I move amendment No. 1:
In page 5, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following:
"(3) Within one month after the passing of this Act, the Minister shall lay before each House of the Oireachtas a statement as to the intended timetable for implementation of the Act by means of orders under subsection (2).”.
The amendment seeks that within one month of the passing of this Act — and we have certainly waited long enough for that to happen — the Minister shall lay before each House of the Oireachtas a statement as to the intended timetable for implementation of the Act by means of orders under subsection (2).
The amendment is pertinent, given the length of time it has taken us to get to this stage. There is no excuse for the fact that the Bill has taken so long. I was looking through some of the material we received about it from the Security Federation of Ireland many moons ago, on 5 December 2002. The SFI stated: "The security industry has come a long way since it first made representations to the Department of Justice seeking licensing of the industry in 1974." The security industry sought to have the industry licensed 30 years ago. This legislation has been waiting well over two and a half years to be processed.
In moving this amendment, I wish to ensure that there is no further delay and that we will not be waiting for orders to be implemented by the Minister. We should receive a timetable within one month after the passage of the Act as to when all the orders will be implemented.
Under the Intoxicating Liquor Acts 1997 and 2003 provision was made for an order to introduce labelling of all units of alcohol purchased in off-licences. The order was not executed under the 1997 Act nor has it been executed under the 2003 Act. There is not much sense in making provision for ministerial orders if the Minister will not act on them.
It is appropriate that a provision is included in all legislation to set a time limit within which the Minister would exercise the powers given to him or her by ministerial order. It is high time this legislation was implemented.