I move amendment No. 2:
In page 5, to delete lines 33 to 38, and substitute the following:
"(4) Where it is proposed to make regulations under this Act, a draft of each such regulation shall be laid before each of the Houses of the Oireachtas and shall not come into effect until a motion approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.".
I reintroduce this issue because it is good practice that needs to be laid down in all legislation. It is not right that regulations are brought into play, which may have significance in terms of Bills passed into law, without a fully accountable system to ensure issues of contention can be dealt with in time by Members before they are approved and passed.
I appreciate the Minister's point on Committee Stage that regulations in this Bill may not be contentious, but I have raised this matter on other Bills in the area of agriculture and other areas because we must ensure a principle of good practice is imposed in terms of the work we do here.
To presume the present methodology is always the correct and best one is unacceptable. We must always continue to improve matters. That we will debate a Bill on Thursday which we have not seen yet is an example of how the rules of this House do not always work in the best service of the people.
In this instance regulations can have enormous import and as a matter of course there should be checks on balances as I suggest. If there are other checks and balances that meet the same criteria I have no problem with that, but not to deal with the matter in a fashion that will ensure accountability is an opportunity missed. We should establish best practice at all possible opportunities.