Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I concur with what Senator Hanafin said. The Minister is missing the point in regard to the concerns raised by Members on this side of the House about the terminology used, regardless of whether it is included in existing legislation. The terminology used is too vague and open to interpretation whether by the commission or anybody else. We need clear legislation. For the purposes of clarity, we need definitions. We need definitions of "an installation" and "geographic conditions" for the reasons outlined by Senator Hanafin. These terms are too broad, which leaves the door wide open for changes to be made, irrespective of whether it is intentional. The Minister's advice is that the regulation is already in place and that its provisions will not change, but my concern is that it is open to interpretation. The definitions are not clear, which leaves the door wide open for a cherry-picking of services. This will result in a diminution of rural services. That is our concern. It is the concern of a large section of the population who could find, following the introduction of this legislation, that their existing service which is working well and efficient and one of the services provided at lowest cost in Europe will come under threat. I, for one, am not happy with the wording, as drafted.