Dún Laoghaire): I move:
That the following amendments and additions to the Standing Orders relative to public business of Dáil Éireann are hereby adopted:—
Standing Order 20
1. In paragraph (1), to delete the second, third and fourth lines and substitute the following:—
‘shall meet every Tuesday at 2.30 p.m. and every Wednesday and Thursday at 10.30 a.m., and shall adjourn not later than 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays'.
2. In paragraph (2), in the first line, to delete ‘10.30 p.m.' and substitute ‘8.30 p.m.'; and, in the eighth line, to delete ‘11 p.m.' and substitute ‘9 p.m.'.
3. In paragraph (3), in the first line, to delete ‘10.30' and substitute ‘8.30'; in the fourth line, to delete ‘4.30 p.m.' and substitute ‘4 p.m.'; and, in the eighth line, to delete ‘10.30 p.m.' and substitute ‘8.30 p.m.'.
Standing Order 21
4. In the first line, to delete ‘11' and substitute ‘9'; in the fourth line, to delete ‘8.30 p.m.' and substitute ‘6.30 p.m.'; and, in the tenth line, to delete ‘11 p.m.' and substitute ‘9 p.m.'.
Standing Order 22
5. To insert the following new paragraph:—
‘(1) On Wednesdays, the sitting shall be suspended from 1.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.'.
Standing Order 29
6. In the seventh line, after the words ‘without notice).', to add the words ‘In addition, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the Order Paper shall contain the text of Questions, other than Questions nominated for priority [S.O. 34C.], for oral answer on the following day.'.
Standing Order 30
7. In paragraph (1), in the seventeenth line, to delete ‘9 p.m.' and substitute ‘7 p.m.'.
Standing Order 31
8. To delete the Standing Order and substitute a new Order as follows:—
‘31. Questions to a member of the Government
(a) nominated for priority [S.O. 34 C.] or
(b) to which an answer is to be provided in the Official Report of the Debates [S.O. 35 (1A)]
must be in writing and must reach the Clerk not later than 11 o'clock a.m. on the third day preceding that on which they are to be asked, not reckoning a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
Other Questions to a member of the Government must be in writing and must reach the Clerk not later than 11 o'clock a.m. on the fourth day preceding that on which they are to be asked, not reckoning a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday:
Provided that Questions relating to matters of urgent public importance may, be permission of the Ceann Comhairle, be asked on private notice.'.
Standing Order 33
9. In the fourth line, after ‘possible,', to insert ‘that it does not seek information provided within the preceding four months,'.
Standing Order 34
10. To delete the Standing Order and substitute a new Order as follows:—
‘34. (1) Unless the Dáil shall otherwise order on motion made by a member of the Government, Questions shall be taken from 2.30 p.m. to 3.45 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
(2) On each of these days, the time allowed for Questions, other than Questions nominated for priority [S.O. 34C.], shall not exceed one hour; and the time allowed for Questions nominated for priority shall not exceed fifteen minutes.'.
New Standing Orders
11. Before Standing Order 35, to insert the following new Order:—
‘34A. (1) Questions addressed to the Taoiseach may be asked only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and shall be placed on the Order Paper before Questions to other members of the Government to be asked on the same day.
(2) Questions for oral answer addressed to other members of the Government shall be asked on the basis of a daily rota in such order as the Dáil may from time to time decide and shall be in two categories:—
(a) Questions, the sequence of which shall be decided by lottery [S.O. 34B.], and
(b) Questions which have been nominated for priority [S.O. 34C.].’.
12. Before Standing Order 35, to insert the following new Order:—
‘34B. In relation to Questions, the sequence of which shall be decided by lottery, the following provisions shall apply:—
(i) The lottery, at which members may attend, shall be held on the fourth day preceding that on which the Questions are to be asked, not reckoning a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
(ii) No member may put down more than two Questions to each member of the Government for answer on any one day.
(iii) Where Questions to two members of the Government (other than the Taoiseach) are to be asked on the same day, Questions to the member to whom the lesser number is addressed shall be placed first on the Order Paper and shall be allocated not more than one half of the time available to both.
(iv) A member nominated by a group in Opposition may, on request, be provided with the text of Questions put down by members of that group.'.
13. Before Standing Order 35, to insert the following new Order:—
‘34C. In relation to Questions which have been nominated for priority, the following provisions shall apply:—
(i) Each Question shall be in the name of a member nominated by a group (as defined in Standing Order 85 (1)) in Opposition.
(ii) The number of such Questions for answer on any one day shall not exceed five.
(iii) Questions for answer on any one day shall be placed on the Order Paper so as to rotate between groups in Opposition, with preference being given to the larger group (preference being decided by lot in any case of equality between groups).
