Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 11, to delete lines 26 to 29 and substitute the following: " "Registration threshold" means 25 cubic metres or more in any 24 hours;".

Before I proceed with amendment No. 2, I thank the Minister of State and his officials for the explanatory memorandum that was circulated last week. It was further to the two queries we had in the previous session in the House, when we discussed aspects of the Bill and the interpretation of the Library and Research Service. I again thank the service for its excellent report. It is an excellent organisation. Like many Members in this House and the Oireachtas in general, I could not do without its help, support and assistance with the legislative process. I also acknowledge that subsequent to our previous meeting with the Minister of State, his officials teased out the matter in more detail and drilled down into some of the issues, which I found helpful and informative. I used some of that to further inform me of the rationale I will make for these eight amendments. I thank the officials who are present in that regard.

It is proposed in amendment No. 2 that the registration threshold be changed to 25 cu. m or more in any 24 hours. Like the first amendment, the current interpretation of "registration threshold" gives the Minister too much power and creates too much uncertainty for farming and small business.

The context of this is that the IFA considers that the proposed legislation is too uncertain and not specific, as it would allow a Minister to change the level of a licensing threshold without recourse to the Houses of the Oireachtas. The IFA argues that this creates too much uncertainty for farmers and small businesses. The legislation should be clear and specific and be based on the specific current proposed licensing and registration thresholds of 2,000 cu. m or more and 25 cu. m or more in any 24-hour period, respectively. That is the rationale for the amendment.