Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

As has been stated, amendment No. 16, which proposes the deletion of section 13, is a repeat of an amendment proposed by the Labour Party on Committee Stage. I acknowledge that Deputy Howlin has clearly given considerable thought to the points made on all sides during the Committee Stage debate, which shed much light on this subject. I made the case very strongly that there is a very limited number of employments regarding which it might be appropriate to make provision for drug testing and that, consequently, I was not minded to remove the section. Deputy Howlin has acknowledged this clearly in amendments Nos. 17 and 18.

On amendments No. 17 and 18, it is important to remind ourselves of the process by which testing would be achieved. At the first meeting of the new Health and Safety Authority, I spoke about the authority's obligations regarding the preparation of the regulations and I indicated to it that it would have a central role. I also indicated to it that it will be required to consult the social partners, in the first instance, and also any others with an interest in drawing up the regulations. I consulted the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and the social partners on the public concern over these provisions.

There is an acknowledgment that there are circumstances in which it is appropriate to provide for testing of one kind or another. It is also very important that the phrase "appropriate, reasonable and proportionate", which Deputy Howlin quoted, be reflected very strongly in the regulations when they appear.

Amendment No. 18 in particular, which is related to amendment No. 17, seeks to set out criteria already provided for in section 58(4)(b) for the making of regulations related to section 13(1)(c) and requiring prior approval by both Houses of the Oireachtas. However, I went considerably further than that. Owing to the public debate initiated on this issue, there was extensive involvement on the part of the Health and Safety Authority, the social partners and others. We also consulted the national drugs advisory board and other bodies in this area. The role of Parliament in the approval and consideration of the regulations ought to be centre-stage and, therefore, I undertook to present the draft regulations to the members of the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise and Small Business. I will certainly do so as soon as a fairly advanced draft becomes available.

No matter how we change the terms of section 13(1)(c), in particular, or those of any other section, the detail will be in the regulations. The best we can do in this regard is ensure that any interested parties, including the social partners, the national drugs advisory board and those involved in the national drugs strategy, are consulted by the Health and Safety Authority when preparing the draft. There should be a further undertaking that Parliament would have a key role, through the relevant committees, in considering the draft proposals before they are signed into law. It is not possible to go further than this, regardless of what detail we include in the Bill. Ultimately, regulations will have to be drawn up. As a Member of the Oireachtas, I am certainly prepared to say that such important regulations should be laid before the relevant committees. I will ensure that this is done.

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