Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the work that the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach has been doing on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposed protected disclosures (amendment) Bill because, as the Deputy is aware, we are obliged to transpose that EU directive by the end of this year. I look forward to receiving the committee's report. It was a comprehensive scrutiny process and I anticipate that we will be getting that report shortly. We are now at an advanced stage of the drafting of the Bill, in conjunction with the Attorney General, but I want the committee to be afforded the opportunity to table its ideas, proposals and the outcome of its scrutiny before I bring forward this proposed Bill. I am now in the final stages in respect of the drafting of the heads of the regulation of lobbying Bill and I anticipate that will come up over the course of tonight's discussion.

In the coming months, we can make a lot of progress, whether through the Deputy's Bill or the Government Bill, to introduce important reforms in this area.

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