Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste is right that the view of the Attorney General is there is a saver clause that allows discussion but there is an explicit prohibition that overrules it, as the Bill states they cannot engage in a matter of Government policy. If anybody looks at the Bill, they will see it is explicit that they cannot do it. The Tánaiste may state there are other undisclosed matters they can discuss but the explicit prohibition trumps this general catch-all in my view and in my experience. I am interested to hear the Tánaiste's view on this. For example, this has not been applied to the Tánaiste's discussions with the representative organisations on the working time directive. What if it were not the Tánaiste sitting there but a different Minister who would state they are not allowed to do something because the law states they cannot do so and would also state that they are not allowed to lobby on it. As the Tánaiste said in the beginning, we are legislating forever and for as long as we can see into the future. It is not for the Tánaiste's term because, as he said, we are all transient here in this place. A Minister with a different mindset may state the law does not allow them to do this, and that Minister would be right.

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