(iv) A member nominated by a group may nominate Questions put down by other members of that group in substitution for Questions which may be transferred or disallowed. Such nomination shall be made in writing and must reach the Clerk not later than 11 a.m. on the third day preceding that on which the Questions are to be asked, not reckoning a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.'.
Standing Order 35
14. To delete paragraph (1) and substitute the following new paragraphs:—
‘(1) A member of the Government may, where appropriate, group both categories of Question put down for oral answer and Questions put down for written answer for the purposes of reply.
(1A) If a member distinguishes his Question by an asterisk, the member of the Government to whom it is addressed shall cause an answer to be provided in the Official Report of the Debates, unless the Ceann Comhairle is of the opinion that such answer would prejudice the answering of a Question put down earlier.
(1B) Where a Question is not reached, the member of the Government to whom it is addressed shall cause an answer to be provided in the Official Report of the Debates unless—
(a) the member in whose name the Question appears on the Order Paper requests, before 4 p.m. on that day, that the Question be addressed again to the member of the Government concerned on the next day on which that member is to answer Questions, or
(b) the Ceann Comhairle is of the opinion that such answer would prejudice the answering of another Question put down for oral answer on the next day on which the member of the Government concerned is to answer Questions.’.
Standing Order 37
15. To add to the Standing Order ‘: Provided that, in the time allocated to Questions nominated for priority, supplementary Questions may be put only by the member in whose name the Question appears on the Order Paper.'.
Standing Order 82
16. To delete the fifth and sixth lines and substitute the following:—
‘be, shall be interrupted between 7 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. to take private members' business: Provided that, where leave has been given to make a motion under Standing Order 30, such motion shall have priority: Provided further'.
Standing Order 123
17. To delete ‘10.15 p.m.' in each place where it occurs and substitute ‘8.30 p.m.'.".
The main purpose of this motion is to continue in operation the new system for Parliamentary Questions, which was introduced on an experimental basis in June 1985. The motion proposes to end the experimental status of the new system and to introduce it as a permanent feature in Standing Orders.
In addition the motion incorporates permanently into Standing Orders the current Dáil sitting times, which were introduced on an experimental basis in 1976 and renewed when each new Dáil met.
The new Questions system has proved to be far superior to the one which it replaced and has been widely acknowledged as such. When I spoke last year on the motion introducing the system on a trial basis I set out the main advantages which I believed would accrue from it. I feel that it is worth repeating the more important of these, which are: quicker rotation of Ministers answering Questions; Questions are less likely to be overtaken by events which would make them out of date or cause them to lose much of their relevance; and parties in Opposition can now ask Questions of national importance on a more regular basis, through the introduction of Priority Questions. Through the lottery system, each member has an equal chance of his or her questions being answered.
The benefits which have followed from the new procedures are evident. In particular there has been a major improvement in the frequency with which Ministers answer Questions relating to their Departments. In a comparison made between two nine month periods, one in 1984-85 under the old system and the other in 1985-86 under the new system, the following emerged: in the period under the old scheme, Questions relating to four Government Departments only were taken on three occasions; Questions relating to four other Departments twice only; Questions relating to a further three Departments once only; while, in the case of five Government Departments, Questions relating to their activities were not reached at all during the period. The Departments not reached at all were Social Welfare, Agriculture, Justice, Education and Labour. By contrast in a similar period in 1985-86, under the new procedures, Questions relating to all Departments were reached on at least four occasions, and in the case of six of those Departments, on five occasions.
This, in my view, is the most significant achievement of the new system.
I do not propose to discuss the detailed provisions of the Questions procedure as these were dealt with at length during the debate in May 1985. This present motion simply incorporates into Standing Orders the provisions in the 1985 motion, with two changes.
These changes provide that repeat Questions can be tabled again after four months rather than the six months currently in force. They also enable a party in Opposition to nominate lottery questions as replacements for Priority Questions, in the event of any of the latter being disallowed or transferred after the time limit for submission of Priority Questions has expired. Both changes have been requested by the Opposition and agreed by the Government in an attempt to overcome certain difficulties being experienced in those areas.
Similarly, I do not think it necessary to cover in detail the provisions of the motion relating to the sitting times of the Dáil and other related matters. The reality is that the House has been functioning for ten years now under those provisions, which have been introduced by way of a sessional order at the commencement of each Dáil. It is way past time to put them on a proper footing and incorporate them into the Standing Orders. Subject to approval of this motion by the House I feel that the existing Standing Orders should now be reprinted in updated form — the last edition was prepared over 12 years ago, in 1974.
I commend this motion to the House.