Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber. The Labour Party very much supports the Bill and its intent. We have been awaiting it for quite some time. Its importance is evident when one considers how badly served groups of consumers in this country were for several decades, particularly in the context of insurance and banking.

The issue of qualified entities came up in pre-legislative scrutiny. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment submitted a recommendation in respect of defining qualified entities in the legislation. I know there is a commitment to secondary legislation but the rationale for separating out that process is not clear. It is regrettable that the opportunity to set out that qualified entity has not been taken, particularly given the importance of ensuring the right to take this action. That is narrowly defined in the Bill, and to a certain extent the Labour Party agrees with that in the context of precluding vexatious claims, but if there is confusion regarding who can take action, as well as the administrative burden of detailing who is or is not a qualified entity, that will mean the legislation is weaker than it needs to be.

Probably the most profound point to be made in respect of the Bill relates to the fact that the directive was transposed in 2020, three years ago. There is nothing new about directives being late in their transposition. The Minister of State made the point that the Government is under pressure to transpose it but we need to ask why it is being rushed through while a report is being prepared by the Law Reform Commission. I very much welcome his indication that the report is due in the coming weeks. I did not catch all of his contribution. There may be a proposal to delay Committee Stage until after the report is furnished.I think it would be madness now to proceed to the next Stage of this Bill in the absence of the report from the Law Reform Commission. Ultimately, we want this legislation to work, but what is the point in acknowledging that not-for-profit organisations or other organisations representing groups of consumers should have a right to take legal action, when they do not have the mechanism to be able to raise funding? There is a very significant gap in the Bill. In that context, I ask that we would pause the passage of the legislation through this House until we have sight of the Law Reform Commission's report, to allow then for amendments on the part of the Minister but also on our part to ensure we get legislation that is fit for purpose.