Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I will not rise to that. The Bill secures the validity of both the REAs and EROs that were made and registered under the legislation prior to the current proposed amendments. It also introduces a power to amend an ERO within six months in the case of error and set a fixed term of office for the chairman of the joint labour committee. While I will not challenge the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, my remarks on Oireachtas reform fall very much into that section, which it is important to note.

It is also interesting to note that the Bill includes provision of an amendment to section 23 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990 to allow officers of VECs, other than teachers, access to the dispute-settling agencies. I understand the legislation proposed by the Minister proposes to remove the power to make changes in the definition of workers by ministerial order and to ensure that future changes in the definition will be made only by means of primary legislation. I am told a ministerial order dated 1998, giving local authority staff access to dispute-settling agencies, will also be confirmed by a proposed amendment of the statute. I understand that in addition to proceeding with the proposals to strengthen the existing JLC and the operation of REAs as outlined in the Bill, the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, has also signalled his intention to bring forward amendments on Committee Stage to address a number of issues, including inability to pay, on which I made my point, interpretation by the Labour Court of EROs and REAs, access by retired workers to IR bodies and other issues.

To stray again into the area of Dáil reform, I have always taken the view that with regard to proposed legislation, it is good that we all have an opportunity to contribute, across the board, because we all have our views. It is a good system that we have a plenary session in which we have an opportunity to speak on legislation and get our thoughts on the record. Following that, the process moves to the relevant committees.

I would like to go to all the meetings of some of the committees. I once told a former Taoiseach that I enjoy committee work but I wonder sometimes whether the committee cares whether I attend or not. It is the problem of the Dáil that people do not see the committees at work. If anybody is looking at this debate, and I am sure not many are, they will see there are only four or five Members present and they will think everybody else is gone home, which of course is not the case.

The committee system of going through legislation, line by line, listening to what people have to say and dealing with Government and Opposition amendments, produces good work. The process then comes back to the Dáil, which makes the final decisions. I am a big supporter of the committee system. In a week in which there has been a lot of media coverage about what we do in the Dáil, how we do it and what systems we use, it is fair to make the point that good work is being done in regard to legislation, certainly in regard to this Bill. Much dotting of the i's and crossing of the t's will come forward from this process. I wish the Minister of State well in this regard.

I had hoped to stray into a couple of local issues that I wanted to put on record but, as the Leas-Cheann Comhairle has already chastised me, I will be careful. I have been getting a lot of mail-----

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