Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I do not understand why this would be the consensus. Why would the authority not rest with the chairman and the Oireachtas commission itself? I do not know whether the chairman or the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission is responsible, but I would have thought they would comprise the ultimate authority if there were to be a separation of powers. However, the Minister of State is stipulating that the Government is the ultimate authority. It may choose to delegate its responsibility to the Taoiseach, who may or may not act on the recommendations and consensus emerging from the Oireachtas. This seems to be a very strange way to run a railway.

Perhaps the Minister of State was not privy to the consultation on this issue. From what he is saying, I have not gained an understanding of why this is the route we are taking. It may be that the commission did not want the power, thus resulting in the circumstances that now obtain. This is not entirely satisfactory given that we are on Report Stage and there will be nothing more we can do if we agree to the provisions today.

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