Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 34:

In page 49, line 15, to delete "may" and substitute "shall".

Section 45 of the Bill states:

In each year there may be paid to the Authority out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas a grant or grants of such amount or amounts as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determines for the purposes of expenditure by the Authority in performing its functions.

The main flaw in the area of health and safety is that of underfunding, particularly regarding inspectors. The use of the word "may" will not change anything. If we are to effect change, we should strengthen the Bill by replacing "may" with "shall". We need to strengthen the Bill significantly in this regard and my amendment will do exactly that.

I hope the Minister of State will not employ comments made by Deputy Durkan to rebut me because one may recall he had a fairly negative view on this subject some time ago. I was disappointed that I was not somewhat closer to him such that I could have nudged him or winked at him to indicate I was tabling this amendment. However, I hope the Minister of State will accept it because it will strengthen the provisions in this area. They certainly require strengthening.

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