Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Murphy is quite correct. I am somewhat caught in a bind here. I am keen to get this amendment into the legislation but I do not wish to delay Committee Stage again. Deputy Troy is correct that this Bill has taken an incredibly long time and if we were to delay the legislation further in anticipation of that, it could take ages. We want to get this legislation through and there have been efforts to filibuster it, as members might be aware. I am trying to keep the momentum going on the legislation as it is. It is open to members to table amendments for Report Stage, which would be welcome. All I can promise is that I will circulate the amendment as soon as I get it. That will give members time to debate it and they can table their own amendments on Report Stage because they have given notice of their interest in this subject as well. I do not have any other options short of delaying this procedure now, which I am reluctant to do. We must try to get this legislation through because we believe it is going to save lives. That is the motivation behind it. The delay is only due to what I believe is serious legal scrutiny, and the last thing I want after this legislation is passed, hopefully, is to have this clause being challenged or getting into the same state as happened with the Opposition's amendment, which was that it was impossible to implement and legally unsound.

The options for me are to go ahead or delay this Bill now in favour of having one legislative measure. I am happy to go through it in the Dáil with absolute and total scrutiny and I am happy, as I have been in road traffic cases, to accept amendments from the Opposition. I have no difficulty with input from the Opposition here. That is why, while I do not agree with the substance of what Deputy Troy is saying, I expressed frustration at what was happening with his amendment because it is so badly drafted that it cannot possibly be accepted.