Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am deeply concerned about what I am reading because it reflects the Attorney General’s view of this matter. That is what I am worried about.

The Minister of State said a number of times that all directives were the outcome of a legislative process. That is true up to a point, in that they are considered by the European Parliament, but many directives give to member states significant discretion in how they implement those directives.

If these things were simply regulations that we had to stamp and put into position, that would be one thing but when it comes to directives in particular, member states are given very wide latitude. They can choose between options A, B and C. They can choose to go further. They can choose to reject. They can do a lot of things, so it is not correct to say that every statutory instrument made under the EU Acts is something that has gone through a full legislative process. It certainly has not.