Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

The Government has taken the view that a sectoral approach is likely to be the more successful in this instance. I referred to the Labour Party Bill because it is the legislation that is de facto currently before the House and was examined at considerable length by Parliamentary Counsel on how it might be amended. The view was ultimately taken that a sectoral approach was likely to be considerably more effective and would deal with some of the issues. I take the point made by the Deputy on the apparent success of the British initiative. It is worth keeping an eye on. I am also aware of the Deputy's personal experience in this regard. Having served with him on the Members' interests committee of the Dáil, it is one of the issues we examined in considerable length. The current view is that the sectoral approach is likely to be more productive and more positive in the short to medium term.

See this speech in context