Joe O'Toole (Independent)

Senator Twomey has proposed a reasonable amendment but it will be impossible to implement because the Dáil, Seanad and commission have separate codes of conduct. If somebody breaches a provision which is common to the three codes, who will respond? This is a mess. The amendment is well advised in not prescribing punitive action because that would be constitutionally prohibited. However, one would imagine that it should not be difficult to bring people's attention to, for example, the abuse of envelopes, which is addressed by the codes of practice of the commission and both committees. This problem will have to be addressed at some point and, while I understand why the Minister of State cannot accept the amendment, it makes a reasonable proposal on what should be done in the event of a breach.