Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) (Amendment) (Work Equipment) Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-18
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Cathal Byrne (FG), Cultural and Educational Panel

I begin by putting on the record the importance of this legislation that has been introduced by my colleagues in the Fine Gael Party and particularly by Senator P.J. Murphy, who has been a victim of this crime of tool theft in the past and who, having worked in the industry, has dealt and engaged with so many victims of this crime over the past 20 years in his work as a joiner. I want to read for a moment the words of somebody from Duncormick in my own area of south Wexford who described the impact that tool theft has had on them. This was reported in the Wexford People . He said:
These lads knew what they were looking for. They cleared the van out and then broke the lock on the shed and took ... [everything that] was in there.
He went on to say:
It's an ... nightmare ... [to be honest with you]. I've been able to get a few cheap and cheerful bits ... [but] The rest, I'll ... have to slowly replace over time.
The impact here is on hard-working tradespeople, the men and women who are the backbone of the construction industry. The reason this legislation is being put forward is because we have a deep feeling that the current legislation that is there around theft is not adequately and proportionally reflecting the damage and impact it is having on the victims of this crime. There are many arguments against minimum sentencing and there are many issues.
I understand that Article 34 of the Constitution references that the courts are the ultimate administrators of justice and not the Oireachtas, but the Oireachtas has a role in legislation and it has a key role in putting forward a message from the people, which is that the public will not stand for tool theft, and the current system we have is inadequate. We must send a clear message to the courts and the Judiciary that stronger minimum sentences are required in this area. When we consider the Ellis Supreme Court case that effectively changed the law when referencing the Constitution about minimum mandatory sentences, one of the key points is that there has to be a rational relationship between the fixed penalty and the victims and the crime itself. We must consider the impact that tool theft has as distinct from ordinary theft. There is an option for a judge to impose a ten-year penalty for ordinary theft, but tool theft is unique. It is different. It is something that is worthy of being a stand-alone offence. That is what this legislation seeks to do. There might be issues that have to be teased out as this legislation progresses through the House, but certainly my clear impression from my colleagues would be that they are willing to engage and work with the Minister to refine them. The clear message from this House to the court and the Judiciary is that it is a different category of offence in and of itself.
The point made by Senator Kennelly is that if someone targets a tradesperson, he or she has to be able to receive a sentence proportionate to the damage he or she has done to that person. When the ultimate goal of this Government and this Oireachtas is to ensure the delivery of much needed houses - 300,000 homes by 2030 - we have to ensure that for every tradesperson who has a van and gets on the road and gets up early in the morning to assist in achieving that target, there are no days lost because they do not have the tools to get there. When we heard earlier the key point that one in three victims of this crime has to go to a lender or bank to replace them, that clearly sums up in my mind that the current system we have simply is not putting on enough pressure to put it into a thief's mind that it is just not worth breaking the lock, clearing out the back of the van and taking everything that is in there. I implore the Minister and his officials in the Department to really take a detailed look at this. There are many other crimes that are substantial and serious that I also feel are worthy of minimum mandatory sentencing, but this is a unique category offence that is different from ordinary theft. It is different from burglary and aggravated burglary. It should in and of itself should be its own category of offence.

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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