Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leader for organising a debate and statements on directly-elected mayors. It was requested and he arranged it. I also thank the Minister for facilitating the debate and everyone else involved. It will be an interesting debate and there will be some interesting contributions. I am conscious we are dealing with the Order of Business. I appeal to the Leader to again consider an idea he was agreeable to in principle before Christmas. I refer to the Order of Business the Leader reads into the record and that the Cathaoirleach and Clerk of the Seanad have in front of them. Can we have copies of that circulated or put on the back table here?

I ask that because we have three functions here. We accept, reject or amend the Order of Business. That has been made very clear to us in the communications we have received since we came back to the House after Christmas. I want to focus on that. I am asking the Leader about this matter for the third time. He agreed to my suggestion in principle before. I checked with the Dáil today and the Members of that House get the Order of Business on a Tuesday. I have a copy of that with me, so I know that is happening in the other House. Can we have something similar here?

I want to talk briefly about the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017. I am the leader of the Seanad Independent Group. The Leader will be aware we meet on a Wednesday with the leaders and the whips. This is a draft Order of Business. The Leader and his team do a very good job, I acknowledge that. I also know there are always difficulties in balancing the availability of Ministers and various other people and it is a complex process to bring this all together. Nowhere in the draft, however, when we left, was there any suggestion or hint that the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017 would be on the schedule this week. I find that disappointing. It is not helpful if we are to plan our work and work in a spirit of co-operation in managing the order of our business here.

I also ask the Leader if he will agree to organise a debate on forestry. We received correspondence from IBEC yesterday stating that it has established a forestry group within that organisation. It recognises the importance of the timber and forestry industry in respect of sustainable rural communities, future employment, the economy and greater reliance on timber in the housing construction industry. There has, however, to be a balance in all of that with sustainable and mixed forests, mixed vegetation, mixed tree lands and, tying in with that, the amenity aspect of forests across the country. I welcome IBEC's policy document that was circulated yesterday. It is positive and good. I ask the Leader if we can have statements on forestry in the House at some stage that might be suitable for the Minister with responsibility for forestry.