Professor David Farrell:

I cannot comment on specific cases and I have not got the expertise to really comment on specific cases.

A point that is often made is that bad legislation, if we can talk in that sense, is legislation that is rushed. I know members know that one needs time, in an ideal world, to reflect and allow differing views and voices to be raised just to test the veracity of what is being considered before the Dáil and Oireachtas of the day. That is the general argument I am making here. Democracy is really messy and somebody mentioned that it is a bit like watching sausages being made. Democracy is an extremely messy thing if done properly but it can be very inconvenient for the Government of the day. It can be very slow and expensive but that is democracy. What we have is not as good as it could be, in the regard.