I should like to get from the Minister an explanation of this section. Section 5 of the Principal Act is being amended by subsection (1) of section 2 (1) so as to delete provisions contained in section 5 and which prevent the Act applying to certain activities. Section 2 (1) states the series of activities to which the Act applies, whereas section 5 sets out a series of activities to which the Act does not apply.
The Prices Act is not to apply to any activities carried on by or on behalf of a Minister under section 2 (1), a local authority, within the meaning of the Local Government Act, 1941, a vocational education committee and an air or water transport undertaking or a harbour authority. All those activities are under section 2 (1), and are left without control.
I do not know whether section 2 (2) is designed to have the effect of subjecting those activities which are left not controlled by section 5 of the Act to some type of control, but subsection (2) (a) states:
A power to control, regulate or specify the price of a commodity or the charge for a service that is vested in a person other than the Minister of State ... shall not be exercised without the consent of that Minister.
Subsection (2) would seem to affect section 5 only with regard to the activities I specified to the extent that price control, if there be such in relation to those activities, is now to be subject to the consent of the Minister if the present price control is vested in any other person. Section 5 (a) stands as amended in the way I have said. Section 5 (b), (c) and (g) go and section 5 (h), in relation to charges for services in connection with insurance, is deleted but charges for services rendered in connection with banking remain.
Perhaps the Minister could help me in relation to these various other charges which can be made for activities by Ministers or on their behalf by local authorities, by a vocational education committee, by an air or water transport undertaking or a harbour authority. If there be control in relation to those activities, where is it? If there is not control, why is there not? What is the position in relation to —I illustrated this case when speaking on Second Reading—charges for telephone services and postal charges?