Brendan Daly (Fianna Fail)

Similar provisions in relation to Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas and Members of the European Parliament were included in a series of Bills in recent years. A reference to members of local authorities in an earlier Bill was deleted following discussion. I appeal to the Minister of State to consider the possibility of removing subsection (1)(d), which specifically refers to members of local authorities, before the Bill proceeds to Report Stage.

I do not believe we can argue about the reference to Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas or Members of the European Parliament. The inclusion of such references is a fairly well established procedure in a series of Bills dating back to the 1980s and I do not believe we will succeed on excluding that reference. The provision in subsection (1)(d) in relation to members of local authorities is a new provision in legislation and a similar provision was removed from a Bill a few years ago. I urgently appeal to the Minister of State to examine the possibility of removing that subsection before we proceed to Report Stage.