Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Last Thursday the Dáil passed a motion, which the Labour Party opposed, dealing with the business for this week. That motion did not exclude the hearing of Leaders' Questions today. There was no reference in the motion to Standing Order 27, the Standing order that deals with Leaders' Question. That Standing Order was not stood down by the motion put by the Government and passed last week.

In anticipation that I would wish to raise some issues on Leaders' Questions today, issues that have arisen since last Thursday, such as the revelation that 187 children had died in State care in the past decade, the shocking disclosures about the reliability of scans conducted on pregnant women in a number of hospitals, the two banking reports that have been issued by the Government and about which the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will hold a press conference at 4.30 p.m., the claims made about the role of the regulator, the Central Bank and the Department of Finance in an affadavit sworn by the former CEO of Irish Life and Permanent, and the effective hijacking in international waters by Israeli forces of an Irish-owned vessel, MV Rachel Corrie.

The Labour Party Whip, Deputy Stagg, wrote to the Ceann Comhairle yesterday, drawing attention to the fact that the motion on Thursday did not preclude Leaders' Questions. The Ceann Comhairle replied, noting that the motion that was passed on Thursday stated that oral questions shall not be taken. The Ceann Comhairle stated in his letter that this encompasses all questions, including Special Notice Questions under Standing Order 33 and Leaders' Questions under Standing Order 27, neither of which is specifically mentioned by reference to their Standing Order reference number. A Cheann Comhairle, when you make rulings, you normally draw our attention to precedent and rely on precedent in making rulings. I want to draw your attention to precedent for the ordering of business and motions dealing with the ordering of business. I have found four precedents that I wish to draw to the attention of the Ceann Comhairle, where motions deal with the Order of Business for particular days and where business is being stood down. In each of these precedents, it states that oral questions shall not be taken on that day but it also states there will be no Leaders' Questions on those days. I draw the attention of the Ceann Comhairle to the motion passed on 23 March, which set down business for the day, stating that "oral questions shall not be taken today" and in a separate item that "there shall be no Leaders' Questions today" pursuant to Standing Order 27. On 14 December 2006 another precedent was set where it says that oral and written questions shall not be taken and in a separate item on that motion it says there shall be no Leaders' Questions pursuant to Standing Order 26A, as it was then. On 29 September 2004, the Dáil agreed "oral questions shall not be taken today" and a separate item states " there shall be no Leaders' Questions today pursuant to Standing Order 26A". On 8 April 2004, similarly, separate provisions were made in a motion so that oral questions were not taken and that there were to be no Leaders' Questions. The precedent of rulings of the Chair and the precedent of the House is that where it is intended Leaders' Questions will not be taken, specific provision is made in the motion to that effect. There was no specific provision made in the motion passed by the House on Thursday which I submit, a Cheann Comhairle, you are bound by. That motion does not preclude a hearing of Leaders' Questions and does not stand down the Standing Order dealing with Leaders' Questions, as happened in the past. Therefore, Standing Order 27 applies to today's business and Leaders' Questions should be taken today.

I wish to raise a leader's question with the Taoiseach in respect of one the matters I referred to earlier. No decision was taken by this House not to have Leaders' Questions today. If the Ceann Comhairle decides and interprets the decision of last Thursday to mean there should be no Leaders' Questions, he is setting a precedent that will seriously disadvantage non-Government Members of this House and the Opposition parties. It will be a precedent I and the Labour Party find unacceptable. A Cheann Comhairle, having drawn your attention to what was in the motion last week and the precedent of this House, I ask you to reconsider your position on the taking of Leaders' Questions and to agree to take Leaders' Questions as I believe you are required to do under Standing Order 27 and the terms of the motion passed last Thursday.

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