Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 29:

In page 9, line 3, after "Act" to insert "in electronic or printed form".

This section states,"An Act is a public document and shall be judicially noticed". In this amendment we suggest that judicial notice be taken of Acts in electronic as well as printed format, which is not the case now. The current situation is a paper trail. If the court notices an Act it is as a printed document. It seems bizarre that one cannot refer to an Act on a screen or in an electronically usable format.

Some of the arguments surrounding this issue relate to the inaccuracies in some CD-ROMs. Nevertheless, the reference should be extended. The Oireachtas makes this decision. This matter should not be left to the Judiciary which should follow what we ask it to do in this case, namely, notice a public document in printed and electronic format.