The Committee to appoint Ministers who shall not be members of the Executive Council has now to be elected. Seventeen names have been proposed, and fifteen Deputies have to be elected. If it is proposed to proceed to election, Deputies should come forward and get their ballot papers now.

With a view to shortening the matter, we wish to withdraw our second name, Mr. Daniel Vaughan.

Will you please withdraw my name also?

And please withdraw mine too.

And mine.

Please withdraw mine.

That means a Committee of twelve, and there is no necessity for an election.

I ask, sir, if that Committee now is impartially representative of the Dáil, because you cannot challenge one part of the Constitution and prostitute another.

The Committee is not now representative of one part of the Dáil.

Very well. Then I submit, as these names have been proposed and seconded, that you circulate the papers and that you have an election, and if people fail to discharge their public duties that is not our responsibility.

Now that some of the other parties have taken off their names, would it not be better to accommodate the size of the Committee, and let some of those at the other side come off to make the Committee smaller in proportion to the numbers in the Dáil?

No.

We will therefore proceed with the election.

There is no advantage to be gained now.

You must go through with all the forms.

I take the view that this attitude here is a murder-setting and skin-saving attitude.

Order. The papers can be handed in up to 4.15. If the Dáil agrees, the matter raised by Deputy Johnson can be taken up at 4.15 instead of later.