Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 33:

In page 54, to delete lines 17 to 24 and substitute the following:

“(6) On an application under subsection (5), the High Court shall confirm the decision unless it is satisfied—

(a) that, by reason of a serious error or omission, whether in the record of the decision or in the conduct of the proceedings, it would in all the circumstances be unjust to do so, or,”.

I will focus my remarks on section 53 primarily because I am not too concerned about the judicial review process and the scope of that. I am somewhat concerned at the way in which section 53 is drafted and the apparent limitation of the scope of the High Court and what it is the court can consider. It seems to me that, as drafted, the relevant section limits the scope of the High Court in terms of the consideration of matters before it. We all want this legislation to work and to be as effective and robust as possible but I have a concern about this section which is why I am proposing amendment No. 33. I do so in good faith, on the basis that I want this legislation to work and to operate as best as it possibly can.

In his response, I ask the Minister to elaborate a little on his view of the intention here, in terms of the operation of the High Court, the confirmation of a decision and the scope that the High Court has to confirm a decision because it seems quite limited to me.