Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

The point I am trying to make is that when the Opposition gets proposed legislation wrong the Government does not accept it. The Government does not accept Bills proposed by the Opposition, except on rare occasions. However, when the Government gets it wrong, it usually just forces the legislation through anyway. That is the major difference between the two types of proposed legislation. This has consequences for us all, not just the Opposition.

I listened on the monitor to the Minister's interpretation of the last line of the Bill. I was told he was deliberately misinterpreting it. The Minister is shaking his head because of course he would not do that. He is probably the most tolerant person I have ever met. There is no need for a Good Samaritan Bill in his view because he regularly stops on his way home to help people and they would not dare sue him. After giving them the essential help they need at the side of the road he probably gives them a lecture on why they should not be there in the first place and who they should have called for help, gives them the number and reels off exactly who they should be involved with. After getting all that out of the way he would ask himself why we need this type of legislation. Why is it necessary to have legislation to protect people who come to the aid of others in distress in the Ireland of 2005?

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