Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 38:

In page 46, line 3, to delete “is satisfied” and substitute “can demonstrate”.

The amendment relates to section 44, where the registrar can determine if a complaint is not made in good faith or if it is vexatious or frivolous. My concern is about the wording of the Bill as it stands, which is that "the Registrar is satisfied that" a complaint is either not made in good faith or if it is vexatious or frivolous. I do not know what that means. Against what criteria does the threshold "is satisfied" get met? Who determines that? A much stronger wording would be that the registrar has to be able to demonstrate to the board that a complaint is not made in good faith or it is frivolous or vexatious. I would be interested to hear the Minister of State explain what he thinks "is satisfied" means, the criteria against which that satisfaction could be determined, and whether that would require some level of evidence to be recorded somewhere that could be then tested if there was a dispute, for example, such as in a subsequent court case or challenge at the board.