Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 251: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the title of each statutory instrument which she made during 2006 and which was not published in the usual way pursuant to Section 3 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1947; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3297/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Section 3 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1947, as amended by section 1 of the Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Act 1955, places a number of requirements in course of the publication of a statutory instrument.

The critical obligation under section 3 of the Statutory Instruments Acts is to ensure that a notice is published in Iris Oifigiúil of the making of an order or regulation, as otherwise any charge in relation to the contravention of the provisions of the statutory instrument could be struck out in court unless the prosecutor satisfies the Court that reasonable steps had been taken for the purpose of bringing the purport of the instrument to the notice of the public or of persons likely to be affected by it. The orders which I have made mainly relate to the commencement of certain statutory provisions or establishment day orders in respect of statutory bodies and none of the orders entail fines or other penalties for the contravention of the provisions of these statutory instruments.

In 2006 I signed the following orders:

Education Act 1998 (Publication of Inspection Reports on Schools and Centres for Education) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 49/2006), (PRN.A6/0100), notice published in Iris Oifigiúil on 29th Sept 2006;

Education (Former Residents of Certain Institutions for Children) Finance Board (Establishment Day) Order 2006 (S.I. 77/2006), notice published in Iris Oifigiúil on 29th Sept 2006;

Teaching Council Act 2001 (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. 184/2006), notice published in Iris Oifigiúil on 29th Sept 2006;

Teaching Council Act 2001 (Establishment Day) Order 2006 (S.I. 185/2006), notice published in Iris Oifigiúil on 29th Sept 2006;

Grangegorman Development Agency Act 2005 (Establishment Day) Order 2006 (S.I. 252/2006), notice published in Iris Oifigiúil on 29th Sept 2006;

Education and Science (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2006 (S.I. 533/2006), notice published in Iris Oifigiúil on 13th Oct 2006.

I also signed an order in December 2006 pursuant to the provisions of the Vocational Education (Amendment) Act 1944 and this is still in the process of being published. (It has been assigned the S.I. number 708 of 2006 by the Government Publications office of the OPW).

The Deputy may also wish to note that since December 2006 there has been a pilot project in place, through which the publication process has been expedited as a consequence of the use of electronic production and proofing of statutory instruments.

All of the orders which I made during 2006 have been published or are in the process of being published and the requirements of section 3 of the Statutory instruments Act has been observed in this regard.