It is proposed to take No. 12, motion re withdrawal of the Betting (Amendment) Bill 2012; No. 13, motion re referral to select committee of proposed approval of the report by the Minister for Defence regarding service by the Defence Forces with the United Nations in 2012; No. 14, motion re referral to joint committee of proposed approval for Council decisions re the agreement between Canada and the European Union on the transfer and processing of passenger name record data; No. 15, motion re referral to joint committee of proposed approval for regulations of the European Parliament and the Council regarding the use of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny and jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters; No. 16, motion re report of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council laying down measures concerning the European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a connected continent, COM (2013) 627; No. 17, motion re appointment of Ombudsman; No. 18, motion re appointment of Information Commissioner; and No. 33, Local Government Bill 2013 - Second Stage (resumed).

It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that Nos. 12 to 16, inclusive, shall be decided without debate; Nos. 17 and 18 shall be debated together and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 20 minutes, and the following arrangements shall apply: the speech of a Minister or Minister of State and of the main spokespersons for Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Technical Group, who shall be called upon in that order, shall not exceed five minutes in each case, and such Members may share their time; and the following business shall be taken tomorrow after Oral Questions: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013 - Order for Second Stage and Second Stage. Private Members’ business shall be No. 136, motion re cannabis regulation.

There are three proposals to be put to the House. Is the proposal for dealing with Nos. 12 to 16, inclusive, agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with Nos. 17 and 18 agreed to?

It is not agreed. While I do not propose to call a vote on this, I want to say to the Taoiseach that the Ombudsman has turned out to be a very important position in modern society, raising many issues with regard to the interaction between the citizen and the State, particularly in terms of health, welfare and so forth, and, likewise, the position of the Information Commissioner is very important. From the perspective of Dáil Éireann and of proper deliberation on the role of the offices of the Ombudsman and the Information Commissioner, to have 20 minutes of discussion is very unsatisfactory and does not speak well for the Dáil in terms of treating these offices seriously and with the consideration they deserve. These offices go to the heart of how our system of Government works in regard to the rights of the citizen. Very often, they can be critical of the Government, irrespective of who is in power, and of the arms of Government, including Departments and Government agencies, and how they interact with citizens. The proposal that Opposition spokespersons have five minutes to discuss all of that should have been reflected on further. We could do with far more time to discuss these two very important offices, given that the appointment of the Ombudsman and the Information Commissioner are opportunities for the House to debate the role and work of those offices.

Aontaím leis sin.

I am not sure the Whips had an engagement on this and I do not know whether this was actually agreed at the Whips' meeting. If Members are of the opinion that we should add another half an hour or 40 minutes, I do not object to that. We could extend the sitting by that amount and just shove things forward, if Members want to have a deeper reflection on the appointments of the Ombudsman and the Information Commissioner.

There is a proposal before the House that we extend the time available for debate on the appointment of the Ombudsman and the Information Commissioner by 40 minutes. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I thank the Taoiseach.

Is the proposal for dealing with the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013 tomorrow agreed to? Agreed. I call Deputy Martin on the Order of Business.