Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are dealing with section 2 which reads:

Minister may perform functions for purposes of Loan Facility Agreement2. All such things as are necessary or expedient to be done for the purposes of the State's performing its functions under the Loan Facility Agreement may be done by the Minister and there is conferred, by virtue of this section, on the Minister all the powers necessary in that behalf.

The Minister of State is asking us to support this. As we can read the loan facility agreement, we can examine the 24 articles and determine whether the agreement is okay. However, the problem is that a clause in the Bill allows the loan facility agreement to be changed without any requirement for Dáil approval. There could be additions, deletions and amendments that would not require the approval of the Houses, yet the Oireachtas is giving the Minister the necessary power in law to implement all of this. That is a wide-ranging power.