It is proposed to take business in the following order: Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
Order of Business.
May I ask the Leader of the House, through the Chair, though I do not suppose he has had an opportunity since yesterday of making an inquiry from the Minister for Labour, if it would be within his power to see that the subject matter of Motion No. 8 on the Order Paper will be discussed as soon as possible?
I should like to remind the Senator that some time ago I told him the motion would have been taken were it not for the situation that arose outside this House. It is my intention to have the motion taken as quickly as possible.
I accept that.
I should like to ask the Leader of the House if he can give us any indication as to whether it is intended to deal with any further business, especially that already on the Order Paper, before the Easter recess and, further, if he anticipates that any business is likely to come to this House shortly from the Dáil?
I am not yet in a position to state whether it will be possible to take some of the motions which are on the Order Paper before Easter but as far as I know there will not be any Government business coming to us before the recess.
Could the Leader of the House express his hope in regard to making an attempt to clear some of the matter which has been on the Order Paper, some of it for more than 12 months? I might point out that we are in a different situation here as compared with similar Upper Houses elsewhere where Senators can put down questions. If a Senator wishes to bring forward a point here, he must do it by way of motion. We are frequently reminded of this by the Chair. I think this is hollow advice. I know where the sympathies of the Leader of the House lie in this regard but it is incumbent on me, speaking on behalf of those of us on these Benches, to say that this situation is a serious one. As I say, I know that I have the sympathy of the Leader of the House in this regard, but at the same time I must make a public protest in regard to the inordinate delays in the taking of motions.