Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-10
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

I move amendment No. 4:
In page 8, line 9, after “1997,” to insert “the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005,”.
Amendment No. 69 inserts a new section into the Bill to amend Schedule 5 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 in order to add the Courts Service to the Schedule. This will mean that the Courts Service will be a specified body for the purposes of specified provisions of the 2005 Act relating to the personal public service number, PPSN, and thereby enabled to use the PPSN where permitted in accordance with the 2005 Act.
Section 20 of the 2020 miscellaneous provisions Act, which provides an enabling basis for the transmission of documents and information by electronic means to and from courts and civil proceedings, envisaged the use of the personal public service number, PPSN, to verify the identity of persons transmitting documents and information by electronic means. This is also envisaged in court rules made pursuant to section 20. However, the 2005 Act was not consequentially amended by the 2020 Act to add the Courts Service to Schedule 5. This amendment addresses that gap and means that the identity of relevant court users can be authenticated via the PPSN as envisaged by the 2020 Act.
Amendment No. 4 amends the Long Title consequential on the insertion of the new section. Amendment No. 7 amends section 1(4) of the Bill to provide that the amendment to the 2005 Act, along with the amendment of the Defence Act 1954 in Part 4 of the Bill - introduced on Committee Stage - will be commenced on enactment rather than by ministerial order.
I want to flag that I am considering further commencement of the Bill generally and that subject to this consideration, I may introduce amendments in the Seanad to enable other provisions in the Bill to commence on enactment rather than by ministerial order.

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Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-10