On a point of order, I wrote to you last evening to give you notice of my intention to raise a matter under the provisions of Standing Order 30 and I understand that that would normally be taken before the Order of Business. My letter stated:
I hereby give you notice, in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order 30, of my intention to request leave to move the Adjournment of the Dáil for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter of public interest requiring urgent consideration at the commencement of public business on Friday, 29 June. The matter in question is the threat to the independence of our national broadcasting service.
That threat has become even greater with the circulation of the proposed Order of Business today which proposes, among other things, to guillotine the debate on the Broadcasting Bill and to provide, during the course of next week, for an unprecedented series of guillotines on debates on other issues.
I requested permission to move that motion so that I can put to this House a much more sensible and orderly way of dealing with our business, which is that the debate on Committee Stage of the Broadcasting Bill should continue until Friday evening next week and that during the course of the week we should allocate time to sections — or groups of sections — so that the many important issues arising in the Bill can be properly dealt with.
