Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I oppose this proposal. The Cabinet Handbook makes plain that "Any Bill introduced or presented by or on behalf of a member of the Government, other than a Bill dealing with Budgetary or Estimates matters, should be accompanied by an Explanatory and Financial Memorandum to explain in simple, non-technical language, the provisions of the Bill, setting out the existing law and the changes therein proposed by the Bill and providing information about the estimated Exchequer costs and staffing implications for Departments...". This is a mandatory requirement in the case of Government Bills, according to the Cabinet Handbook. It is mandatory to have an accompanying explanatory memorandum detailing the costs and staffing implications. That has not been done in respect of this Bill. For that reason, I oppose the proposal.

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