Sir, in regard to the Private Notice Question I have down on the agricultural officers dispute, under what Standing Orders have you ruled that question out of order, a Cheann Comhairle?

I have ruled it out of order and my Private Secretary conveyed to you the reason that it was ruled out of order. I am not prepared to discuss it here.

I am not going to enter into a debate. But I spent two days meeting with the agricultural officers. Normally I accept, without any argument, the rulings of the Chair. But I just cannot understand this one because the position is that, when I raised this matter on Tuesday——

Has the Deputy any application to make?

I wish to know, a Cheann Comhairle, why this was ruled out of order. I have discussed it with a number of people from your office and I feel the point of the question was missed. I feel that raising this matter in the House today could be very beneficial and I know that both the Department and the Minister——

If the Deputy will come to my room I will make an adviser available to him to discuss it, but we cannot discuss it here.

The point is that, under the rulings of the Chair and under Standing Orders, there is no good reason for ruling out this question and it would be very beneficial in regard to a strike which affects the biggest industry in the economy.

Deputy Ahern is a very orderly Deputy and co-operates with the Chair to the fullest. If I were to engage in what might be a reasonable discussion with the Deputy here now I would be departing from old and well established principles which I myself have stood hard on and ruled hard on. I would have it thrown up at me and it would not be possible for me to conduct the business of the House. I know that you were given very good reasons. You may not agree with them. But if you want to come to my office myself and the Clerk of the Dáil will see you and discuss the matter with you. That is all I can do. I simply must be firm on that because whatever chance a Ceann Comhairle has of discharging his duties effectively if he is consistent, he has none whatever if he is not.

I know the rules and I defend the Chair's strong action most of the time when he tries to bring order to the House but on this occasion—and I will go and speak to the Chair—I wish to put on the record of the House that I believe the ruling of the Chair in this case did not take into account——

The Deputy is putting the Chair in an impossible position and I know it is not your intention to do so. If I concede and discuss my rulings with Deputies in the House, we would spend at least a half an hour on this every day. It is not feasible and I am not going to do it.

May I ask you——

You may make a request.

I do not normally argue, but if a question is of urgent importance, and this one clearly is——

The Deputy is out of order. I cannot make an exception, and I will not.

Will you at least explain——

If you come to my office I will explain. Since the State was founded there has been a rule that the Chair does not discuss his rulings in the House and as long as I am in the Chair I will not depart from that.

The Rulings of the Chair set down some years ago do not say that. Under what Ruling of the Chair are you saying that?

It is a well established practice that the Ruling of the Chair cannot be discussed in the House. I cannot produce the reference off the top of my head, but——

It is not in the Rulings of the Chair.

If the Deputy comes to my office I will discuss it.

I accept that because sufficient numbers of Deputies have been thrown out of the House this week, and I do not wish to join them but I discussed this with your office. It is not in Standing Orders nor in the Rulings of the Chair. This is a matter of urgent public importance, and it is unjust that it is being ruled out——

I have stood on that ruling since I became occupant of the Chair three years ago, and I am not going to depart from it.

You are in a strong position in the Chair and you always quote Rulings of the Chair and Standing Orders. I have discussed this with your office for a considerable time but I was not given a Ruling of the Chair because there is none in the Rulings of the Chair as published in 1969. Because I do not wish to be thrown out of the House like a number of my colleagues, I will come to your office and discuss it, but I want to put on the record that in this instance I am right and the Chair is wrong.

The Deputy should not say that. It is tantamount to——

I feel very strongly about this.

You may feel very strongly about it, but since I came into the Chair I have ruled that the Rulings of the Chair cannot be questioned or discussed in the House. This practice was also followed by my predecessors.

In an incident like this, will the Chair tell me under what Standing Order or what Ruling of the Chair I am wrong in pursuing this matter?

The Chair has ruled, and my predecessors have ruled——

It is not a stated ruling. If you could quote me what ruling——

The Deputy is being disorderly. I am not going to pursue this further here.

I will leave it for somebody else to interpret if I am being disorderly, but I feel very strongly that I am not on this occasion.

I am sorry the Deputy feels like that.