Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have flagged that we will table an amendment on Report Stage to add to the amendment submitted by Deputies O'Dea and Penrose, but there will be other amendments to address issues raised in the Supreme Court's judgment that found that the provisions of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act related to the entitlements of prisoners were unconstitutional. To put it simply, the court found that the automatic disallowance of entitlement to benefits was unconstitutional, since it represented a secondary or extrajudicial punishment. The issues involved were complex, but they need to be addressed. Work is under way to draft the necessary changes to the Act. If they are ready before the closing date for submission of Report Stage amendments, I will introduce them as amendments to the Bill.

I wish to bring another matter to members' attention. I have been asked by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to introduce a necessary amendment to the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001. That amendment is being drafted and the Business Committee is discussing whether there must be a debate before it can be moved on Report Stage. While the last amendment is outside my control, I want to flag to members that if the Business Committee decides to approve the amendment's availability for inclusion on Report Stage, I would like to make it one of our amendments for discussion next week.