Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This amendment would, in certain circumstances, permit an individual member of the health and social care professions to require the council to seek an opinion from the Competition Authority on a draft by-law to be made by a registration board. It would delay the approval of that by-law until such an opinion is received. All by-laws made by the registration boards are subject to public consultation and approval by the council. Interested bodies are also consulted. The Bill requires registration boards to submit to the Competition Authority by-laws relating to codes of professional conduct and ethics. There is, however, nothing in the legislation to prevent a registration board or the council from agreeing to seek an opinion from the Competition Authority concerning any other by-law if it is felt that such an opinion is necessary.

I am also concerned that this amendment could delay indefinitely the making of an important by-law. Critically, there is no provision in the amendment that the council may proceed with the approval of the by-law if the Competition Authority does not give its opinion before a date to be specified. For these reasons, I am opposing this amendment.

The argument that Senator Crown has made in favour of this amendment is probably one of the reasons it should be opposed. What if, for instance, there was someone on the board who was particularly obstructive and who demanded that every by-law be submitted to the Competition Authority? We have seen that type of obstructive behaviour in the past. Clearly, it is open to anyone - not just a person on the board, but a member of the profession or a person who wishes to become a member - to refer any issue to the Competition Authority if he or she deems it to be anti-competitive. There is nothing in the legislation to stop someone from doing that; nor is there anything in the Bill that would stop the board itself from seeking the opinion of the Competition Authority. The difficulty with the amendment is that there is no specified time limit. Furthermore, it could be used as a mechanism to obstruct, which is why I oppose it.