Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In most legislation, we look for a downside. To what extent has the Department tested any negative effect which this legislation might have on the delivery of services to patients, institutions or whatever the case may be? On the €600 total, is it not a simple thing to insert in the legislation a clause to the effect that a cumulative amount of €600 is the threshold?

I have often looked back over the years at ways in which we, as Members of the Oireachtas, have had to declare our interests, and I am sure other public servants have had to declare their interests. One would often wonder how come a particular organisation did not see fit to reward A, B and C? Why were some people left out?

I say that because if a system is in place in which some members involved in the delivery of a service are rewarded in a particular fashion by a donor, it has the effect of skewing the delivery of services, whether they are health, administrative or education services. Has that aspect been examined and, if so, to what extent?

Is there any possibility the Bill might be seen as a further obstacle in the delivery of services, particularly in health, which is a very sensitive area at present and one fraught with a great deal of difficulty? Is it possible that someone will come back to us in a year or two and say the Bill prevented the provision of particular services? I do not say that in opposition to the proposed Bill but simply to inquire about what might happen in particular circumstances.