Brendan Ryan (Labour)

The Minister of State rightly states the amendment would empower the regulator to limit numbers if he or she so wished. Surely the Government and the State can trust the regulator to live up to his or her obligations under the legislation under which the office was established to decide whether such power should be used. The argument we heard against this was based on a return to the bad old days. That is not what we are discussing. This would give a power to the regulator which he or she may never wish to use.