Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

This is why I suggest the overall legislation has been a bit rushed in the past week. If we had taken an extra week or two, we would have been able to be more thorough and remove all doubt, and not have to insert these measures stating, "If in doubt, even if the Minister was wrong, if he thought he was doing the right thing, it is his right".

This would not wash anywhere. In a way, it is one law for the Minister and one law for everyone else in the country. Nobody else could ever offer a defence like that in court. Laws we pass in the Oireachtas should be even-handed, should be the same for every citizen and should not give powers to a Minister that one would never dream of giving to another citizen, even if the mistake was genuine. If the Minister or I make a mistake in front of a judge, we pay the penalty. We could not say "I genuinely believed I was doing right at the time".

With regard to the position of the Taoiseach, I can understand that events were happening quickly during the war period and legislation had be passed. However, if there is a legal dispute, it is the courts which adjudicate on it. If somebody challenges the signature of a Minister or a Department for taking a particular action and it ends up in court, it is a matter for the Judiciary to decide whether a Minister had the legal authority to act. In a way, the Taoiseach is now taking the adjudication role that would normally be the function of the Judiciary. It is an example of how rushed the legislation is. It is extraordinary that a "dispute shall be determined by the Taoiseach" and that we are essentially writing into the Bill a dispute resolution mechanism.

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