Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief because this is not the occasion to be otherwise. I am on record, over the past number of years, as being critical of the Minister of State and the Department as to the whereabouts of the Bill. I thought it could and should have been here sooner but it would be remiss of me today not to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Minister of State to get it this far. It is part of my role, in opposition, to be critical and put the pressure on, but I know the Minister of State has put a lot of work in and, quite possibly, the Bill would not even be where it is today were it not for his dedication.

As was said by Senator Coffey, this Bill will play a very important role in the operation of the industry in all sectors. Fianna Fáil had some amendments that were not successful but we reserve the right to revisit those in the Lower House. We will see what happens. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the Minister of State's work on the Bill, as someone who had been critical in the past.