Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

This was discussed on Committee Stage. It has been the style in this Legislature and its predecessor under the Irish Free State to set out a Long Title to every Bill. The Long Title is generally supposed to be a statement of the overall purpose of the legislation. Deputy Gerard Murphy is arguing for a different approach that gets rid of the Long Title completely and states the substance in a "purpose" section in the legislation. I can see the attraction in that because some people feel Long Titles appear antiquated in that they are presented in the upper case and are hard to read. I, as a member of the Government, am not in a position to tear up the existing practice.

The Oireachtas is directed by the Constitution to use a Long Title in respect of amendments to the Constitution. The terms of the Constitution prescribe how a Bill to amend the Constitution should be presented textually. At least in that case, the Long Title is more or less constitutionally required. Whether it is a good idea to have no Long Title and include a purpose section in the case of legislation that is not amending the Constitution is a matter for debate. The Deputy should take the matter up in a more general way with the Taoiseach who is answerable for the Office of the Attorney General in this House. We cannot scrap the Long Title and replace it with a purposes section on a piecemeal basis just because one Minister likes it better than another. It would require a major policy change across all legislation. I am not in a position to agree to it today and I am not sure it would be a good idea to do so.

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