Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State said, we have had meaningful discussions about this. I do not want to delay the Bill - it would not be appropriate as a lot of work has been done - but the natural follow-on is for it to go to Dáil Éireann. This Bill was initiated in Seanad Éireann which is more unusual. Given there is a body of work to be done, may I respectfully suggest to the Minister of State that she should not be in too much of a rush to bring the Bill to Dáil Éireann given the number of outstanding issues and the confirmation that the Law Reform Commission will re-examine aspects of it? That will take some time. I want to acknowledge that. It is a very practical and helpful gesture on the part of the Minister of State and her Department.

I note the suggestion that the order will be considered in the next iteration of the Statute Law Revision Bill. I understand the preparation for that Bill will happen in the autumn, so the wheels will start moving. I understand, although I am open to correction, that this matter will be looked at again as part of that and that if a change is necessary, it will come back to us at some point. We do not want to delay the legislation. The Minister of State made a valid point in that regard and I am happy to support the Bill. She mentioned legal certainty. That is what we all seek. We do not have full legal certainty, or there is some doubt over it. That, again, is a strong argument for this matter to be looked into.

The Minister of State referred to one of the two public consultations. I note there may not have been as much engagement as there could or should have been but this is a very specialist area. When people talk about something that goes back as far as this they do not necessarily see its relevance.

If I picked it up correctly, the Minister of State indicated that the herald’s office or the National Library of Ireland made the case that it relies on this order. Nowhere have we seen that case set out in writing. The Minister of State has taken that advice from her officials and I accept that she needs to do that.

A body of work remains to be done. The Law Reform Commission has given the Minister of State a commitment that it will look at this, which is really important, and it will be dealt with in the next Statute Law Revision Bill in the autumn. Based on that understanding and the good engagement with the Minister of State and her Department, I am happy to withdraw the two amendments.