Vol. 495 No. 1
131 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 50 of 9 June 1998 when he will make regulations to provide for the option provision in section 41 (1) (b) of the Harbours Act, 1996, to be extended to persons to whom the section refers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19205/98]
As I assured the Deputy in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 50 of 9 June 1998, I remain positively disposed to facilitating the participation in the relevant superannuation scheme of persons to whom section 41(1)(b) of the Harbours Act, 1996 refers.
With a view to facilitating this participation, the Office of the Attorney General has been consulted. The advices received from the Office of the Attorney General in the matter last June were preliminary and my Department has very recently received more detailed advices which are being considered.
The legal mechanism to facilitate participation in the relevant superannuation scheme has not as yet been definitively determined and doubts have been raised as to whether the making of regulations specifically under section 3 (5) of the Harbours Act, 1996, would be appropriate and valid in the circumstances.
I have asked my Department to communicate directly with the Deputy on the subject, to elaborate on the complex legal advices received and to bring the matter to finality as soon as possible.
