Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

From reading Article 9 and section 18, I do not see how the specifics of Article 9 are transposed. Section 18 all rests on the public participation statement, whereas Article 9 is specific on what needs to be done. We do not know what will be in this public participation statement. There is a list of things the Minister may specify as regards requirements. That is as far as section 18 goes, whereas Article 9 is very specific. This section would be much more robust if Article 9 were listed in it. We managed not to list other articles, as well as Article 9, for no particular reason that I can understand.

Covid is a legitimate example of reasonable steps but it is just an example of where this could happen. There is nothing in the legislation to tell us the extent of what is or is not reasonable and what the parameters are. The Minister of State gave a good example of something that would be reasonable, but it does not tell us anything else about what could be deemed-----