I move to suspend the sitting for one hour to allow the Whips to discuss the arrangements for today's sitting.

The House last sat at 7 p.m. yesterday. There was ample time yesterday evening and this morning for the Whips to meet. I do not understand the reason for this request. There are ample precedents governing procedure for the taking of confidence motions and there is no reason for not simply getting on with the business.

Patently, looking around the House, we do not have a Government. Ministers did not come into the House together as is the precedent. We cannot allow this to be put off for an hour and then another hour in the hope that something will be patched up. Let us do the business in the House now and get on with it.

I said one hour; I do not mean two hours or three hours. I would remind the Deputy that he asked both the Tánaiste and me for our word yesterday on a motion which he had before the House. He decided to change his mind and do a U turn on that motion. He has presented a new situation and it is quite in order for me, as Taoiseach, to ask the House for one hour — I mean one hour, no more — to allow the Whips arrange the business for today.

Why?

Will you be back in the hour?

I am the Leader of the principal party in Opposition. I have tabled a motion of no confidence in the Government. There are ample precedents for dealing with this. Governments that do not know how to deal with motions of confidence are not Governments. I regard this request for a one hour delay as a further indication of the urgency of dealing with the matter. A Government that cannot make a decision on the simple issue of how to deal with a motion of no confidence should not continue one hour longer in office.

Hear, hear.

I agree with Deputy Bruton.

Fianna Fáil cannot agree with anyone.

I agree with many people there as well.

We know what you are saying.

We can take it.

Behind his back.

Watch your back, Taoiseach.

Order, please.

It would be helpful if the Taoiseach would tell us if he intends putting down a motion of confidence in his Government.

I will tell the Deputy that in one hour. I made a request to the House for an adjournment of one hour and then I will come back to the House.

You are not there yet.

This would not have arisen had our word been accepted.

The Labour Party will not accept the Taoiseach's word.

It is unprecedented that when a Taoiseach and Tánaiste give their word in the House to the Leader of the main party in Opposition he does not accept it.

The substantive issue is the same.

I had no communication of any kind with either the Taoiseach or the Tánaiste on this matter until what happened in the House.

It is on the record of the House for yesterday.

What is on the record of the House for yesterday, and which was agreed and suggested by the Tánaiste is that we would meet at 10.30 a.m. this morning.

No, it was not.

Yes, it was.

There was no agreement——

I want to know, and the House is entitled to know, the true reason for this proposed adjournment. I do not accept the excuse that the Government does not know how to deal with confidence motions. There are ample precedents for such motions. The Government has a secretariat and it can be told how to deal with confidence motions. What is the true reason for this one hour delay? We are entitled to know. I want to remind the Taoiseach that this is public business, not private business. This is the country's business, not just his.

The Deputy is very brash.

This is an extraordinary request, given yesterday's debate on the cohesion of the Government and the agreement by this House that a vote on the Government would be deferred until 10.30 a.m. this morning. We now have a request from the Taoiseach to defer the matter for another hour so that the Whips can discuss the business for today. Our Whip sought on numerous occasions last night and this morning to find out if a Whips meeting would be held and he was told there would be none. It is extraordinary that the Taoiseach is now looking for a one hour adjournment. We are not prepared to agree to this proposal. There is a motion on the Order Paper and it should be proceeded with immediately.

It is a very narrow procedural motion and should not give rise to debate as such. I will now put the question——

The Tánaiste might be able to clarify the matter.

Whereas a week is considered to be a long time in politics a request for a one hour adjournment is very reasonable.

A Cheann Comhairle the Dáil decided——

An Taoiseach.

This is a very serious matter. The Dáil decided to adjourn for an hour on the basis that there would be a Whips meeting to consider the business of the Dáil. We were unhappy with this, but the majority decided that we should adjourn. There has not been a Whips meeting and, therefore, the promises given by those who said there would be such a meeting have been broken. The House is now bound to proceed with the business before it, namely, the vote of no confidence in the Government tabled by me. I would be grateful if you would proceed with that and if that business is not proceeded with the House must elect a different Government if the present Government continues to absent itself from the House.

The House adjourned at the Taoiseach's request to facilitate a meeting between the party Whips. The Opposition party Whips turned up for that meeting but the Government Chief Whip did not arrive. Therefore, the meeting did not take place. The Dáil was due to recommence at 12 noon but it is now 12.12 p.m. I agree with Deputy Bruton that since last Friday the Government has been paralysed and that it is now time to proceed with the no confidence motion so that we can put in place a Government that can run the country and deal with the serious problems with which we are faced. Rumours have been flying for the past hour and 12 minutes. It is the duty of the Taoiseach and the Government to come into this House, to deal with the no confidence issue and to answer legitimate questions from members of the Opposition which obviously were not answered correctly yesterday. We ask for your guidance, Sir, on how to proceed.

Let us have the vote of no confidence in the Government now.

The Whips meeting for which the House adjourned did not take place. Opposition Whips turned up for the meeting, but it did not take place in the absence of the Government Whip. Will you tell us the procedure now when the word of the Taoiseach has been broken so flagrantly? Will you also indicate whether it is a gross insult to the House that it should reassemble at 12.10 p.m. in the absence of Government members who are only now coming into the House, ten minutes late?

I regret the delay involved, but I have no knowledge as to why they were delayed until now.

We are due an explanation.