Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 5, to delete lines 19 to 22 and substitute the following: “(4) This Act, other than section 6 and Part 3, shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes and different provisions.

(5) Prior to the commencement of section 6, the Minister shall—

(a) make a proposal for the establishment of an open, competitive and transparent system to which any member of the public can apply, and where such considerations shall inform the system which is to be established under section 106(2) of the Act of 2000 (inserted by section 6), and

(b) lay such proposal before both Houses of the Oireachtas, and facilitate a debate in each such House on such a proposal, and section 6 shall not be commenced until the proposal as drafted, or as amended, is approved by each such House.”.

In his concluding remarks on Second Stage, the Minister spoke about introducing a transparent, objective and fair process. At the heart of our concerns is that the Bill is too wide-reaching and too open. It gives far too much discretion to the Minister and not just this Minister but any subsequent Minister which is of great concern. We should never give those sorts of powers to any Minister. It is not particular to this Minister.

The amendment seeks that prior to commencement the section, the Minister's proposal would be subject to Oireachtas scrutiny and would need to be approved by each House of the Oireachtas. If the Minister is willing to accept this very sensible amendment, it will allay many of the issues and concerns we raised on Second Stage. If the Minister is as committed as he says he is to a transparent, open and objective process with proper Oireachtas oversight and scrutiny, there is no reason for him not to accept our amendment. I look forward to his comments and I hope he will accept it.

See this speech in context