When will these Supplementary Estimates be debated?
Vote 42: Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (Supplementary).
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £1,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December 1997 for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands including grants for houses and sundry grants-in-aid.
They are being taken without debate as agreed on the Order of Business.
They were debated last week.
Were they debated individually?
An entire day was devoted to debating the Estimates.
However, the individual Estimates were not debated.
Individual Estimates are usually debated by the committees.
Will these Supplementary Estimates be debated by the committees?
That matter is at the discretion of the committees concerned.
Is it not important that they should be debated?
There is a procedure for the committees to debate them.
These Supplementary Estimates come into statutory effect by the passage of the Appropriation Bill at the end of the year. There is no point debating them in January. Will they be debated by the committees before the Appropriation Bill is enacted?
As far as I am aware, the relevant committees are not scheduled to meet in the next two days.
Therefore, they will not be debated.
I understand some of the Supplementary Estimates were taken in committee last week.
Some but not all were taken. I would expect the Minister moving these motions would be able to provide an answer to my question.
Last week an entire day was devoted to debating the Estimates in the Dáil and a number of Supplementary Estimates were discussed by the committees.
The Supplementary Estimates were not discussed.
I am informed they were, because the Minister of State at my Department, Deputy Cullen, dealt with a number of them.
On a point of information, I dealt with a number of Supplementary Estimates in committees last week.
Which Estimates?
The Deputy should ask his colleagues on the committees.
The Minister, Deputy McCreevy is here and he should answer the question.
Strictly speaking, Deputy Bruton, we should not have a debate at this stage because it was agreed——
Strictly speaking, we do not have to agree not to have a debate and we could divide the House; many things could happen.
It was agreed on the Order of Business to take No. 13 without debate.
We do not have to agree to that.
It is Christmas.
Christmas can be an irritating time.
Votes put and agreed to.