Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As ever, I accept how reasonable the Minister of State is about these things. I accept what he says. I do not dispute that it probably conforms with existing drafting norms. Perhaps this is part of the problem. I also recognise the Minister of State is quite right in saying this is part of a bigger problem in legislation. It is something that will be required to be addressed to a significant extent at a high level in the draftsman's office.

Notwithstanding this, we have a section that is illegible, and somebody who has been at this for a very long time has to dissect it to understand what it means. I am grateful to the Minister of State because I think I have understood what the subsection means in terms of how I have restructured it but I do not accept that we cannot restructure this. I do not accept that by restructuring it we in any way endanger its meaning. In fact, I think the opposite is the case.

When we have ambiguity, whether it conforms to legislative drafting norms or not, and when we have this level of confusion about what a subsection means, it is a bad thing by any level. I cast no aspersions on the Minister of State or the officials but I regret the Executive and Department have decided they would rather stick to the norm, which I say does not work, than to look at incorporating something that is much more legible and much more functional. I accept what the Minister of State has said. I do not think it will endanger the operation of the Bill and I will not press the amendment on this basis.