David Norris (Independent)

Senator Averil Power's amendment seems to make a good deal of sense, as subsection (4) is unnecessarily rigid. It is good to be flexible. The example given was that of a person on holidays for a few days, who was ill or experiencing a family emergency and so on. It is possible that matters such as registering can be overlooked for a short period. Therefore, the provision appears to be rigid and as such, a certain degree of flexibility should be allowed in these matters. Perhaps the Minister might undertake to consider the issue and revert to us with a reason on Report Stage.