The Voluntary Health Insurance Bill was not completed to-day and I suggest that we meet to-morrow and finish it and try to take some of these motions off the Order Paper. We can then meet again on this day fortnight.
Business of the Seanad.
At 3 o'clock tomorrow?
Yes.
Not in the morning?
Would it not suit the country Senators better if we could meet in the morning?
We have to make a rule about that. The Committee of Procedure and Privileges should meet and decide whether the Seanad should meet in the morning or at 3 o'clock.
If the country Senators want to do a full job they should be allowed to meet at 10.30 a.m. I think 3 o'clock suits the city Senators better.
In regard to to-morrow, nothing can be done except to meet at 3 o'clock or not meet at all.
Does that mean that we have never met before on a Thursday at 10.30 o'clock? I thought we had.
We should follow practice in this matter. There have been cases where we did meet at 10.30 when the other House was meeting. This House does not meet very often. It met to-day and we had a division and nearly one-third of the Senators were absent.
I do not quite understand on what we are basing this alternative put forward by the Leader of the House. Under what rule of procedure are we told that we "must" either meet at 3 o'clock or not at all in the morning? Could we not decide to make it 10.30, if we wanted to?
These matters are generally arranged between the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition.
By agreement of the House?
No.
Could I hear the Cathaoirleach's ruling?
I said these matters are generally arranged between the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition.
In agreement with the House?
In agreement, naturally.
Agreements are always made in agreement. Perhaps Senator Kissane would indicate whether he would prefer that the House meet at 3 o'clock or that we should adjourn until this day fortnight?
I know this is the responsibility of the Leader of the House and the usual procedure, as the Cathaoirleach has intimated, is for the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition to come to a decision. As far as I am personally concerned, I am prepared to have the House meet at 3 o'clock, and I suppose other Senators feel the same way. It is true, of course, that the usual arrangement is to meet at 3 o'clock, but I am mindful of the fact that on a few occasions already we have met at 11 o'clock in the morning so that the arrangements would not appear to be sacrosanct.
May I take it that the Adjournment is being moved until 3 o'clock to-morrow?
That is agreed.