Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State and, in particular, his officials for the work they put into the Bill. The legislation that came to the Seanad was better than the Bill initially published. That is as a result of a fair degree of cross-party consensus. As the Minister of State rightly said, amendments from my party and the Labour Party were accepted in the other House which made our work easier in this House. As the Minister of State is aware, one specific amendment concerning the tendering of works to be done by lawyers and barristers in the future was accepted. That will enhance the Bill.

When matters of public concern come to our attention, we all have a responsibility to ensure that a speedy, cost effective and fair procedure is put in place to ensure that those allegations are considered and a resolution reached as soon as possible. The commissions that ultimately will be established under this legislation have the potential to ensure that a great deal of good work is done and to reintroduce fairness for all parties. Too often the immediate knee-jerk response of politicians to date has been to call for a tribunal of inquiry to be established on foot of every allegation. That is simply not tenable, particularly when one considers that currently in excess of €120 million worth of taxpayers' money is funding the tribunals. Four acute hospitals in Dublin could be built for that amount of money.

We have a responsibility to reconstruct an investigative model that is fair, transparent, cost efficient and accountable. This Bill is a better one because of the amendments made to it during its passage through the Oireachtas. It is an important Bill for the future, possibly one of the most important Bills to come before the House this session.