Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

With regard to amendment No. 22, the use of the term "or endorse" might suggest that responsibility for the criteria document and the important matters it deals with would be removed, at least in part, from the CER. It must be clear that the CER is fully responsible for the contents rather than simply endorsing them. With regard to amendment No. 23, the current text of the subsection will ensure that the criteria are updated as often as required, and it is clearly for the CER to determine when this is necessary.

In response to amendment No. 24, while allowing for fines and other sanctions is acceptable in principle, this is a matter best left to the discretion of the designating body. The Parliamentary Counsel has indicated that there is a move away from introducing statutory fines other than those imposed by the courts. There is a wide range of administrative sanctions which may be implemented by a designated body which do not require statutory underpinning.

Turning to amendment No. 30, the matters set out in subsection (10)(a) are not appropriate matters to include in the criteria document. These relate to how the individual designated bodies charge certain fees to its members and may differ from body to body while the matters set out in the criteria document should be uniformly acceptable to all bodies. Amendment No. 31 is not required as it is clearly the responsibility of the CER to determine when the safety requirements are required to be updated. This is already captured in the current text which allows for the CER to update the safety requirements from time to time.

Amendment No. 32 is also not required as subsection (5) already states that the criteria document will include the safety standards to be achieved and maintained by electrical contractors.

See this speech in context