Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Senator's proposal for a transitional provision to address concerns that the amendments could give rise to unwelcome effects on the Sex Offenders Act 2001, which is the legislation that provides, among other things, for the sex offenders register. It is essential that the legislation not be adversely impacted by any changes that we might wish to introduce.

While I am advised that this provision will require further consideration during drafting in order to ensure that it has the intended effect, I do not oppose it. However, I understand that it will be necessary to consider whether a range of further transitional provisions will be required to preserve the legal effect of all of the legislation that will be affected by the amendments introduced by this Private Members' Bill. This is potentially quite a substantial piece of work in itself but those are essentially drafting concerns as opposed to significant constitutional or legal issues and can be addressed in due course.