Ivana Bacik (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I join in thanking the Minister of State for moving these amendments, which I fully support on behalf of Labour. It is very welcome to see common sense prevail, as Senator McDowell said. It is a good day for the Seanad as regards reforms being made here as a result of Private Members' and Opposition amendments being tabled. Clearly, however, there has been a problem with the overreach, as I said the other day, of these provisions. I should hasten to say, in the spirit of levity, that Deputy Howlin first raised the issue of a member of Labour's national executive being concerned to discover that they too were covered by the PEP definition, so it is not that Labour has any monopoly on having persons on its executive councils or on national bodies-----