John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

As the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Coughlan, pointed out, this issue was addressed in detail on Committee Stage. Deputies Naughten and Crawford again propose, by means of amendment No. 10, that regulations made under section 55(5) must be laid before each House of the Oireachtas. They also propose, by means of amendment No. 14, to change the form of laying procedure, to be followed when the Minister makes regulations regarding emergencies. This latter amendment also has implications for section 55(5).

In the case of sections 55 and 59, provision is made for the laying of ministerial regulations before both Houses of the Oireachtas, with the standard 21 day annulment procedure. The main purpose of these regulation-making powers is to enable the Minister to deal with difficulties that arise under section 55(2) or section 55(3). Therefore, this provision is generally not intended in any way to broaden this provision but rather to do the opposite, if necessary. In these circumstances, the requirement to lay the regulation before the Oireachtas, as set out in the Bill, is a more appropriate approach and, therefore, I do not propose to accept these amendments.

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