Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for these three amendments, which seek to introduce additional bodies into section 54(3). The intention appears to be to prohibit the penalisation of employees where complaints are made. It is noted that the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court have a role in the implementation of this Bill while the role of the Department of Social Protection and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners is not immediately clear. Such a change to this section may have considerable and unexpected knock-on effects to the other sections of this Bill. Due to the technical and interrelated nature of this Bill, I propose to examine the technical implications of such a change with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, OPC, and engage with the Deputy directly prior to the Seanad debate on the Bill to explore the intention in detail. I therefore ask the Deputy to withdraw the amendment pending a technical assessment.

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