James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I fully understand the exigencies of his duties in the Lower House and how that can interfere with timekeeping. I echo Senator Mac Lochlainn's comments with regard to the Oireachtas Library and Research Service. The staff there are invaluable in what they bring to Bills and in helping Members understand the purpose of proposed legislation.

As the Senator rightly points out, this is not perhaps the most exciting piece of legislation but I nevertheless welcome the chance to address it because it serves the purpose of reminding ordinary people of just how important these mundane items are to daily life. It is important that people know that they can trust the accuracy of the meter when they are filling their car with petrol or diesel; that the household meter is accurate in calculating their gas bill; and the taxi driver can be held to account if his meter is not running at the appropriate rate. It is, then, a very important piece of legislation.

We obviously want to be in line with Europe on this. This will not change anything that we have been doing because, as the Minister of State has pointed out, we have a very good record in this area. Part of me, however, thinks it a pity that we do not have metrology applying to hotel rates for big events in Dublin but we will not get into that. We had representatives from the hotel industry appear before the joint committee recently and this is an issue that they will have to address.

This Bill is also very important in terms of our reputation at European and international level, and also when we consider how many people now buy goods online. It will further benefit those selling goods online out of Ireland. We have a great success story in the company eShopWorld in Swords, which started with just six people and a turnover of €40,000 or €50,000 in its first year, but now boasts an annual turnover of €200 million and hopes to employ over 200 people. The success of such enterprises is also contingent on having a reliable metrology system in place.

I commend the Minister of State and the Bill and I look forward to its swift passage.