It is proposed to take business in the following order: Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4. It is proposed to take Nos. 5 and 6 tomorrow morning and when they have been dealt with to return to any business that may not have been dealt with today.
Order of Business.
Once again I must draw attention to the fact that the Family Planning Bill, 1978, was given its First Reading on 8 November, more than a month ago, and that the Leader of the House has not chosen to order it and has resisted attempts, which have gone to a vote, to secure time for debate of the very important principles in this Bill. When I tried to raise this matter I was assured that there would be a Government Bill within weeks. Yet, more than a month after this Bill received an unopposed First Reading, there is no sign of the Government Bill. This session is drawing to a close and because one is never sure when the Seanad will be recalled after a vacation and we tend to adjourn sine die, I feel I must propose that we take the Family Planning Bill, 1978, today.
Apart from the importance of the issues involved—important from the point of view of human rights, social and health issues—in my view this is one of the most important matters on the agenda and the Labour group are very anxious that there should be a full discussion of it. Apart from that, there is also a build-up of misrepresentation about what the intentions of this Labour Bill are. The Leader of the House should ensure that when individual Senators put down a Bill they are not left in the situation of having such misrepresentations. I propose to correct one of those misrepresentations, that is, that this Bill in any way would legalise——
(Interruptions.)
The Senator may not make a speech. There may be no reference to what is in the Bill nor may there be a discussion on it.
I am in a very difficult position in that this Bill has been on the Order Paper, circulated to Senators and is a matter of very real importance and seriousness. It is tabled by the Labour group because of the urgency of the matter and we are very anxious to have the Bill debated so that it can be known, for example, that the definition of "contraceptive" rules out an——
We cannot go into these matters. We are discussing the Order of Business, not the Bill.
I appreciate that, but what I am trying to do is to emphasise that the Labour group in tabling this Bill have a reasonable and legitimate expectation that time will be given for it, unless there is a Government Bill. The Fianna Fáil Government, with an unprecedented majority, have been in office for 18 months. The Taoiseach, shortly after the election, promised that there would be a Bill on this issue within 12 months. That is another promise which they have failed to deliver. Unlike the Fianna Fáil Party which have opposed every measure in the past seven or eight years to change this law, the Labour group feel strongly about this matter and feel they cannot wait indefinitely.
(Interruptions.)
We cannot go into these matters. The Senator knows she may not make a speech on the Bill now.
I accept the Chair's ruling in this matter but without going into the merits of this Bill, I think it is important to realise that a Bill to amend the relevant law is a very simple matter; there is nothing particularly complicated or involved. We had just about every model to change the law in the last few years——
(Interruptions.)
All this is irrelevant to what is before the House at present. We are discussing the Order of Business.
It is not irrelevant in one sense. The reason I make that point is that the impression is being created that there is something very difficult and complex about the preparation of a Bill and this is being used as an excuse for the undue delay in tabling a Government Bill. Therefore I propose that Item No. 8, the Family Planning Bill, 1978, be added to the Order of Business so that it can be taken either today if the other business is dealt with, or tomorrow or even on Friday.
I would like to protest that Item No. 21, a motion which calls on the Government to introduce as a matter of urgency a comprehensive scheme of civil legal aid and advice as outlined in the Pringle Report, has not yet been given time for discussion. This has been on the Order Paper for many months. I recall raising the matter twice on the Order of Business before the House went into recess last June. At that time the Leader of the House indicated that priority would be given to the motion. It is particularly urgent at the moment because the only form of civil legal aid that is available to people in Ireland is through the FLAC centres which are run by law students. These provide a service to many thousands of people not only in Dublin but throughout Ireland and——
No Senator may make a speech on the motions at this time.
I appreciate that but I shall be very brief. Let me try to explain how urgent this is at the moment. It has been reported in the newspapers over the past few days that the free legal advice centres will close down because they recognise that they are enabling the Government to avoid their responsibilities in this matter.
The Chair is not responsible for what is reported in newspapers.
I appreciate that but I am merely trying to draw the attention of the House to the urgency of this matter. If the free legal advice centres close down an essential service is going to be denied to thousands of people. Apart from the fact that there was an election promise from Fianna Fáil in June 1977, in this regard, it is a service which is essential and which people have a basic right to. That has already been decided in the Mrs. Airey case. I can only——
The Senator is now discussing the pros and cons of the motion and I cannot allow that.
I accept the Chair's ruling and I can only urge the Leader of the House to give this matter priority and to try to fit it in if possible this week. It is an extremely urgent matter and I think that we are reneging our responsibilities by ignoring the motion.
I second the motion that Item No. 8 be added to the Order of Business. We were assured that the Government would bring out a Bill within a few weeks. A few weeks have passed and it is up to us to take the responsibility of giving this Bill a Second Stage reading. I would like to support Senator Robinson's proposal.
Does the Order of Business as proposed cover our business before Christmas or is it envisaged that the House will sit next week?
It is not proposed to sit next week because the House has been asked specially to conclude business this week because of the defects which have appeared in the wall at the end of the Seanad Chamber. The Office of Public Works want as long a period as possible to investigate this during the vacation. It is proposed to sit tomorrow, and Friday if necessary, to conclude business this week.
Motion No. 21 has been on the Order Paper for some time and Fine Gael were next in line for a motion but they allowed the Wood Quay motion to take priority and consequently it has not been reached up to now, but it is next on the list and will probably be taken very early in the new year.
On item No. 8, I find it difficult to understand Senator Robinson's suggestion that the House is in any way responsible for any misrepresentation which may be made about the Bill. The House agreed to have it printed and ensured that so far as it could do so, there would be no misrepresentation of the Bill. If people misunderstood or misrepresented it, it must be because the Bill is in some way ambiguous. Certainly it is not the fault of the House because the Bill is there for everyone to read.
In regard to the question of taking the Family Planning Bill, I did not agree to taking it on previous occasions because I said there was a Government Bill on its way and it would be absurd to have two Bills on family planning before the Oireachtas at the same time. The Government Bill is on its way and Members will be able to browse over it during the Christmas and it will be debated early in the new year. Therefore I cannot agree to have the Bill on the Order Paper taken now.
A motion has been moved that the Order of Business be Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 and to that motion an amendment has been moved: "That item No. 8 be added to the Order of Business". The question is: "That the amendment be made."
Question put and declared lost.
Order of Business agreed to.