May I ask you a question, Sir? You are in this House very much longer, I think, than any other Deputy here. Would you agree that in all your years' experience you have never yet seen a Minister behave as discourteously towards Opposition Deputies as this Minister has in the last half hour?

I totally refute that. We have spent 45 minutes answering 15 questions and most of that time has been taken up with the antics on the far side of the House. If the Deputies ask questions they will be answered.

I will adjourn the House if there is not proper order restored at Question Time.

The Chair does not distinguish between one Minister and another. It was suggested some time ago that some special allowance should be made in respect of this Minister in extending the number of supplementary questions. All Ministers are the same to the Chair and the Chair has no authority to decide what type of answers they give.

I completely accept that. However, I think, from the Minister's point of view, all Deputies are the same. We were all elected here by the people. Even though those on the far side of the House have sufficient to form the Government we also have rights and we deserve courtesy in the House. It is, to put it at its very mildest, discourteous for a Minister to come in here when a backbench Deputy or a spokesman is asking a question and to cut across him before the question is finished.

I object. The Ceann Comhairle had called the next question and I was obeying the Chair.

The Minister interrupted Deputy Kelly a minute ago in the middle of a supplementary.

I will never be accused of disobeying the Chair.

I have not said another word this afternoon. I asked one supplementary on the question which was answered in a monosyllable. The Minister in his reply asked me a question and I was cut down in the middle of a most important issue. I feel in all fairness that is not courteous treatment. I certainly did not treat the Minister with discourtesy.

The Deputy will also appreciate that when a question is answered in the affirmative there is not much need for supplementaries. The Chair is the judge in all cases of what supplementaries, if any, should be answered.

The Ceann Comhairle suits the Government.

That affirmative was the tip of an iceberg in glibness.

I would like to see more questions answered.

If the questions are irritating the Minister he should not take it out on us.

The questions are not irritating me.