Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

On my amendment, if more engagement is better, I think the Minister needs to consider changing "or" to "and", or instead, he could add in "or both". This is not about the intent of anybody. I know that people are passionate about these issues and want to meet, but the law of unintended effects could be present here. I am concerned that there is an inadvertent mistake in the language in the Bill. There will be opportunities to address the issue in the Dáil, so I urge the Minister of State to address it, because I am sure he does not want to constrain and tie the hands of these well-intentioned local authorities that we have heard about. They should have the option, should they so wish, to hold both forms of meeting. I would prefer that they were required to do both, but we should at least ensure that they have the option to do both.

I accept the Minister of State's point on my amendment, that it is perhaps not an issue for legislation and perhaps should be dealt with in the guidelines. As Senator Seery Kearney rightly highlighted, as technology evolves, the issue could probably become more about technology. Therefore, I withdraw the amendment and will address the issue in respect of guidelines in the future.