Professor Gary Murphy:

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform deserves great credit for driving this legislation through in 2015. The reality is that it was driven by what we call political entrepreneurship. The then Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, decided that this was something he wanted enacted. I suspect that the Department might have thought its job was done. As Mr. Devitt said, the reality is that things crop up and we need to react. Deputy Doherty's Bill comes at a very good time because we have had six years since the Act was initiated and a review is good. I suspect a mixture of that is involved in the decision not to proceed with what the commission suggested.