Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

The amendment is inspired by the original sunset clause in section 4 of the 1972 Act. That clause has proved to be completely unworkable, as I stated on Second and Committee Stages. The wisdom of Parliament subsequent to that was that it was deleted by the Oireachtas shortly after the Act came into force. The original section 4 arrangement was less practical than Deputy Costello's complex suggestion. It envisaged a sunset clause of six months and gave the Oireachtas more time to assess and approve secondary legislation. We should not return to a totally unworkable proposal that was discarded more than three decades ago. I regret I cannot accept the amendment.

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