Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Section 5 affords the Minister truly extraordinary and sweeping powers to make regulations to do anything that appears necessary or expedient. My amendment No. 8 seeks to ensure that the Houses of the Oireachtas will at least have an opportunity to debate the regulations in question. The amendment proposes to amend subsection (3)(c) to specify that the Houses must not only pass but debate and pass the relevant resolutions. Every Member is acutely aware of the quantity of legislation increasingly being put through the House without debate or with little debate and a guillotine. Given that this legislation will apply only for a two-year period, it would be an excellent experiment to attach this requirement to hold a debate. In debating the proposed resolutions, Members would have an opportunity to tease out the issues. The public could be satisfied that such a debate would ensure that quality-proofing is applied to all such proposals. I hope the Minister will consider this amendment.

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