Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have listened to the Minister's remarks and propose a solution. The simple solution is for the Minister to return and get the approval of the House for the statutory instrument. It should be written into the legislation that it requires the approval of the House. I acknowledge the Minister's officials will advise him against so doing, as they do in every single Department. However, there is precedent for so doing and it has been done in the Minister's own Department a number of times. I recall the late Minister, Seamus Brennan, sitting in that very seat and accepting an amendment I had tabled on that basis, namely, that it would require the statutory instrument to come back before the House and receive its formal approval. Normally, such approval actually takes place in a committee discussion and it merely is approved formally here in the House. However, doing this allows for the detail of the Minister's statutory instrument to be discussed. It addresses the genuine concerns Deputy McNamara has raised in this regard and facilitates the Minister in having the flexibility he requires to provide the requisite detail in the statutory instrument with regard to the accessibility aspect.

I accept doing this can be difficult to construct in primary legislation but this would be a halfway house that meets the concerns expressed by Deputy McNamara, as well as those of the Minister. However, it would take a decision by the Minister to acknowledge this is a valid point and to accept the proposal to allow the statutory instrument to come back before the House to get its formal approval. Moreover, future alterations also would need to come before the House. The Minister need only include a simple amendment in this legislation to allow this happen.

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