Seanad debates

Wednesday, 23 June 2004

Transfer of Execution of Sentences Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages.

 

3:00 pm

Photo of Michael McDowellMichael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I fully accept that every Bill should at some stage state its purpose, but there has been a long tradition that the Long Title of a Bill is the place in which to set that out. The particular example cited by the Senator may be one where it would be desirable to have a more ample statement of the purpose of the Bill in the Long Title or to have a separate purposes section somewhere in the Bill. However, in this Bill the draftsman has stuck to the traditional mode of setting out the purpose of the Bill in considerable detail in the Long Title. In these circumstances it is not desirable to repeat that.

The real question, the policy issue which arises from Senator Terry's observations, which I fully respect, is whether we should have Long Titles at all. If we are to go down that road, why not have a Short Title and a purposes section in every Bill? That is a decision which I am not going to make on the hoof today, as I would have to think long and hard about it. I would want to consult the Attorney General and the Parliamentary Counsel as to whether it was desirable in future to simply have Short Titles and purpose sections in every Bill for the guidance of the reader and the courts. That is too serious a decision for me to express a view on today and I do not want to cause alarm and despondency in the Parliamentary Counsel's office by even hinting at sympathy with the Senator's suggestion. It occurs to me that the practical situation is that if we are going to have Long Titles then they should have some purpose. If we are to have purpose sections, why do we have Long Titles? Why not just have Short Titles? That is a decision for another day but I will discuss it with the Attorney General at some stage and I will raise the issue of whether it would be easier from now on to have a Short Title and purposes section and to abandon the principle of Long Titles.

The courts, as Senators know, have used Long Titles as an interpretative aid. I do not know if this is simply a matter of switching from one system to another, like turning off an electric light at the switch. I do not know if it would be as easy as that but it is an issue which might be considered. I cannot go much further than that.

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