year under the present Government has not entailed anything like the same protracted discussion that would occur in a normal year under any Government. Consequently, criticism should be directed with even greater force at the present Government.
I think Deputy Colley was anxious to ensure that finality would not be reached on the Estimates——
And, of course, Supplementary Estimates are in a slightly different category.
Deputy Colley overlooked the fact that as there was less legislation there was more time available to discuss the Estimates. If more Estimates were not debated it was because the Opposition decided to spend an inordinate length of time discussing a few Estimates. This is one of the areas in which we have already asked Committees of the House to see that the time of the House will be more evenly distributed so that important areas are not overlooked, and that every item of expenditure could be examined either in the House or at committee level. It would be better that these areas of expenditure would be reviewed even in a short period rather than that they should be ignored or passed through in this very speedy manner. But this is a matter which I think can be remedied by co-operation on both sides. It is not something that can be cured by either side of the House scoring points at this time of year.
I agree entirely with the Minister on that but would remind him of what happened at this time of the year in the past.
I readily admit that we have learned from experience of both Opposition and Government and we think this is one of the most benign influences to follow as a result of the wise decision of the people this year, that those who are now in Opposition know what it is like to face the consequences of being in Opposition.
And the Government know what it is like to be faced with this type of programme. The Taoiseach is responsible for ordering the business.
Nobody is more disappointed than the Minister for Finance that more of these areas of expenditure have not been closely examined in the House but, as I say, when there was less legislation than in other years there was more time available for Estimates and yet we arrive at the stage when we have to pass these allocations because the business has not been completed. Perhaps we can remedy the situation in the not-too-distant future by co-operation on all sides.
