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A statement from Senate President Tom Tavares-Finson brought a surprisingly abrupt end to the issue of whether Opposition member Floyd Morris's plea for a postponement of the debate on the Road Traffic (Amendment) (RTA) Bill last Friday was justified.Senator Tavares-Finson's statement followed up his investigations into whether the request from Senator Morris for the postponement was properly handled by the parliamentary staff to meet the needs of Morris, who is blind and is sent documents in a special format that he can read.Despite the statement, there was no response from the Opposition members, apart from some sotto voce remarks from Leader of Opposition Business Peter Bunting about a video which has been circulated on social media about what had happened in the Senate when Senator Morris tried to get a postponement of the debate of the RTA Bill.Both the Senate and the House of Representatives sat in extraordinary sessions on November 5, to debate the emergency RTA Bill, which has relieved the Government of the conditions of a temporary court order which could have cost the country millions of dollars in traffic fines for breach. This would have been due to the failure of successive governments since 2006 to extend the six-monthly update of the provisional limitations of the legislation under which new fees became effective that year.Senator Morris, a veteran member and former president of the senate, insisted that he should be given the privilege of ample time to digest the provisions of the new Bill, which would require a postponement of the sitting, in order to make his contribution to the debate in the Senate. But the Government refused to budge.Morris insisted that because of his disability, he has the privilege of a postponement of the sitting, to give him ample time to participate in the debate on the new Bill, despite the emergency consequences."When I get a Bill, I have to make sure that it is in the appropriate format for me to read, cross-referenced and matched with other legislations and importantly the Constitution of Jamaica, because I took an oath to uphold the constitution and the laws of Jamaica and so any legislation that comes before me, I have to review it carefully and cross match it with the constitution," he insisted.However, with the senate president and the Leader of Government Business Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, insisting that the emergency nature of the Bill required the meetings, Morris eventually sought but failed to get support from the majority of the senators present, opening up the floor to the debate on the substantive RTA Bill.The issue seemed well subdued until the appearance of a People's National Party (PNP) social media post last week, headlined "Parliament disabling persons with disabilities". It is understood the staff of Parliament took exception to the post, which they felt could give the impression that they fouled up in not providing Senator Morris with his usual format, and on time, for the debate.Tavares-Finson apologised to the staff members, stating that the post had dragged the office of the clerk and members of the staff into disrepute.He said that while he was aware that, on a number of occasions, there have been complaints that documents are not reaching members on time, or that there have been technical difficulties on occasions, those issues are dealt with as efficiently as possible by technical staff."And if this arises, it certainly does not arise out of any malice or ill-intent sufficient to be described as parliamentary disabling persons," Tavares-Finson noted."In the instant case, I am informed that the relevant document was dispatched at 1:40 pm, and I am not going to get into any argument about that. Suffice it to say, and I close now, that the staff and persons responsible for the video and the Instagram post have brought the office of the clerk and members of the staff of this Honourable Parliament into disrepute," he added.But Leader of Opposition Business Senator Peter Bunting shouted that the post was not directed at the staff, but at the president himself.Senator Tavares- Finson read a statement to the Senate on Friday:"I have observed an Instagram account which appears, and I use the word appears for all intent and purposes, which could be a People's National Party account. The posting features Senator Morris and Senator Bunting making an allegation concerning the Houses of Parliament."The video is entitled, and I quote 'Parliament Disabling Persons with Disabilities' and the post has caused some disquiet among the staff of the Parliament. And for that reason, I bring it to the attention of the Parliament.The essence of the post suggests that the staff of the Parliament have failed in their duty to the responsibilities which they have to each and every member of the Senate to ensure that they are given information which they are obliged to have."I must say that I looked at the video carefully and it is obvious that it is doctored and presented in a particular way so that I say without hesitation that it is not something that I could every, without knowing, ascribe to Senator Morris or Senator Bunting. But it does convey a message which is disingenuous to the extreme.''The message that it conveys is that the Office of the Clerk, the officers of the Parliament responsible for technology have failed a particular senator with a disability who requires his information presented to him in a particular form."I am to inform this Senate and, indeed, the wider public who may be interested that the entitled video, 'Parliament Disabling Persons with Disabilities' is misleading and erroneous. I indicate that the method by which on each and every occasion that Senator Morris is to receive documents it follows a specific form as it relate to Bills. Once the Lower House has approved the Bill and it is sent to the printing office, the relevant officer of the Parliament: (1) On receipt of the document from the printing office, or from the assistant clerk converts the document to Microsoft Word; (2) The document is vetted by the clerk; (3) The document is then sent by e-mail to Senator Morris and is copied to the assistant clerk to ensure that the document has been sent."The document is sent to the senator's gmail account, as well as to the senator's official parliamentary e-mail address. This process has been followed for all documents, including Bills for many years and certainly since Dr Morris was the president of this Honourable Senate."