Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. Amendment No. 110 proposes to remove the word "significant" from section 28(3)(c) in defining what is a non-material amendment. This seemingly small change would, in effect, make all amendments material, essentially removing all utility from this section.

This section is intended to be a practical measure to correct minor errors and to introduce trivial tweaks without having to rerun the entire process. I understand that there are concerns that this section might be used to sneak through major changes to DMAPs and MSPs but that is simply not the case and cannot happen. Sufficient protection has been built into the principles and policies set out in sections 28(3)(a), (b) and (c) and for those reasons, we oppose the amendment.