Amendments Nos. 12 and 13 are related and may be taken together.
SECTION 7.
I move amendment No. 12:
In page 5, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following subsection:
"(3) Where regulations under this section are proposed to be made, the Minister shall carry out consultation in accord with the procedure set out in section 3 (2).".
This amendment speaks for itself. It proposes that where it is thought the Minister will increase the levy from a quarter of 1 per cent to a higher rate there would be an obligation to consult with the various groups outlined in section 3. This is consistent with the Bill and, I would have thought, consistent with the Minister's views.
It goes a little further than what the Deputy has proposed. Arising out of the extensive consultations I had on the matter with the social partners, and particularly with the employers, it was strongly put to me that the rate would suddenly be increased while it would never decrease. They asked if the rate could be increased by a whim or by somebody signing a regulation. At the meetings with them earlier in the week and last week, we agreed that we would not just say we had been in consultation but that there had been agreement as well. This is in agreement with Deputy Bruton's amendment and carries it a slight stage further.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
I move amendment No. 13:
In page 5, lines 7 to 11, to delete subsection (3) and substitute the following:
"(3) (a) Where regulations under this section are proposed to be made, a draft of the proposed regulations shall, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.
(b) A draft of regulations proposed to be made under this section shall not be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas in accordance with paragraph (a) unless the Minister has consulted with, and received the agreement to the draft of, such organisation or association of organisations as appears to the Minister to be—
(i) representatives of substantial numbers of employers in the sectors of industry concerned, and
(ii) representative of substantial numbers of persons employed in the sectors of the industry concerned.".
Amendment agreed to.
Section 7, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 8 to 10, inclusive, agreed to.