Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While Deputy McNamara is not a member of the committee, he is nonetheless a Member of the House and we welcome his presence. The Minister of State will appreciate that we received the amendments very late and we received the briefing this morning. I am conscious that we have a three-hour meeting scheduled today and time is precious in these meetings. In the interest of fair process, I will not restrict time on any amendment or section. I will allow members complete latitude to treat this as a briefing session and, dare I say it, an opportunity to receive a verbal explanatory memorandum.

The committee completed the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill and our views on it are well known. The committee's time is precious and we need to use the three hours as effectively as possible. It should be noted that this cannot happen again. The committee must receive briefings and amendments on time so that we can give the legislation proper consideration. It is unfair to the members and the process they must stand over. I take the point Deputy McNamara has made but, in the circumstances, we have three hours of valuable committee time available. We ask that the Minister of State and his officials accommodate us by providing the most detailed explanations possible. I will facilitate any questions members have so that we can gain a full understanding of the Bill. If we do not come to conclusion within the three hours, we will sit on another date.

I am trying to strike a balance here and that is how I see the matter. Is that approach agreed? Agreed. I ask the Minister of State and his officials to provide us with a detailed explanation on each section and amendment as we go through the Bill and during exchanges with the members.