Committee Reports::Report - Amendments to Standing Orders relating to Sitting of the Dáil, Private Members' Business and Quorum ::19 July, 1962::Report


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Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1962 > Committee on Procedure and Privileges > Report - Amendments to Standing Orders relating to Sitting of the Dáil, Private Members' Business and Quorum

REPORT

1. The Committee on Procedure and Privileges has had under consideration certain aspects of the Standing Orders relative to Sittings of the Dáil, Private Members’ Business and Quorum and recommends to the Dáil the amendments to Standing Orders which are set out in the Schedule to this Report.

Sittings of the Dáil.

2. The Standing Orders provide that, unless it shall otherwise resolve, the Dáil shall meet every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 3 p.m. and every Friday at 10.30 a.m. and shall adjourn not later than 11 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and not later than 2.30 p.m. on Fridays. The practice of the Dáil, however, in recent years has been to meet every Thursday at 10.30 a.m. and to adjourn not later than 5.30 p.m., and not to meet on Friday.

3. The adjournment of the Dáil not later than 5.30 p.m. every Thursday takes place as a result of informal agreement of the House. The House could continue its session after 5.30 p.m. and adjourn not later than 11 p.m. on such days without the necessity of any resolution for the purpose. Some effects of the altered hours of the session every Thursday are to leave obscure the application on that day of Standing Order 20 (3) which provides that notice of a matter for discussion on the adjournment shall be given not later than 8.30 p.m., of Standing Order 21 which provides that a motion for a late sitting may be made not later than 8.30 p.m., and of Standing Order 29 which provides that a motion for the adjournment of the Dáil on a matter of urgent public importance shall be moved at 9 p.m.

4. The Committee is of opinion that the changed time and days of sitting are now sufficiently long established to be formally incorporated in the Standing Orders. It accordingly recommends the amendment of the Standing Orders by—

(a) deleting references to meetings every Friday;

(b) changing the time of meeting every Thursday from 3 p.m. to 10.30 a.m., the latest time for adjournment from 11 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. and the time for interruption of business from 10.30 p.m. to 5 p.m.;

(d) providing that a motion for a sitting later than 5.30 p.m. on a Thursday be made not later than 3 p.m.; and

(e) providing that a motion for the adjournment of the Dáil on a matter of urgent public importance on a Thursday be moved at 3.30 p.m.

5. The Committee has noted that when the Dáil meets every Thursday under existing practice Questions are not taken first in the routine of business but an order is made at the commencement of business that they be taken at 3 p.m. If any Question be not reached by 4 p.m. the answer may be caused to be provided in the Official Report. If the provision of the order were incorporated in the Standing Orders, Questions answered after 3.30 p.m. on a Thursday could not be raised under Standing Order 20 (3) on that day since 3.30 p.m., which in the opinion of the Committee gives minimal notice, would be the latest time for notice. Also, Question time would be liable to be curtailed on a Thursday where leave had been given to move the adjournment of the Dáil on a matter of urgent public importance since it has been recommended that such motion would be moved at 3.30 p.m. It is considered preferable, therefore, that Questions on Thursdays be taken at 2.30 p.m. and that the answer to any Question not reached by 3.30 p.m. may be caused to be provided in the Official Report.

Private Members’ Business.

6. The Committee has had under consideration a complaint that the practice under which the Dáil does not meet every Friday, which is a day on which Private Members’ Business may in accordance with the Standing Orders be taken after 12 noon, has disturbed the allocation of time between Government business and Private Members’ business, with a loss to the latter. It believes that there has been some loss and it considers it proper that if Friday is no longer a normal day of sitting another day should be substituted for Friday as a day on which Private Members’ business is taken.

7. The Committee recommends that Private Members’ business should be taken on Tuesdays in lieu of Fridays and is of the opinion that the most suitable time on Tuesdays for taking such business is the period from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. Also, it is of the opinion that the present time under the Standing Orders for taking Private Members’ business on Wednesdays, i.e., the period from 9 p.m. to 10.30 p.m., should be changed to the period from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.

