Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

To be clear, the purpose of this section of the Bill is to allow authorised officers to act quickly to prevent the spread of disease. We want to empower authorised officers to make a decision to issue a permit if appropriate without having to seek sanction from the Minister's office. I understand the Senator's request as being a belt and braces approach to ensure that permits are issued in line with Government policy or regulations but this should be the case anyway because authorised officers will be acting under a code of conduct. I do not wish to reduce the flexibility or timeliness of issuing a permit or a notice in response to a certain situation. I cannot accept the amendment.