Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-18 ============================================================ Robbie Gallagher (FF), Labour Panel The Minister is welcome back to the House. I wish to comment on his concluding remarks on his term as Minister and his ambitions in that portfolio. As everyone in this House can see, his work ethic and enthusiasm for bringing change are admirable and very much welcome. I commend him sincerely on that. Fianna Fáil very much supports this Bill. As the Minister outlined, it responds to a wide range of challenges in the justice system. It is very practical legislation covering a wide range of areas. It delivers a range of practical reforms across our justice system aimed at protecting vulnerable people, improving public safety, reducing pressures on our prisons and making the administration of justice more efficient, which is a very admirable goal I am sure we all agree with. One of the most important measures is the criminalisation of so-called sex-for-rent arrangements which, as the previous speaker alluded to, has been an issue for quite some time. The Bill makes it an offence to offer or advertise accommodation in exchange for sexual activity. There is a clear abuse of powers that exploits vulnerable people who are often in a very vulnerable housing situation. This legislation will send a strong message that such behaviour will not be tolerated any longer. The Bill also strengthens the protections for victims of sexual offences which again is very welcome. It reforms the process surrounding the disclosure of counselling records in requiring a court hearing in every case where disclosure is sought. This ensures that an independent judge will assess whether records are relevant, helping to protect complainants’ privacy, while maintaining the right to a fair trial. That is very welcome mechanism. A further key objective is to address prison overcrowding which the Minister is familiar with. The Bill encourages greater use of community service orders by requiring courts to consider them as an alternative to prison sentences of up to two years, and by increasing the maximum number of community service hours that may be imposed. That is a hugely positive incentive. We can do much more there and I am glad that the Minister is expanding that role. I see at first hand in my neck of the woods the huge contribution those people are making to society generally. I have spoken to a number of them. It has created a new very positive pathway for them compared with the negative one they had found themselves on. I am very much in favour of that. This in turn will help reserve prison spaces for offenders who genuinely require imprisonment while ensuring appropriate punishment and rehabilitation in suitable cases. The legislation also improves safety within our prisons by removing the legal barrier preventing prison officers from using incapacitant spray. Any use of such equipment will be carefully regulated - rightly so - and limited to trained officers in appropriate circumstances. The Bill also modernises our approach to missing persons investigations by allowing more advanced DNA analysis techniques, increasing the likelihood of identifying missing, unknown and deceased persons, and providing answers for families seeking closure. In addition, it introduces practical measures to improve efficiency across the justice system, including facilitating remote appearance through video-link technology, reducing the unnecessary demands on gardaí and prison resources, and allowing the Chief Justice to delegate certain administrative functions to other members of the Judiciary. Again, that is a very sensible and practical approach, allowing us to free up our gardaí to stay on the streets where we all like to see their presence. On the civil law side, the Bill also provides the legal framework for outdoor seating and licensed premises, supporting businesses and social activities in towns and cities across the country. That has been a hugely positive development that came out of the Covid pandemic - one of the very few positive outcomes from it. It is a hugely successful initiative that helps the economic and social activity in our towns. It is very positive on a summer’s evening to see people sitting out having a coffee, a beer or whatever. Overall, this is very sensible and balanced legislation. It strengthens protections for victims, supports front-line justice services, promotes rehabilitation where appropriate and modernises important areas of law and public administration. For those reasons, on behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, I fully support and welcome this legislation. I again commend the Minister on the enthusiasm with which he is carrying out his role. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-18/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:05+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-18