Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Before moving to Questions on Promised Legislation, I understand the Government Whip wishes to propose some revisions to the schedule for today and tomorrow.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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It is proposed, notwithstanding the Orders of the Dáil of 11 July, that the proceedings on No. d10, motion re the establishment of the Joint Committee on the Future of Mental Health Care, and No. e10, motion re Standing Order 147, shall be taken without debate after Questions on Promised Legislation; any division demanded on the proceedings on No. b10, motion re defence – proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the deployment of a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force to serve as part of EUNAVFOR MED, Operation Sophia - shall be taken immediately; the Dáil shall sit later than 11 p.m. today and adjourn on the conclusion of Topical Issues; questions to the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government shall be taken on the conclusion of the Government business or at 9.12 p.m., whichever is the earlier; and the Dáil shall sit later than 6 p.m. tomorrow and adjourn not later than 8 p.m.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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At what time is it proposed to resume the discussion on the motion re defence?

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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It will resume immediately after the 30-minute sos, which will take place after the voting bloc.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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We disagree with two of the proposals. What is the procedure for dealing with them?

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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With which proposals does the Deputy disagree?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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We disagree with the motion on Standing Order 147 and the proposal to put the motion on defence to a vote. I can explain the reasons we oppose the proposals.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy may as well make a statement.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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As for the motion on defence, I was speaking in the Chamber and could not attend the meeting of the business management committee. However, I understand a number of Deputies made clear at the meeting that the motion, which would result in the deployment of the triple lock mechanism for only the fourth time, in this case to change the status of the Naval Service's role in the Mediterranean from a humanitarian mission to deployment in search and destroy activities, is a fundamental attack on the neutral position of the Naval Service. It should not be pushed to a vote before sufficient time has been provided to debate it and the public is made fully aware of the proposal.

The motion re Standing Order 147 proposes a significant change in the ability of Opposition parties to introduce Private Members' Bills. Under this proposal, such Bills may be ruled out of order on the ground that they are substantially similar to another Bill. This is completely unacceptable. What does "substantially similar" mean? This change will be used as a means of reducing the capacity of Private Members and the Opposition to introduce Bills. We do not accept the motion being rushed through the House without debate.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Government will explain its position in respect of the defence motion, which was debated at length in the Business Committee this morning when the concerns raised by the Deputy were discussed in detail. On the motion re Standing Order 147, which deals with substantially similar legislation, this matter was also debated at some length by the Dáil reform committee.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Some members dissented.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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While agreement was not unanimous, the overwhelming majority of members agreed to the proposal.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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That does not mean the proposal should not be debated.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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On the defence motion, out of respect to the Business Committee, at which there is good co-operation, I stated I would take back the concerns raised by members. I arranged a meeting with the Chief of Staff, Secretary General and Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Deputy Kehoe, to discuss the issues raised by Deputies Brendan Ryan and Clare Daly. The reason for the urgency in dealing with this issue is that it involves a time-limited commitment. The Government has made a commitment to implement the deployment before the end of the year. As Operation Sophia only extends as far as December, the triple lock mechanism will have to be used again if it is to be extended. The Government's commitment in this regard is only until the end of December. A request was made to delay a decision in the matter until September. If the motion is passed today, which is the prerogative of the Dáil, it will take up to two months to do the preparatory work required. If we wait until mid-September to vote on the motion, two months of preparatory work will still be required. Given that the deployment will only last until the end of December, the commitment is time limited.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Two different decisions must be taken because my party wishes to support one proposal and oppose another.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am afraid we will take both matters together.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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That is impossible.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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We cannot do that. They are completely separate matters.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Is an amendment to the Order of Business proposed?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I propose amending the Order of Business to determine each issue separately.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Is that agreed? Agreed. We will first deal with the proposal that any division demanded on the proceedings on No. b10, motion re defence, be taken immediately.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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2 o’clock

Can I take it that the balance of the Government's proposal in respect of business for the remainder of the week is agreed? Agreed.