Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My thanks to the Minister. I confirm that I am in the Leinster House complex.

The Minister likely heard the powerful testimony from Mr. Kingston in the previous hour. There were some fundamental criticisms in respect of many aspects of the Bill and of its entire premise. There were criticisms in respect of Ireland not following best practice and international examples, including some nearby, in terms of how we might approach these matters in a more comprehensive and independent manner.

There is a need to decouple the regulator from the investigation unit and establish an independent full-time and permanent investigation unit. There is a need to resource it adequately. The point is that this legislation is the time to do all of this. There is no need for an additional review and the 1998 review set things out clearly.

I appreciate the opening comments of the Minister. Is he committed to addressing the issues that Mr. Kingston outlined in his comments in the past hour? Does the Minister accept those points?

Will he outline how he will address them if he is committed to that? Will he do it in this legislation and grasp the opportunity, as Mr. Kingston outlined and as the Minister acknowledged? Will he take that opportunity in this legislative measure?