Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I take on board what the Minister has said. I have a view that section 18(1), and section 18 generally, might possibly have the same difficulty even as they stand in that if an organisation has the policies on paper, which appear to indicate that all the safeguards exist, that there is oversight and that the policies are, technically speaking, in place, but that a number of individuals within a particular division or section of a company have co-ordinated in such a way as to obtain an advantage for the business, potentially they would be able to escape prosecution on the basis of section 18(2). I will consider the Minister's point and redraft, but I would like him to give a commitment to examine this.

Section 18(2) provides too much space for defence and I do not think the measure is tight enough. The Minister should re-examine that to ensure it cannot be used as a loophole or in a way that creates too much flexibility.