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

Amendment No. 1 is a technical amendment to remove a reference to subsection (7A) of section 5 of the principal Act. That subsection is to be repealed by section 3 of the Bill.

Amendments Nos. 2, 7 and 12 are a series of minor amendments to provide that the rules applying to employers as regards anonymous reports should be without prejudice to their obligations to give further feedback if requested to do so by the reporting person in accordance with section 6A(1)(f). The procedures of prescribed persons shall set out the type and content of any further feedback requested by the reporting person. The procedures of the protected disclosures commissioner shall set out the type and content of any further feedback requested by the reporting person. These are consequential amendments following the addition of provisions for further feedback inserted into the Bill during Committee Stage in this House.

Amendments Nos. 3 to 6, inclusive, 13 to 15, inclusive, 28 and 29 are a series of technical amendments to replace all provisions in the Bill containing the phrase "coming into operation" with the term "commencement". This is to ensure that the terminology used in the Bill is in line with the most up-to-date drafting conventions used by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. There is no change to the effect of any of these provisions. The Interpretation Act 2005 provides that "commencement", when used in respect of an enactment, means the time at which the enactment comes into operation.

Amendments Nos. 26, 27 and 32 are technical amendments to section 25 and 31 to tidy up the numbering of the sections. Section 25 adds a new paragraph, paragraph 3 in the current draft of the Bill, to the Schedule. I am informed by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel that the correct drafting convention that should have been used here is to number the inserted paragraph as 2A. This is what is provided for in this amendment. The amendment to section 31 tidies up the numbering of the principal Act.

Amendments Nos. 34 and 35 are technical amendments to delete unnecessary signpost references in the draft Bill. The purpose of the amendments is to delete the references to section 15 and section 3 in the Schedules, references which are neither correct in terms of where they appear nor necessary. They are intended as signposts only to the sections to which they relate, and nothing turns on them from a legal perspective.

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