Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I take the point the Minister is trying to make, which is that while the courts are dealing with the proceedings of a case, legislation cannot be changed to affect the outcome of the case. It is a genuine point and I would certainly support it, but I wonder whether the Minister might consider that what he has put forward is incredibly broad. I did not realise this is what it meant. It is with regard to the operation of the section conflicting with a constitutional right. How it is written is very broad. It is fair enough to say the legislation will not in any way impact on cases currently subject to the judicial process, as this has been a standard aspect of Irish law all the way back to the Sinn Féin funds case. The Legislature cannot introduce legislation to affect court cases which have already started. However, this is not the what the amendment states. Perhaps the Minister will consider being more specific on Report Stage, because a section on interfering in any way with any constitutional rights in an unspecified manner would be extraordinarily broad. It could fall foul of the rules on vagueness as it is not clear what is intended by the wording.