Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) (Amendment) (Work Equipment) Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-18
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Mark Duffy (FG), Labour Panel

It is a great privilege to second this Bill. I compliment Senator Murphy on bringing it to the floor and on his work and advocacy on this proposal so far. This is an important Bill because tradespeople are the lifeblood of our economy and society. If this Bill is supported, the message that will go out to those in the trades is that they are valued and are being listened to. This is a very important element to communicate.
In my home county of Mayo, we have had tool-marking initiatives, which we also have across the country. These are a symptom of the much broader issue of tool theft that Senator Murphy has outlined. This issue must be addressed and a message must go out because if we have lax laws and weak laws, we incentivise criminals, such as those with many previous convictions Senator Murphy mentioned, to carry on as normal. That cannot be accepted any more, especially when the State has such ambitious plans to deliver infrastructure and build homes in every town and village in the country. We need to back tradesmen and women who get up and work for an honest living and ensure they are not sucker-punched by thieves who take advantage of people who are trying to make a living in the trades. I am honoured to support the Bill. I hope we have support across the House to ensure we are strong in supporting our tradespeople and strong on law and order. That is a very powerful message and a vote of confidence we can send out to our tradespeople.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:44+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-18