Vol. 190 No. 5
I move amendment No. 1:
In Seanad Amendment No. 2, to delete ‘"having"' and substitute ‘"having, or appearing to the Board to have,"'.
The two amendments on the Order Paper were fully discussed yesterday. They are for the purpose of restoring the Bill to the form in which it was originally introduced, plus the addition which the Parliamentary Secretary recommended from the Seanad. I do not propose to say any more on it. We discussed it at length yesterday.
I just want to say that I have had further advice in the matter and have gone into it very carefully with the Parliamentary Draftsman. He is quite satisfied, and so am I, that the amendments should not be accepted. It is quite clear that the word "having" meets the case fully. There would be danger of some confusion arising if we were to include "having or appearing to have." I suggest to Deputy Sweetman that now that we have all considered the matter fully and decided that the Bill is better as it is he might withdraw the amendment.
I am not interested in the Parliamentary Secretary's observations on that. They are as inaccurate as his answers to Questions a few minutes ago. The Parliamentary Draftsman may not, possibly, have appreciated the point I was making. It may not have been conveyed to him in proper terms. I am absolutely certain that if it were so conveyed to him, he would differ from the Parliamentary Secretary. It is the Government's responsibility and they or their successors will have to come in and clear the mess.
