Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am not accepting this amendment. It would curtail the Minister's power to make regulations necessary for the functioning of this regime. The primary reason for which we expect the Minister to make regulations is in respect of the adjudication regime to be established under Part 7. These regulations are procedural in nature but they are important in providing the nuts and bolts that will allow the adjudication regime to function on a day-to-day basis. My officials are currently engaging with ComReg on the development of these regulations, which I hope to be able to publish in the very near future. Unfortunately, we have been advised that the Bill cannot commence without those regulations and providing for the amendment as set out above would delay this process. As Senator Higgins is aware, we are currently facing infringement proceedings that could result in substantial fines being imposed on Ireland for failure to transpose the European electronic communications code. For this reason the enactment and commencement of this Bill must be progressed without any undue delay. We have required such a consultation process for the making of regulations relating to the security measures guidelines, which will have application for all operators, and given the broader impact of those guidelines it was felt that broader consultation would be appropriate and we have provided for that in the Bill.