Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This was an Opposition amendment carried in the Dáil. There was a small deviation from the standard commencement provisions and on the Second Stage debate here, most of the Members of this House expressed their hope that the legislation we are talking about today would be put on the Statute Book as soon as possible, and I want that too. I had no objection to accepting the amendment but there is a slight change needed in drafting to make it different or better – I do not know what the proper word is.

Senator Nash knows a Bill does not become an Act until a President signs it and the issue I had with the amendment in the Dáil was that it did not acknowledge the President's role. This amendment is being brought in to acknowledge the President's role, and subsection (3) states it "shall come into operation no later than 6 months after the date of its passing". That acknowledges that there is more than the Seanad and Dáil involved in the passing of legislation and that the President has a role. We must respect it instead of trying to write him out of the legislation. The principle of the amendment passed in the Dáil states that we will pass it in six months. It will happen more quickly but I do not want to be disrespectful to the President who has a role in the passing of legislation.