I asked permission to raise a Private Notice Question to ask——

Deputy, please.

——the Minister for Labour, in view of the decision of the High Court in the case of the workers at Ranks being jailed——

The Deputy must not try to shout down the Chair. The Deputy has been informed of the position. On the information before me and on the advice I received I regret I have had to rule out of order the Deputy's question as not being suitable for a Private Notice Question. That is that.

Will the Chair indicate on what grounds he has ruled out Private Notice Questions I handed in regarding the jailing of Irish workers?

The Deputy knows it is not proper to question the decision of the Chair on a matter of this kind but if he comes to my office and discusses it with me he will be very welcome. I ruled out the question on the advice I got. I had practically no time to go into it. I was here dealing with questions and I ruled it out on the advice I got.

I apologise to the Chair for the short notice but the Chair will appreciate I only became aware of it on the midday news. There was nothing deliberate in what I did——

I am not saying that and I did not complain.

The Chair appreciates that the jailing of workers could have serious consequences.

There is no way the Deputy may raise a question that has been ruled out of order but that is what the Deputy is trying to do. On the day I was elected to this high office we decided we would not allow that to happen. I appeal to the Deputy to accept the ruling of the Chair.

In deference to the Chair I accept the ruling of the Chair. However, with the permission of the Chair I should like to raise the matter on the Adjournment.

The Chair will communicate with the Deputy.