David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister of State on that front, but we cannot have inordinate delays occurring for whatever reason. The Minister of the day could issue a communication asking about the delay and whether the process could be accelerated. We cannot do that in respect of some other regulators, and they can take as long as they like. We need to be cognisant of this issue. Even though the regulators are independent, they must still act under certain constraints when getting the job done in a reasonable time. The phrase “as soon as is practicable” is reasonable and open. Perhaps the Minister of State might consider tightening it in some shape or form.