Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has made a fair point. I reaffirm that if such a scenario were to arise and the committee was unhappy with what was proposed in regulations, it would have the right to rescind them, as Deputies would when they came before the Dáil. That provision exists. The advice given when developing legislation is that regulations make the operation of schemes more flexible and, where possible, to provide for them in regulations rather than in primary legislation. Various Departments that I have been in have tied themselves in knots many times - I must get a list of those occasions, at some stage - by having something provided for in primary legislation. It means you cannot adapt to a situation or show any flexibility, even when everyone wants that to happen. Deputies could be on the floor of the Dáil demanding change but the change has to be made in primary legislation. That is why, in general, the legal advice is to provide for matters in regulations where possible. Again, the House still has powers in that regard.

The Deputy and I will continue to disagree. We have had this conversation already and I cannot change her mind. All the Departments work in a very open and transparent manner. Nearly every regulation is consulted on way beyond what happens in most democracies, which is good. I am not aware of any regulations that have been designed quietly in a back room without anyone being consulted and then brought forward to great surprise. That does not happen because that is not the way we operate as a country. Specifying that something has to be in primary legislation can delay progress on many occasions.