Seanad debates

Wednesday, 20 November 2002

Digital Hub Development Agency Bill, 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed).

 

I utterly and completely oppose the section. It is totally against the spirit of the age to put such a legislative gag on anyone. Has the Minister any idea how appalling this section appears? It smacks more of Russia under Stalin than the 21st century Ireland we are asking people to believe in. The inclusion of this subsection is a complete travesty from a Government which is always trumpeting its regard for openness, accessibility and transparency. The Minister may well say this has appeared somewhere else. It certainly appeared in a Bill last year and the feeling in this House was so strong that the Minister was happy to withdraw the proposal. Clauses such as this have been thrown out of proposed legislation in the past and I hope we do so again today. I urge the Minister to say in this instance that he did not realise the proposal was included, it slipped in without his noticing it and that he will remove it right away.

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