Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

Apart from agreeing with Deputy Hanafin, the only thing the Minister said is that it was unnecessary. What does "unnecessary" mean? Does it mean it is not necessary for the lay person or not necessary for the legal profession? It is usual to have Schedules and protocols in legislation. We are not departing from the norm. One could say it has not been included in some legislation but the norm is that where there is a text relevant to the legislation, it is included in the legislation. We are not talking about putting a whole treaty in the legislation, we are talking about putting in the relevant section of the text.

To the ordinary person looking at what we are doing in the House, it may appear we are working on some secret mantra to conceal the core of what we are doing. It may look like a secret formula that we are not prepared to unlock by giving the keys to it in the form of the text referred to in the Schedule. That is really where we are at. For the Minister to say it is unnecessary begs the question, for who or what purpose. It is necessary for ease of access, to facilitate people, for convenience and to present our legislation in a more attractive and accessible form.

We have talked endlessly about the consolidation of legislation. The criminal code needs to be consolidated. I compliment the Minister for beginning that process. We could talk for ever about simplifying legislation and making it accessible to the layman. We do not need to simplify legislation if it is only going to be accessible to the professionals because that is what they are trained and paid to do. If we are going to consolidate and simplify, let us also provide maximum accessibility. That can only be provided if we show people in the Schedules and appendices to the legislation what we are referring to in the provisions. In that way they can understand the sections of the legislation without having to delve into a library of references to find out what we are going on about. Even at this late stage, I urge the Minister to reconsider his position and to make this better legislation.

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