Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to deal with that issue under amendment No. 49 also, as Deputy Cian O'Callaghan has raised it.

The point raised by the Minister of State and Deputy Ó Broin is about the balance that needs to be struck here. The difficulty is that we are dealing with such a broad range of suppliers, from very small operators and specialist operators right up to larger providers. I absolutely hear what the Minister of State has said about the level of sanction. I would want that to be a court proceeding. I also hear what Deputy Ó Broin has said about wanting to give the legislation teeth and making sure it is doing what all of us in the room want it to do. A key issue is how it interacts with other regulations.

Deputy Cian O'Callaghan has raised the issue of the submissions many Deputies have received from the Heating and Plumbing Association of Ireland. They are an example of suppliers that provide both labour and materials. They are subject to their own specialist registered employment agreement. It is recognised that there is a difference between what they do and what many other suppliers in the construction industry do. This is recognised by the different registered employment agreement.

There is a balance to be achieved in what the Minister of State and Deputy Ó Broin are playing out here in front of us. Some of those mechanical contractors are registered with a whole range of different regulatory bodies, for example the gas installer in a planned extension may be registered with the Oil Firing Technical Association, OFTEC, or the Register of Gas Installers of Ireland, RGII. There are a range of different regulatory bodies. For smaller and specialist type providers we must ensure that we get this balance right. Perhaps the solution is under section 4(b). Deputy O'Callaghan had said the issue was raised after the amendments deadline had closed. Perhaps, rather than changing the argument that the Minister is making, it would be better to go back to change the definition in section 4(b) where gas works refers more to mechanical building services instead. Given that we are past the deadline, however, perhaps the Seanad could deal with this. It is a good example of how we need to be careful about getting that balance, which both the Minister of State and Deputy Ó Broin rightly argue for.