Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to Senator Zappone and her colleagues for tabling this amendment, which seeks an extension to the Long Title of the Bill. The new elements included in the amendment correspond closely to what is acknowledged as the fundamental objectives which I have set out for this legislation, namely, the promotion of openness, accountability and transparency and the prevention of corruption. These themes also strongly reflect my motivation in bringing forth this legislation. Explicitly referencing transparency and accountability in the Long Title may, I am advised, have the unintended affect of limiting the scope of the legislation. A broad range of wrongdoings are encompassed by the Bill. Public disclosure of certain wrongdoings would contribute to increased transparency and accountability. However, the primary purpose of the Bill is to promote disclosure for the purposes of having any wrongdoing investigated. The stepped disclosure regime put in place through this Bill facilitates external disclosure or disclosure to a regulator or Minister over and above the external disclosures into the public domain. It is not accurate to imply in the Long Title that the Bill is mainly aimed at prevention of corruption. That is just one of its aims, as there are many other forms of wrongdoing covered by the legislation.

I will try to put it in simpler terms. The Long Title of the Bill is understood in the legal profession and by the courts as setting the objectives of the Bill. There is only an amendment to the Long Title if there is an additionality proposed that is not an essential part of the Bill. As such, the Long Title has to be expanded to encompass that. Laudatory and supportive as I am of the proposition and concept, I am advised that the impact of what is proposed would be potentially a limiter on the full scope of the Bill. We do not want to do that.