Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

This amendment was suggested by Senators Ryan and Hayes and the Minister's change is to be welcomed. Unfortunately, that was not the case with many of the amendments moved on Committee Stage. While many of the amendments we are dealing with here today are technical or are amendments that clarify certain sections of the Bill, the Minister did not accept some of the more important aspects of the amendments submitted in the Seanad. In particular, there was one issue the Minister promised to examine and that was in the area of interpretation by the courts of laws and the methods used for interpretation. The point was strongly made in the Seanad that it should be indicated in the Bill that the courts may have the authority to examine the transcripts of the Dáil, Seanad and committees when interpreting any particular section of a Bill. While it is not compulsory, it was felt that it should at least be mentioned in the Bill as a particular option. It is important that the conclusions arrived at by law makers are taken into consideration when such interpretations are being made.

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