I am honoured to have the opportunity of seconding the motion, "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." This long overdue legislation seeks to establish a statutory regime for the regulation of the electrical contracting sector with the overall purpose of improving public safety. It aims to build on the existing regulatory regime that has been in operation since 1996 and address serious shortcomings in the current system identified in the report of the review group on public safety published in July 2000. The issue of better regulation in the electrical contracting sector has been of concern for some time to all organisations associated with electrical safety. The major impetus for change in this area came from the review group on public safety which stressed the urgent need to tackle certain inadequacies in the regulation of electrical contractors. The need for reform has also been acknowledged by all bodies associated with electricity such as the Register of Electrical Contractors in Ireland, RECI, the Electrical Contractors Safety and Standards Association, the Electro-Technical Council of Ireland, the ESB, the Health and Safety Authority and related Departments. The amount of support for change is a glaring indication of the urgency of the Bill.