Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman and the Members who have been very interested in this legislation, Deputy Cowen, Deputy Stanley and Deputy Murphy in particular. I thank them for their contributions to the debate. I hope we will see even further improvements made in the other House and that we can come back to this House in January to resolve those outstanding issues. This Bill has been in gestation for a considerable number of years and I thank the Members for the constructive engagement we have had from all sides of the House, notwithstanding that we have a few more amendments to deal with arising from amendments to which I committed myself in the other House.

I thank my officials also for their patience, and the representative organisations of the local authorities who have engaged fully in these matters over the past year or so in terms of the various changes they proposed regarding these matters. I also thank the Parliamentary Counsel in the Custom House, who was also involved in the drafting of the 2001 Act. We brought him out of retirement to assist us on this matter.

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