Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On Second Stage, Deputy O'Callaghan objected to the use of phrase "in accordance with whichever section of the Act of 1997 or the Act of 1999" in section 15(1)(b)(i) of this Bill. The Deputy is now proposing to amend the more general wording on line 7 of page 14 of the Bill to include specific mention of sections of the 1997 and 1999 Acts. We have discussed the matter with the Attorney General and officials from the electoral franchise division of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. Both bodies were happy with the current wording of this section of the Bill, which refers back to the sections of the electoral legislation already referred to in this section.

I am inclined to continue to favour the wording of the Bill as I am not convinced of the import of the amendment. We could consider drafting a more appropriate amendment for Report Stage. This could be done with officials from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, although they are also of the view that the amendment could cause some difficulty and would need to be redrafted because of the cross-references to the 1997 and 1999 Acts. I exhort members to stick with what we have for the moment. If we can accommodate Deputy O'Callaghan, I will do so.

With regard to section 15(1)(c), I note the point regarding the phrase "had an interest", which is a source of concern to Deputy O'Callaghan. I will examine this matter before Report Stage to determine whether we can clarify the phrase.