Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

In a sense, we have delegated legislation to the Minister and what Senator Bacik is saying is that we in this House are supposed to set out the principles upon which the Minister draws up regulations. I do not find the principles in the Bill. It is all procedural and there is nothing substantive in it. What is suggested in the amendment is that we should define the principles and the standards and the Minister can then act accordingly. Section 11(5) states: "Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the powers under the Prison Rules of a holding area officer who is a prison officer". That is all very well, but there is no setting of standards relating to the regulations which the Minister can draw up under section 12. It is incumbent on us to set those standards. The amendment is simple enough and could be accommodated by the Minister of State, especially since we have all been so constructive in this debate.