Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I will comment on the contributions of Senator O'Toole and the Minister of State. I was fully behind the idea raised by Senator O'Toole and I have argued since entering the House that we should in passing legislation allow it to take effect immediately. Three students from Trinity College came to me a few weeks ago and told me they were doing a project on the Construction Contracts Bill. They raised concerns and gave a very interesting example. If a developer makes a contract with a major builder on 10 August and the Bill comes into being on 1 September, the Bill would not apply to the major contract but it would be relevant to the subcontractors. That would suggest that the major contractor could be relieved of any responsibility but those down the line would be affected.

The solution is to have a date far enough ahead - perhaps a couple of months is enough - so that when a developer goes to a major contractor he or she should have the same contract as the subcontractors. The developer would not have to sign the contract unless he or she was happy. There should be a little notice before the measures are introduced and I imagine a couple of months would be plenty of time. The measures should not come into effect on the day we pass the legislation.

I am delighted to hear the Minister of State's comments and I believe he will pursue this in the other House. I also believe the Government will pursue it because it is good legislation if we can get it right. It is not right yet and there are a number of areas which can be improved. Today's debate has shown us some of those areas and the Bill can and will be improved. There is enough commitment in the new Government to the new legislation and it will want good news to introduce in the first 100 days, I hope. This could be shown as something which has already gone through the Seanad and is ready for implementation if it goes through the Dáil very quickly. I hope that will happen, although the implementation should take a couple of months, which would be sufficient notice for everybody to be covered, including those at the top, rather than just those underneath. It is good legislation that should be passed.