Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 11:

In page 11, line 34, to delete "may" and substitute "should".

This is quite a simple amendment. The section provides that the Minister may by notice in writing require an owner of a forest to submit a forest management plan. It just changes the word from "may" to "should" because we feel that "may" leaves things quite open-ended for a Minister. I know that when the former Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government was here to discuss septic tanks, we had a very long discussion about "may" and "should", and I do not want to go down that route again. Basically, it is a fact that if the word "should" is used, a Minister has to be proactive and use his or her power, whereas if the word "may" is used, it is a bit more discretionary and leaves things open. That is why we were suggesting this change. Obviously, amendments Nos. 11 and 12 have the same logic and rationale.