Fiona O'Malley (Progressive Democrats)

There is not much Senator Twomey has said with which I could disagree. It does not do any good in a republic to have people treated differently.

What is the purpose, under a Bill entitled Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions, of this section? One can only assume the miscellanous provisions element allows anything to be introduced in the Bill but surely in legislation, items should be related to one another? Does the inclusion of miscellaneous provisions in the title of a Bill allow for any provision to be introduced on the whim of the Minister?

Deputy Micheal Woods, on whose behalf this provision is included in the Bill, described it as the Minister clearing up an anomaly. I suggest that is not the case. This provision proposes to create an anomaly. In the past 18 months I have written to the Minister for Finance on several occasions on behalf of constituents who could not obtain their pension entitlements because they had failed to claim them before a specific deadline. The Minister indicated, quite correctly, that he could not possibly change the regulations because that would open up a can of worms. If that response is good enough — and I believe it is a good and prudent response — for ordinary pensioners, why is it not good enough for Deputy Woods? All pensioners should be treated the same before the law. This is not appropriate in a republic because we are treating one individual differently from everyone else.

We are creating an anomaly by introducing this provision in law, which is not wise. It is not appropriate to damage law by creating an anomalous situation.