Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) (Amendment) (Work Equipment) Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-18
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Victor Boyhan (IND), Agricultural Panel

I thank Senators Murphy, Duffy and Kennelly for proposing this Bill. It is very simple and only has two sections. We all know we want to tackle and be tough on crime, especially in rural communities, but we have to be practical as well. While I support the essence of this Bill, there are difficulties with it. I do not know what the Minister is going to say. I can guess what he might say but it would not be right for me to do that. What occurs to me is that there are technical legal difficulties with this Bill. We have the separation of powers with respect to the Judiciary. We previously had legislation on the administration of the powers of the Judiciary and there is a proposal here to introduce a mandatory sentencing regime. I do not know if that is within the scope of the Legislature, so I am interested to hear what the Minister has to say about that.
Senator Murphy is very animated about this issue and very committed to it. He is a rural Senator and before that he was a rural councillor, meaning he understands this. This type of theft does not only happen in rural areas; it happens everywhere, including urban areas. I have seen too many sole traders who have come out in the morning to find their truck raided and all their machinery gone. It is all very well having skills and a pair of hands but without their expensive machinery, tradespeople are really set back. This is a difficultly for small sole traders in particular.
We also see this in farming communities. There are a whole range of issues. I am not going to delay proceedings, other than to say I support the principle of the Bill. I believe there are technical issues I am not fully equipped to talk about. We need guidance from the Minister on the legal implications of bringing in mandatory sentencing through legislation. I have no doubt he will guide us through that when he addresses the Bill. Other than that, I am supportive of the Bill. It is significant legislation. There may be other strands that would have the same effect as what the Senator is trying to do, without adopting this Bill. Those are just some loose remarks. I am supportive of the Bill but there are potentially legal impediments to enacting this legislation as presented to us.

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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