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Select Committee on Enterprise and Economic Strategy

SECTION 108.

There are amendments to this section.

Comment on this

This section has been forwarded to the Government so that important changes and amendments can be made to it. I am not moving any amendment to this section. I am not empowered to do so because it has been circulated to all the Government Departments, opinions have been expressed on it and it is to be discussed at the next Cabinet meeting.

Comment on this

If that is the case, we have the choice of adjourning discussion on it at this stage or withdrawing it and re-entering the section on Report Stage.

Comment on this

We can postpone consideration of the section.

Comment on this

We can do this, but at the pace we are going, we may have completed the other business by then.

Comment on this

Except for section 108, which I cannot discuss.

Comment on this

We have the choice of withdrawing and re-entering the section on Report Stage — that is an option open to the Minister — or we will have to reconvene to discuss this specific section if we complete all other business.

Comment on this

There is also another section, that related to bank transaction charges, which has to be re-entered, of which I gave notice at the beginning of the debate.

Comment on this

I very much regret that I did not get prior notice of what is happening. I should have been informed that this section had gone for discussion to the Government. I did not receive any prior notice of this.

Comment on this

One of my advisers has told me that I discussed this with the committee the last time it met.

Comment on this

I would have thought that the matter would have been resolved at this stage.

Comment on this

It has not been resolved yet. I have no control over that resolution; that is a matter for the Cabinet.

Comment on this

We will defer consideration of section 108.

Comment on this

Can I ask the Minister for an assurance that if the section is to be considered on Report Stage, we could resubmit it to the committee so that we could have a Committee Stage debate?

Comment on this

We are deferring consideration of the section and it will come back to the committee again. What is the other section that you wish to defer, Minister?

Comment on this

We referred to this at the conclusion of the committee meeting on the last occasion, but we had hoped to have it discussed at Cabinet. I have no control over this.

Comment on this

That meeting was more than a fortnight ago. I would have thought that would have gone through at this stage.

Comment on this

It has not. The other section I also gave notice of was in regard to bank transaction charges. I gave notice then that we were preparing a section which would be added to the Bill.

Comment on this

It has yet to be added to the Bill and, obviously, has not been drafted?

Comment on this

No; it will be the final section of the Bill.

Comment on this

It is proposed to postpone section 108.

Comment on this