Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Committee Stage
Dail Éireann — 2020-09-03
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Mattie McGrath (IND), Tipperary

I will be brief because I know time is short for amendments and the debate. This is more draconian legislation. I have heard regularly from people of machinery being stopped on the road. The Road Safety Authority checks on a machine to see if it is working and use ceases for the day. Such a person has the chance to go back. However, if a licensed premises is closed like this, it would have an unintended, or maybe intended, impact when the licence holder goes back to licensing in September.
I wish the Government people who voted for this could see the implications of it. Its members are standing up here talking about support for publicans and about how a roadmap is on the way. There is no roadmap. This legislation and the abject refusal to accept any amendments simply go to show it is a sledgehammer and an attempt to bulldoze the legislation through.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2020-09-03/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-09-03