It is proposed to take Item 1, Statements on Structural Funds from now until 1 p.m. The Minister of State has indicated that she wishes to reply to Senators' contributions; I hope we can allow time for that and restrict speeches to 15 minutes per Senator. Item 2, the Industrial Development Bill, 1993: Committee Stage, will be taken from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. Item 26, Private Members' Business, will be taken from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. and it is proposed to return to Item 2 and take Report and Remaining Stages when we have dealt with our business.
Order of Business.
On Item 2, the Industrial Development Bill, 1993, does the Leader of the House expect Committee Stage to finish by 6 p.m.? I do not think we could agree to that. This Bill was published at the weekend and it is one of the most important Bills which the House will consider this session. Second Stage was taken yesterday and there are a number of substantial amendments. We certainly could not agree to the Bill concluding today but if the House operates in its normal co-operative way our Whips will co-operate with the Government Whips to see that as much progress as possible is made. I certainly would not agree to the Bill concluding if all sections had not been debated by that time. I hope the Leader of the House is not contemplating a guillotine in a gentle fashion. That certainly would not be acceptable to us.
The situation in Aer Lingus is of enormous gravity for everybody concerned and for the country. Nothing we do here would be designed to exacerbate the situation. Nonetheless, it is a political matter and there are political decisions to be made. I ask the Leader of the House if he could arrange to have statements in the House at the earliest opportunity.
I support Senator Manning in respect of item 2, the Industrial Development Bill. I am prepared to accept that the Leader did not say he was imposing a time limit, nevertheless stating that he was going to proceed to Report Stage at 8 p.m. indicated a conclusion of Committee Stage at 6 p.m. That this is a Seanad Bill is to be welcomed. It is important legislation which is central to our industrial strategy as outlined by the Culliton report, although whether or not it is in line with the Culliton report is something we could have debated yesterday. It is not satisfactory, given the fact that there will be many amendments, that it should be dealt with in this way.
I concur with Senator Manning and Senator Dardis in regard to the Industrial Development Bill. I ask the Leader if it would be possible to have a debate on Aer Lingus. We are aware of the seriousness of the problem and we are also aware that commitments were given to Aer Lingus seven months ago which resulted in a number of us not being in the other House but being in this House. I would like the opportunity to discuss the matter fairly and squarely. I wonder when the Tánaiste intends to go back to the hangar and explain to the workforce what is happening.
Those are the facts.
May I add my voice to whose who have spoken about the Industrial Development Bill? A Bill which has been initiated in the Seanad deserves attention. This is one of the few opportunities to ensure we have an input. I am anxious to ensure that Committee Stage is brought to a conclusion only when all the work has been finished. I urge the Leader of the House to ensure that we find time to cover everything that has to be covered in this Bill.
I support that. There were many contributions on Second Stage so obviously there will be much to be said on Committee Stage. In view of the fact that management at Aer Lingus has been instructed to inform the trade unions of its proposals and rightly so, when is it intended to inform the House? I read this morning that a further appointment from outside the State has been made to Aer Lingus. Given that redundancies are being sought within Aer Lingus, this is very difficult to understand.
Having listened to Senators, I ask them to agree that instead of taking Report Stage from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. we should continue with committee Stage after 8 p.m. I will extend the hours of sitting to take Report Stage between 10 p.m. and 12 midnight. There is enough time between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. and between 8 p.m. and midnight to deal with the issue. I do not want to put a guillotine on the Bill but the Minister is extremely keen that this legislation should be dealt with before the summer.
Could I have clarification from the Leader of the House? Is the Leader saying that the Committee Stage will continue until all sections have been dealt with and that we will then go straight into Report Stage? I would prefer to deal only with Committee Stge today. We are willing to complete the Bill either later this week or at the beginning of next week. This would allow a little time for reflection. Report Stage could be completed on the first day of next week if necessary or we could change tommorrow's business. I would be happy to agree to that but I am reluctant to rush Committee Stage or have any guillotine imposed. As Senator Quinn said, this is an important Seanad Bill. We could have Report Stage tommorrow or early next week.
I accept what Senator Manning is saying and maybe the Whips could meet during the day. Committee Stage will go on until 6 p.m. and will be taken, if necessary, between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. or longer — that may be discussed later. If we go on to Report Stage, it will finish before midnight.
The Leader has indicated that he is not going to start Report Stage earlier than a certain time. Why can it not be the case that we continue from Committee Stage into Report Stage, irrespective of the time?
That is what I am saying.
Order of Business agreed to.