Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 32:

In page 8, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following:"Review of operation of Act

9. The Minister shall, not later than 5 years after the commencement of this section, carry out a review of the operation of this Act.".

This is a sensible amendment to insert a review clause in the legislation. We have already had a number of discussions today on a number of issues, including the future-proofing of legislation, medical developments and best international practice. It seems to it would be wholly irresponsible for us as legislators to pass legislation on such an important issue to do with women's health and not keep it under review on the basis that our job is done. It is good practice to keep legislation under review. It is not uncommon. The Data Protection Act of this year, for example, makes provision for a review to be carried out, as do the Gender Recognition Act, the Charities Act and the Disability Act. Review clauses are also commonly included in European legislation. The European Parliament is strongly committed to the concept of better law-making. In this regard, it talks about the better law-making template, particularly the effective use of ex postevaluation throughout the legislative cycle. Although provision for a review clause was not included in the original legislation, I am conscious that several members of this committee and the Oireachtas have proposals in this regard. I hope there will be significant agreement that the inclusion of a review clause in the Bill would facilitate monitoring, including monitoring of the impact, operation and effectiveness of the legislation, in addition to monitoring of the delivery of services. I propose to amend Part 1 one of the Bill to provide that the Minister shall, not later than five years after the commencement of the Act, carry out a review of its operation.

A number of members have other amendments to different sections, with references to a shorter period. I ask that the committee consider passing this amendment but I am open to amending the time period on Report Stage. To be very honest, I feel two years is probably too short. I see references to two years. It is too short simply because we are going to put new services in place in 2019 that need to bed down. There are already many monitor and review notifications. One could nearly be reviewing the legislation without all the information. Perhaps one could argue five years is a little too long. I am not wholly set on it but I have pitched the period at five years for the moment. I ask the committee members to enable me to insert this review clause in the legislation. I would be happy on Report Stage to engage in a discussion on the appropriate period for the review. As I said, this arrangement is included in many Acts. It would be a mistake not to include it. It would also enable us, as legislators, to ensure that a number of the issues members raised today can be monitored. It would allow us to address issues or challenges that arise in the review period. I commend the amendment to the committee.