Since this is a special sitting-----

I understand that Senator Ó Donnghaile agreed to the arrangements that were being proposed for Wednesday and Thursday. Not everyone did. The issue with regard to bringing up Brexit and other matters does not relate to a special sitting. The only person who asked me to bring back this House to address any item was the Taoiseach. No Senator wrote to me to ask that we discuss Brexit or any other item.

I am not in charge of the schedule.

I will say it one more time for the benefit of the House. The only person who asked me to bring back the House earlier than scheduled was the Taoiseach.

No, the only thing that I was asked to bring the House back for, in a letter from the Taoiseach, was for the Senators to consider the Bill that will soon come before us. No Senator asked me to bring back the House for any other reason. This is why I do not accept some of the statements that have been made. If Senators would like us to come back earlier than they all agreed and voted on, they must communicate that to me. As I have said, it is a power under Standing Order 22.

Please stick to the rules of the House. I now call on the leader of the Labour Party to talk about the item before us.

The Senator may put forward an amendment that Committee Stage be taken on a different day. It cannot be proposed to put another item of business in its place. If the Senator wishes to propose that and get another Member to second this, we can deal with it at the end of the Leader's contribution.

I call Senator Mullen on a point of order.

I clarified that earlier.

We have only had three special sittings and, at the request of the Taoiseach, this sitting relates specifically to this item. The Order of Business we are discussing and the items we are discussing relate to the arrangements for today. In that context, I ask Senator Mullen to confine his statements to what the Leader has outlined.

Senator, please-----

In the context of Standing Orders, Senators are to address their remarks to the item outlined by the Leader.

I am relying on the advice of the Clerk in respect of-----

On an ordinary day, the convention of the House is that Senators can raise items that are not related to the Order of Business. However, that is not strictly within the rules of the House. A practice has developed over time whereby people bring up items that are not related to the matters that have been raised by the Leader on any sitting day. This issue can be raised at the meeting of the CPP later today but when we sit on an ordinary day next week or any other week, strictly speaking the Members should stick to t…

Senator Mullen will be given an opportunity to come back in at his allotted time. We are dealing with group leaders now. I ask the-----

Correct.

Correct.

Correct.

May I address what has been said? The business outlined today is based on a letter from the Taoiseach to the Cathaoirleach and it is different from any other day because it is normally the Leader-----

What fetters us are the rules of the House, which are strict. There has been a convention to allow matters such as those that Senator Ó Donnghaile and others wished to raise but such convention is not strictly within the rules of the House.