Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

This is probably the only success I will achieve this afternoon so I might as well make the most of it. Every day I spend in the House I am usually surprised and boggled. When I moved the amendment on Committee Stage, it was abundantly clear it was a technical amendment. I do not know what the procedures are in minute detail but I am learning them as I spend more time in the House. There was a glaring mistake in the Bill. A date was misplaced and I cannot understand why it could not simply have been corrected on Committee Stage. Obviously, there are certain procedures and blockages, but in the wider debate on Dáil reform this is a classic example of how it could reform. Although a mistake was obvious and could be rectified there and then, it was necessary to go from Committee Stage to this Stage for "2007" to be removed from the Bill and "2008" to be inserted. The amount of work that had to be done again on Report Stage to rectify this defies belief. It is bewildering. I thank the Minister for taking on board the amendment, but he had to accept it anyway. The Act was cited incorrectly.

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