Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the expertise of committee members and of Senator Seery Kearney in this area. I do not have much more to add to what Senators Ruane and Moynihan have said already except to say that Sinn Féin supports their amendments. We oppose this section outright and may do so at the end of this discussion if those amendments are not accepted.

I want to acknowledge that the Minister has moved significantly on this through the various Stages in the Dáil, across the Bill, but section 17 is highly contested. The mandatory information session, as Senator Ruane points out, is highly contentious among stakeholders. We oppose this section outright and entirely and would ask the Minister to revisit the issue with the Attorney General to see if there is a way that the proposed phone call or Zoom call can be removed and replaced with a letter or registered letter.