Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I will not labour the point. We have made our arguments and it is clear the Minister is not minded to take them on board.

I have pointed to this practice of narrowing the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. It is evident in diverse legislation that has been brought in by the Minister, even where the arguments about vexatious claims or calculated delaying tactics do not apply, and we have moved in this direction in legislation over recent years. If the workload or character of some of the issues coming before the Supreme Court is such that restructuring is necessary, it should take place but we should not be passing legislation that narrows the right to appeal.

I take the point about the excision of the Attorney General, I was working on the Bill as initiated rather than as it has come through Committee Stage. That is the right step and I welcome it but people will still have to go to the High Court for a decision on the making of an appeal and that is unnecessarily restrictive.

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