Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 10 would have been identical to what the Government intends with the one exception - the use of the word "required". The standard in my amendment would be "all that is reasonable." We cannot impose an obligation on public bodies that is impossible to fulfil. I want to see it established in law that public bodies have a duty to provide free interpretation in the circumstances covered by the section. It makes no sense to put statutory bodies in breach of legislation when the reality is that there are not enough providers for the service. That is the real world. The amendment would not have been the right approach. We need to further discuss the matter. I hope we can again achieve some sort of agreement on this particular issue. To me, the use of the words "reasonable standard" on Report Stage is the sensible option.