Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take amendments Nos. 1, 2 and 11 to 13, inclusive, together. These five amendments are related and affect sections 1 and 26, as well as the Long Title of the Bill. They all reflect the fact that the Bill will not be enacted on 1 January 2017, as originally intended at the time of its publication.Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 are to section 1. Amendment No. 2 deletes subsection 4 which provides that Part 6 of the Bill will continue into operation on 1 January 2017. Amendment No. 1 is consequential on amendment No. 2. It is intended that the entire Act will now come into operation on a day or days to be decided by the Minister. Amendment No. 11 to section 26 has the effect of replacing the date of 1 January 2017 with a reference to the commencement of Part 6. The amended provision will ensure that patent applications on hand, when Part 6 commences, will continue to be processed under the Patents Act enforced at the time the application was made. It would not be appropriate to change the patent assessment procedure midstream. Amendments Nos. 12 and 13 are to the Long Title of the Bill. Both reflect the later commencement date for Part 6.