Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House and wish him well with the Bill. I do not have any problems with the amendments as proposed by the Minister of State, particularly as regards traffic wardens.

On the question of clamping, while in some cases this has been farmed out by local authorities to private companies or individuals, there now seems to be a rowing back on this in some areas, so that the local authorities are themselves taking on the role of enforcement. I wonder why this is. Do they believe the original decision to farm out the work has turned out to be too severe in most cases and not enough leeway is being given? Perhaps it encouraged the companies concerned to take the view that every time a vehicle was clamped it meant that money was rolling into the coffers. I should like to know what is the current thinking as regards the rowing back by those local authorities who are choosing to enforce the regulations themselves. Other than that, I welcome the amendments made by the Minister of State.