Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I am not sure it is all that subtle but I will take the Senator's word for it. He did, after all, read this Bill at midnight last night when the rest of us were curled up in bed with our Horlicks or something else more attractive. If the Senator reads the section again, the word "require" is more appropriate. As it does not require disclosure, it provides that the commission may do so if it feels fair procedures or a better investigation would be served by providing the information.

I examined this issue because I was fascinated by the use of the words "require" and "compel" and, on balance, "require" is the better word. It is a striking feature of this Bill that it is drafted in very clear English, which is a model other Departments might emulate for once. The word "require" is the appropriate one. Subsection (1) does not require the disclosure which means it does not prevent it either.