It is proposed to take items Nos. 1, 2 and 3. It is proposed to take item No. 3 at 7 o'clock until the adjournment of the House at 8.30 p.m. I should like to refer to the taking of Private Members' motions. In the last Seanad we had arrangements which were generally considered satisfactory regarding the taking of Private Members' motions. Those arrangements were incorporated in a resolution agreed to by the House. I suggest that the Whips and Independent Senators should consider this matter so that we could put similar arrangements into effect as soon as possible.
Order of Business.
As regards item No. 3, we have had no information about this. We do not know what it entails. Therefore, we feel it should not be concluded tonight. The Minister should address us tonight and then it should be adjourned until we have an opportunity of knowing what it is all about.
In light of the fact that we did not meet last week and we do not have great pressure of business, did the Leader of the House consider discussing the fact that this is world disarmament week and discussing the biggest threat that exists to our existence? We ought to address ourselves to these problems and I wonder did the Leader of the House consider our discussing it?
I should like to express a reservation about going ahead at any rate, apart from initiating a debate, on item No. 3, until we have heard or seen and had an opportunity of considering some elaboration and explanation of the Government's intention. At the moment, as far as I can research it, the intention consists merely of one sentence in the joint government programme which is a repetition verbatim of a single sentence in the Fine Gael Party pre-election programme. It would be unreasonable to expect us to catch all this in flight without having an opportunity to study it, as we would have in the normal course if this were preceded by a published statement by the Government, whether Green Paper, White Paper, Bill or explanatory memorandum.
I should like to make it clear that the Labour Party are not anxious to carry on the debate for an hourand-a-half here today after the Minister has introduced item No. 3. I see the point Senators Whitaker and W. Ryan are making. It is a very important and broad subject. For a Government motion it has come at us fairly quickly. It would only be fair that the Minister should give us his views about it and that further debate should cease there. The debate should be adjourned and could be renewed next week.
Is the Leader of the House in a position to inform us now as to when the enabling motions establishing the Joint Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities and the Joint Committee on State-sponsored Bodies and the Committee on Development Co-operation will go on the Order Paper?
I should like to refer to Senator Willie Ryan's and Senator Whitaker's remarks on item No. 3. There was no intention of concluding a debate on this item this evening. There would be no objection to having the Minister make his statement and adjourning the debate then and resuming it next week. That seems to be the general feeling. We would like to accommodate the Senators' feelings in this respect.
On Senator B. Ryan's remarks about world disarmament week, I take his point that that is an extremely important area. I suggest that the Senator might consider the question of Private Members' motion or other machinery for putting down a motion for us to discuss such a matter. On the item raised by Senator Quinn, I have been pursuing extremely actively the question of having the motions for these Joint Committees put before us. I understand that they are very near completion. The composition of the committees has been under discussion and I am told that very shortly we will have these motions before the House.
Order of Business agreed to.