Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I share Deputy Jonathan O'Brien's concerns. If the Minister of State has concerns about the clarity of other legislation, he could amend the particular line he is proposing to delete to allow it to fall within existing procurement law. Simply deleting it is not the answer when we know that the current guidelines are soft. As Deputy Jonathan O'Brien mentioned, there are huge issues that arise at the Committee of Public Accounts on a regular basis with a failure to comply with procurement law. Basic legislative interpretation means that we know that this is the function of the board and it relates specifically to it and the contracts it enters into. It does not go beyond any other aspect of procurement law. Someone could not make a challenge on the basis of section 46(6) because, if it does not reference them specifically and relate to them, one could not make that legislative interpretation. I am not sure where the Attorney General's advice follows through in that regard. We cannot interpret other legislation or another precedent elsewhere. Perhaps the Minister of State might amend the amendment and clarify the position on Report Stage but just deleting the lines and forget about the matter is inappropriate at this stage.