Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is something that is close to my heart. I have made numerous submissions on it, especially on the Diseases of Animals (Amendment) Act 2001 during the foot and mouth disease crisis where regulations were brought to us in some shape or form so that we had some input into it.

Secondary legislation is important. We get to debate primary legislation here and thrash it out, and Ministers spend hours listening to all of our travails, but secondary legislation is laid before the House. It is a done deal. Secondary legislation gives effect to the primary legislation and how such legislation can be administered at local level, etc.

This is where legislation in this place goes wrong. Secondary legislation has a status that is dismissed but it is of central importance because that is how the functioning and effectiveness of the primary legislation is brought into effect. In that regard, a court will look at the secondary legislation. In primary legislation, it can look for the schematic, the teleological and all such matters that are associated with the interpretation of legislation.

In this context, there has been much debate. In fairness, I must salute the Minister of State on being open to consultation. I know what it is like. He has set a barometer for the rest of the Ministers that they should be more open and receptive to consultation of all the stakeholders. He is well facilitated well here by the Chairman, who has endless patience with us all. It is important the legislation is robust and good and that is what everybody sets out to achieve.

The Minister of State should produce draft regulations and give us an opportunity to provide an input into them. That would solve the problem. The Minister of State would probably reject them, but he will have the Attorney General's advice through one of her agents anyhow.

Sometimes the like of us, who are ordinary Joes and who meet ordinary people, may well bring forward something that could be perceptive, be worthwhile and make a significant improvement in terms of the application of a regulation. Before the Minister of State finalises the regulations, he might bring them before the committee. This committee, through the chairperson, has been most facilitative. Let us look at them, even for an hour. It could be worthwhile and it might be a good exercise.