8. The Committee also recommends that the uniform practice of the House over the years where time for Private Members’ business is not given during the period when financial business is under consideration should be incorporated in the Standing Orders.

Quorum in House and in Committee of the whole House.

9. The Committee has had under consideration the provision of Standing Order 19 under which any Member may call the attention of the Chair to the fact that a quorum is not present and set in motion the procedure for summoning a quorum and of a similar provision under Standing Order 63 in relation to a Committee of the whole Dáil.

10. It is the Committee’s view that a routine operation of the provisions of the Standing Orders may operate harshly on Private Members of the House especially where they bring matters forward for discussion on the adjournment. Such matters often have only a local interest or relate to individual cases where the necessity to have and maintain a quorum would be vexatious. The Committee in addition sees no reason why the House should be counted during consideration of Private Members’ Bills or motions.

11. The Committee accordingly recommends that a count should not be called for during discussion of any matter brought forward on the adjournment or during consideration of Private Members’ Bills or motions. The provision of the Standing Orders should, however, continue to apply that where it is found that a quorum is not present on report of a division no decision is considered to have been arrived at.

(Signed) PÁDRAIG Ó hÓGÁIN,

Chairman.

19th July, 1962.

SCHEDULE.

Standing Order	Amendment
19.	In the first line after “Dáil” insert “other than while a Private Member’s Bill or motion is under consideration or while a matter brought forward in accordance with Standing Order 20 (3) is being discussed,”.
20.	In paragraph (1) delete the last five lines and substitute “meet every Tuesday and Wednesday at 3 p.m. and every Thursday at 10.30 a.m., and shall adjourn not later than 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and not later than 5.30 p.m. on Thursdays.”
	In paragraph (2) delete the first two lines and substitute “(2) At 10.30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and at 5 p.m. on Thursdays, the”; and in the ninth line delete “(2.30 p.m. Fridays)” and substitute “(5.30 p.m. Thursdays).”
	In paragraph (3), in the second and third lines delete “Wednesday or Thursday, or at 2 p.m. on a Friday,” and substitute “or Wednesday, or at 5 p.m. on a Thursday”; in the fifth line delete “(12 o’clock noon on Fridays)” and substitute “(3.30 p.m. on Thursdays)”; and in the last line delete “2 p.m.” and substitute “5 p.m.”
21.	Delete the Standing Order and substitute the following:—
	“21. A motion that the Dáil shall sit later than 11 p.m. on any Tuesday or Wednesday, or 5.30 p.m. on any Thursday, may be made without notice, and not later than 8.30 p.m. on the former days, or 3 p.m. on the latter day. Such motion shall appoint the hour at which business is to be interrupted and may be made only by a member of the Government: Provided that a member of the Government may move after notice that for a specified period the Dáil shall sit later than 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and than 5.30 p.m. on Thursdays, and if such motion be agreed to, business shall be interrupted at the hour appointed in such motion, unless the business on the Order paper shall have been concluded at an earlier hour. [See S.O. 20]”
25.	In the seventeenth and eighteenth lines, delete the entry after † and substitute “Questions on Thursdays shall be taken at 2.30 p.m.”
29.	In the eighteenth and nineteenth lines delete “Wednesday or Thursday or 12.30 p.m. on a Friday” and substitute “or Wednesday or 3.30 p.m. on a Thursday”.
34.	Delete the second line and substitute “p.m. on Tuesdays or Wednesdays or 3.30 p.m. on Thursdays,”.
63.	In the second line after “Dáil” insert “other than while a Private Member’s Bill is under consideration,”.
80.	Delete the Standing Order and substitute the following:—
	“80. The Order Paper shall be confined to Questions, Private business and Government business on Thursdays and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the period when the ordinary yearly resolutions voting money for public services or imposing taxation or the Bills implementing such resolutions are under consideration. On other Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Government business or Private business, as the case may be, shall be interrupted between 6 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. to take private members’ business: Provided that a member of the Government may move, without notice, at the commencement of public business on any Tuesday or Wednesday that, on that day, specified Government business, or Private business, as the case may be, shall not be interrupted if under consideration at the time fixed for taking private members’ business. Such motion shall be decided without amendment.”