Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate the advice from the Attorney General in that he is satisfied there is no conflict of interest or a breach of trust in the engagement on this. I will further clarify the consultation process of the Bill if it would help Senators. I am conscious of time and that we will not get through discussing the issues or the amendments. Senators know that I have moved significantly on putting forward Government amendments. I am eager to discuss them here because it will make for a better Bill and I would like the opportunity to do that.

Section 14 of the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993 requires the IAA "to advise, on its own initiative or at the request of the Minister, the Government, the Minister or another Minister of the Government or any other person in relation to any matter to which a function of the [IAA] relates". The authority, as I stated in the House on the previous occasion, has extensive and highly regarded technical experts. It operates as part of the executive framework, both with an obligation to decide on matters within its remit and on an independent basis. A different approach is appropriate where it is necessary to have expertise to assess the conduct of the functions by the IAA or in relation to the possible assignment to it of new functions. The Department has availed of such expertise on a number of occasions over recent years. The Bill was developed by the Department of Transport with expert input from the IAA and the Commission for Aviation Regulation, CAR. Additional expertise was contracted to advise on provisions in respect of search and rescue. The Bill was drafted by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel.

I wish to highlight the level of engagement and consultation that took place with stakeholders in the development of the Bill. Prior to its publication, the Department engaged with the IAA, the Commission for Aviation Regulation, CAR, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, DAA, Cork Airport, Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Airports Council International, Chambers Ireland, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, Fórsa, the Irish Air Line Pilots Association, IALPA, An Taisce, and Dublin City University. In addition, the Bill was subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by the Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport in July 2019. Since the publication of the Bill, I have met with IALPA four times and with Senators on three occasions, and a working group was established to progress the development of the Bill chaired by the Department and involving the Department, the IAA and CAR. On the airport charges regulation aspect of the Bill, the Department engaged with ICTU and DAA and held a workshop on the policy aspects involving DAA, Aer Lingus, Ryanair, and CAR. Prior to the Bill's publication, the Department engaged with a number of parties on the text of the Bill, including Fórsa and IALPA, in addition to corresponding with other organisations, as previously listed, on airport charges.

Other examples of engagement with State agencies in the development of legislation,would be helpful for Senators to hear. In drafting the Central Bank (individual accountability framework) Bill 2021, the Department engaged extensively with the Central Bank to inform the policy positions adopted to address the principles as approved by the Government. Further extensive engagement was undertaken with the Office of the Attorney General to achieve the objective of ensuring that the Central Bank has the powers it needs to regulate effectively while safeguarding the constitutional rights of all those concerned.

Speaking on the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform (Amendment) Bill in the Seanad on 9 November 2021, the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Deputy James Browne, said:

The Bill sets out a number of new rules for the law on acquiring and validating prescriptive easements and profits à prendre. This follows extensive engagement with stakeholders, including the Law Society, the Bar Council, the Property Registration Authority and the Law Reform Commission.

During the debate in the Dáil on the Private Security Services (Amendment) Act on 6 May, the Minister of State said:

... the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Charlie Flanagan, made a commitment to the Dáil in September 2018 that the law governing the area of persons involved in the execution of court orders that are not licensable by the Private Security Authority would be examined. The Minister established an interdepartmental working group chaired by the Department of Justice, comprising officials from the Courts Service, An Garda Síochána, the County Registrars Association, Revenue Commissioners, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Private Security Authority itself.

It is common practice to consult groups directly affected by legislation. The real answer to Senators' questions today is in the response from the Attorney General around the drafting of the Bill. I ask if we could move forward to discuss the amendments and work through the issues Senators have.