Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In view of what the Minister has said in the context of the independence of the council and given the stature and professionalism of those involved it would be unwise to be prescriptive in terms of what it should and should not do. With respect to what Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett has said and notwithstanding his concerns, I cannot imagine anybody on that council not having these and other concerns. I would be happy to leave it to the advisory council in its wisdom to pronounce as it sees fit. I have no doubt it will be extremely analytical and authoritative. The whole point is that it will have the authority, knowledge, respect, and commitment to be definitive and to bring about significant change in the event of a disagreement, at some stage, which may be profound between what the Government may want and what the advisory council, in its collective wisdom, would state. I would welcome those differences of opinion and clarity of opposition to Government policy if that is what is needed but also support for it, if it is going the right way. For that reason I would be happier if these amendments were not accepted.