It is proposed to take Nos. 3, 1 and 2 and, as the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries has to leave at four o'clock, I would ask the indulgence of the House, since the Bill was welcomed by all sides in the Dáil and passed very rapidly, to facilitate us in this matter.
Order of Business.
Some weeks ago, we were glad to hear from the Leader of the House that he hoped to wipe from the Order Paper the motions that have been lingering there for some time, before this House disperses for the summer recess or for any other purpose. I should like to ask the Leader of the House now if he will confirm that, in fact, it is intended to clear the Seanad Order Paper before the new Seanad comes into being.
It is my hope to clear the Order Paper before this Seanad is dissolved.
The Minister for External Affairs is, I gather, very anxious to have the motion on Biafra taken. There is a letter of his in the Irish Times of yesterday's date. Although it is in reference to the Dáil, I presume his remarks apply equally to the Seanad. Let me quote an extract from that letter:
... if Deputies feel strongly about any action of mine in relation to foreign policy, they are in duty bound to raise it on a formal motion in the Dáil.
Presumably Senators should do so in the Seanad. The letter continues:
On such a motion the issue and the arguments for and against could have been debated and voted upon. Longrange sniping from political platforms during the fuss of a general election is a poor substitute.
That is a very good point on which I I am in agreement with Deputy Aiken. His letter continues:
... since I became Minister for External Affairs no item of foreign policy for which my Department is primarily responsible, except "the Discussion of China", was ever opposed by a formal motion in the Dáil or pressed to a division on my estimates.
He seems to have overlooked this motion. I take it that Deputy Aiken's concern to have it debated here rather than on election platforms—after lying for 13 months on the Order Paper— means that he wants it taken now.
I want to direct attention to the motions on the Order Paper. I want to ask the Leader of the House to amend the Order of Business to include Motion No. 7 in relation to full employment. It is a motion which the Seanad is particularly suited to debate and it has been on the Order Paper for the past 18 months. It is a disgrace to the Seanad and to the conduct of business that such an important motion should stay undiscussed.
I am not quite sure what the Leader of the House said. Does he want to take the Agricultural Workers (Holidays and Wages) Bill in all its Stages in half an hour?
Yes.
It is typical of the way the Minister has been treating the farming community and the workers. Surely we should have an opportunity to debate the matter?
Without any propaganda gimmickry, all Parties in the Dáil passed that Bill——
A Senator
Surely not in half an hour?
If Senators are not interested in it, it is all right.
The Leader of the House has proposed the Order of Business as follows: Nos. 3, 1 and 2. He has indicated that if No. 3 is not disposed of by 4 o'clock, we proceed to the next item.
Will the Leader of the House give an assurance that, next week, he will include the motions on the Order Paper in the Order of Business? It looks as though we shall be meeting next week. Obviously, we shall have to take the Committee Stage of the Agricultural Workers (Holidays and Wages) Bill. You do not expect to gallop through all its stages, surely?
Is Senator Quinlan objecting to the Order of Business?
Yes, on the grounds that it does not include——
The Senator need not make a speech.
Does Senator Quinlan wish to add something?
I wish to add Motion No. 7.
Question put.
The Seanad divided: Tá, 8; Níl, 21.
Tá
- Davidson, Mary F.
- Dooge, James C.I.
- FitzGerald, Garret M.D.
- Fitzgerald, John.
- McDonald, Charles.
- Murphy, Dominick F.
- Prendergast, Michael A.
- Quinlan, Patrick M.
Níl
- Boland, Gerald.
- Brennan, John J.
- Browne, Seán.
- Cole, John C.
- Connolly O'Brien, Nora.
- Egan, Kiernan P.
- Farrell, Joseph.
- Fitzsimons, Patrick.
- Flanagan, Thomas P.
- Honan, Dermot P.
- McGowan, Patrick.
- Martin, James J.
- Nash, John Joseph.
- Ó Donnabháin, Seán.
- Ó Maoláin, Tomás.
- Ryan, Eoin.
- Ryan, James.
- Sheldon, William A.W.
- Teehan, Patrick J.
- Yeats, Michael.
Tellers: Tá: Senators McDonald and Quinlan; Níl: Senators Browne and Farrell.
Question declared lost.