David Norris (Independent)

While the Minister outlines a cogent position, I would like to comment on a couple of matters. The first relates to the situation explored by my colleague, Senator Tuffy, namely, inviting the Minister to advise the House on whether this is novel legislation. While it is very informative and helpful in an historical sense, it does not mean the House must accept uncritically these provisions; very often they are just shoved in as a matter of form because they have always been there. When highlighting issues in this House, I recall on a number of occasions over the past 20 years being told that it has always been the case, that as something is almost a regulation, we will shove it in as a matter of form. We managed to indicate situations where this was not appropriate. It is always useful to know if a Bill is novel legislation, if provisions work successfully or have caused problems, but this is not a blanket answer. I am pleased the Minister did not offer a blanket answer or state that just because it is in other legislation, it must be immune from critical scrutiny in Seanad Éireann.