Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief because the ground has been well covered. I followed the debate on Second Stage remotely and from my recollection, there was a further example given of a member of school board of management being put through the hoops on this. As has been said a number of times, a member of the national executive of the Labour Party - and, no doubt, of the Green Party even though we do not take corporate donations - will be fair game for this unnecessary nonsense.

The credit institutions are sending out what have been described as stupid letters. I would love to know the expenses incurred by consumers for these. Our interest rates are among the highest in the EU. If this so-called nonsense on stilts and steroids is causing a lot of unnecessary letter-writing, I would be interested to know if there are any indirect, negative or unintended consequences on banking charges for consumers.

I am also very concerned about the potential for what have been described as impositions on the daughters-in-law of democratically elected representatives. This is happening at a time when, if we do not move in respect of county councillors, I predict we will soon see the day where only four people will be interested in seeking election in local electoral areas with five seats. This is because we are putting up so many obstacles and not making these roles attractive. The proof is in the pudding as we are losing county councillors who just cannot financially stay around.

That is not the only issue. In Ireland there is a culture of pernickety form-filling and this is a great manifestation of it. Many years ago, I tuned into a contribution by the then Senator, Brian Hayes, who stated he was coming down with forms, including SIPO forms. This year, a deadline has just passed by which I was required to account for two years as a county councillor. I had to get peace commissioners to sign the form. A number of signatures were needed to become a general election candidate and, as a Senator, I had more forms to fill in last week. We are coming down with form-filling culture.

This matter has been teed up very nicely today by the use of the word "reasonable". It is in the spirit of being reasonable. No one wants to throw out the proverbial baby with the bathwater. By all means, go after those who must be gone after with full vigour and all available resources. The Minister of State has not yet indicated if he will accept the amendment. If not, can he provide any succour or assurance that enough is enough and this must stop because it is a waste of resources? The Government should by all means direct more resources to where they are needed but it should not waste resources or direct them in ways that are not fruitful and cannot be justified. As countless Members have said today and on Second Stage, it is a nonsense and these letters are stupid.