Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join colleagues in proposing the deletion of this section. The previous speakers have made a very persuasive case by way of their well-researched contributions and cogent arguments. As a former Minister of State in the Minister's Department, my experience was that one could always expect tremendous contributions in this House from very experienced people. Moreover, those contributions were likely to be more detailed and comprehensive than those in the Dáil, perhaps because Deputies are tied up with a great deal of constituency work and other commitments and do not have the time to put in the amount of research Senators clearly have put into this debate. I am terribly impressed by colleagues' contributions today.

My suggestion is that the Minister might reconsider this issue before Report Stage. I would be surprised if Labour Party Members are in favour of it, particularly given that ICTU and other trade unions are opposed to it. Sometimes Bills pass through Cabinet without other Ministers having an opportunity to give any input. I suspect that not many of the Minister's Cabinet colleagues have read this very complex Bill. A great deal of work has gone into it, presumably over several years. When one sees a combined opposition from Members on all sides of the House to a particular provision, it gives reason for pause. Indeed, the Minister himself does not seem very convinced of the merits of the types of charges being allowed for in this section. The provision is being included on the basis that it may be necessary to assist with the cost of administration and so on. However, colleagues have clearly made the case that it would be detrimental to persons wishing to bring forward a complaint. The Minister does not need to go back to Cabinet on this. He can accept the arguments and delete the section. If the proposal is put to a vote, we will see how strong our commitment is to this particular issue.