Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My comments again come back to drafting norms. A practice has grown over time where the Short Title, commencement and those other operational aspects of the Bill have gone into the last section. I know that particularly in the Department of Justice it is the preferred way to do it. I must say I disagree. I say this because there is a minute left at the end of the session. It is part of the simple chronology of reading legislation that what people want to know at the start of reading a Bill are the definitions, which remain at the start of Bills, but also what the Bill will be called, when it will come into effect and all those other details that are contained in the final section.I simply say that as a commentary on the legislative drafting process in general. Those details should be at the start of the Bill rather than at the end. I understand that this is another drafting norm.