Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is important to remember that when a Minister makes a regulation, he is making law. We refer to it as being secondary legislation, but in effect any Minister when signing a statutory instrument is changing the law. It is common in every Act that a Minister may make regulations pursuant to the purposes of the Act.

Deputy Daly's amendment is not enormously controversial. The first part proposes that the system which operates consistently under our laws that when a regulation is introduced by a Minister by way of statutory instrument, the Oireachtas can by vote reverse that regulation if it does so by resolution within 21 days. That feature is contained in so much legislation because it gives a legislative basis and a justification to what the Minister is doing. I am sure if it was challenged in the courts that a Minister is making law and is not entitled to make law when, in fact, the Oireachtas is the body that makes law, the argument would be made that there is an ability within the legislation for the Oireachtas to set aside that law. There is nothing unusual about that. The first three parts of Deputy Daly's amendment are consistent with what operates in other legislation.

It differs in identifying in respect of sections 48, 57 and 70 a slightly different method of Oireachtas approval of any statutory instrument.

Oireachtas approval requires that a draft of the regulation must be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas, and a resolution approving it must be passed by the House. Instead of retrospective disapproval, it is prospective approval. No matter what it is, the Oireachtas must have a role in any statutory instrument that a Minister issues. The Oireachtas must have an ability to set it aside. I see no difference in the Oireachtas having an ability to approve it in advance. I listened to the contribution from the Minister. The Minister's contention is that he is not convinced that this onerous obligation that would be placed to the Oireachtas is necessary or proportionate, that it is not justified. I do not look at it that way. The Oireachtas is the law-making body within the State. The Oireachtas stands in a position of supervision over statutory instruments that are issued by a Minister. There can be situations where there is retrospective disapproval, as exists already. Why not put in a system of prospective approval? I think we need to recognise something. I am not aware of any time in the history of the State when a statutory instrument was reversed by resolution of the Oireachtas, so maybe we should be looking at a more prospective method of approval of statutory instruments. On the basis of what I have heard, I will be supporting the amendment.