Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I thank the Minister for his kind words. I welcome the passing of the Bill which the Labour Party supports and on which we engaged with the Minister. Apart from the Government, the Labour Party was the only group to table amendments. We did so in a spirit of constructive engagement. As the Minister indicated, the debate on Committee Stage of the Bill in the Seanad was very good. We have teased out very well some of the issues relating to it. Although I am disappointed the insolvency practitioner point was not ultimately accepted, I thank the Minister. I thank him also for his comments on the usefulness of the Seanad and the importance of an Upper House in terms of providing extra scrutiny. It is important. In my short time here I have certainly seen some very good debates on Bills, especially on Committee Stage. Really interesting and complex points have been teased out. I thank the Minister and his officials very much for their work on the legislation.