Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I move:

That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, or in the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders, and unless the Dáil shall otherwise order, the following arrangements shall apply in relation to the sittings of the Dáil on 1st, 2nd and 3rd October, 2024:

(1) (a) in relation to the times of sittings, the suspension of the sitting and the adjournment of the House— (i) the Dáil shall meet at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, and at 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday,

(ii) subject to the provisions of Standing Orders 25(2) and 75, in relation to suspension of the sitting—

(I) on Tuesday, on the conclusion of the Budget Statements pursuant to paragraph (2)(b), the sitting shall be suspended until 8.30 p.m.,

(II) on Wednesday, the suspension of the sitting for an hour pursuant to Standing Order 25(1) shall occur on the conclusion of Leaders' speeches pursuant to paragraph (3)(a), and

(III) on Thursday, the suspension of the sitting for 40 minutes pursuant to Standing Order 25(1) shall occur on the conclusion of Questions on Policy or Legislation, or immediately following the introduction of any Bill, as appropriate, and

(iii) in relation to the adjournment of the Dáil—

(I) on Tuesday, the Dáil may sit later than 10.32 p.m. and shall adjourn on the conclusion of the weekly division time, or, where there are no deferred divisions, on the adjournment of the General Financial Resolution,

(II) on Wednesday, the Dáil shall adjourn not later than 9.24 p.m., and

(III) on Thursday, the Dáil shall adjourn on the conclusion of topical issues;

(b) in relation to the ordinary routine of business— (i) Leaders' Questions pursuant to Standing Order 36 shall not be taken on Tuesday, and shall be taken as the second item of business on Wednesday and Thursday after Oral Questions to a member of the Government other than the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 46,

(ii) there shall be no Order of Business pursuant to Standing Order 35 on Tuesday,

(iii) there shall be no Questions on Policy or Legislation pursuant to Standing Order 35A on Tuesday or Wednesday, and on Thursday, Questions on Policy or Legislation shall be taken immediately following Leaders' Questions,

(iv) a member may move for leave to introduce a Bill in accordance with Standing Order 174(2) on Thursday only,

(v) Oral Questions to the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 46(1) shall not be taken on Tuesday or Wednesday, and on Wednesday and Thursday, a single session of Oral Questions pursuant to Standing Order 46 to another member of the Government shall be taken at 10.30 a.m.,

(vi) private members' business normally taken on Tuesday and Wednesday pursuant to Standing Orders 159(1) and 169 shall not be taken,

(vii) topical issues pursuant to Standing Order 37 shall not be taken on Tuesday or Wednesday and shall be taken on Thursday as the last item of business,

(viii) the weekly division time pursuant to Standing Order 80(2) shall be taken on Tuesday night upon the adjournment of the General Financial Resolution, and

(ix) no Thursday evening business pursuant to Standing Order 159(2) shall be taken; (c) any divisions claimed on Tuesday shall be taken immediately;

(d) Questions for written answer pursuant to Standing Order 50(2) shall appear on the Questions Paper pursuant to Standing Order 42A for all three days;

(e) no questions on private notice pursuant to Standing Order 43 may be asked; and

(f) leave may not be sought under Standing Order 42 to adjourn the Dáil on a specific and important matter of public interest;

(2) in relation to the sitting of the Dáil on Tuesday, the following arrangements shall apply:

(a) aside from the weekly division time, and subject to subparagraph (c), the business to be transacted shall be Budget Statements and Financial Motions;

(b) in relation to the Budget statements, the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows: ‒ Minister for Finance – 45 minutes;

‒ Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform – 45 minutes;

‒ Sinn Féin – 60 minutes; and

‒ the Labour Party, Social Democrats, People Before Profit‑Solidarity, the Regional Group, the Rural Independent Group, and the Independent Group – 45 minutes for each party or group; and all members may share their time;

(c) on the resumption of the sitting after the SOS pursuant to subparagraph (1)(a)(ii)(I), a Minister or Minister of State shall move an allocation of time motion for the Financial Motions; and

(d) the motion for the General Financial Resolution shall be moved not later than 12 midnight and the debate thereon shall stand adjourned forthwith; and

(3) in relation to the sittings of the Dáil on Wednesday and Thursday, the business to be transacted shall be the business outlined in this Resolution along with the resumed debate on the General Financial Resolution, to which the following arrangements shall apply:

(a) on Wednesday, after Leaders' Questions, Leaders' speeches shall be taken, to which the following order of speaking and allocation of time shall apply: ‒ Taoiseach and Tánaiste – 30 minutes each;

‒ Green Party – 20 minutes;

‒ Sinn Féin – 30 minutes; and

‒ the Labour Party, Social Democrats, People Before Profit‑Solidarity, the Regional Group, the Rural Independent Group, and the Independent Group – 15 minutes for each party or group; and all members may share time;

(b) on Wednesday and Thursday, in relation to the resumed debate on the General Financial Resolution— (i) apart from the Leaders' speeches, the debate shall be conducted in 135‑minute speaking rounds, in accordance with the arrangements agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, and members may share time;

(ii) when there are no further members offering, the debate shall be adjourned, and, in any event, on Wednesday, the debate shall be adjourned not later than 9.24 p.m., and on Thursday, the debate shall be adjourned not later than either at 8.30 p.m. or three hours after it commences, whichever is the later; and

(iii) on Thursday, immediately following the SOS, 2 minutes shall be allocated to non-aligned members in accordance with the Resolution of the Dáil of 20th September, 2023; and (c) on Thursday, the proceedings on Second Stage of the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Accidents) Bill 2024 shall commence on the resumption of business following the SOS, and shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned either at 5.30 p.m., or after 3 hours and 46 minutes, whichever is the later.