Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Dail Éireann — 2021-12-01
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Catherine Connolly (IND), Galway West

I am not alone in being tired because it is late at night but I am speechless at the idea that the Minister of State cannot accept this amendment, given his bona fides and the arguments put by him that humanitarian organisations would not be prosecuted. He has argued that no Director of Public Prosecutions, either a he or a she, would ever see fit to have a prosecution in the case of a person acting for humanitarian reasons. That relates to paragraph (a) of the amendment, which specifies those who are not prosecuted.
The second paragraph relates to people prosecuted where the humanitarian defence is applied and, we presume, is successful. The third paragraph relates to whether there has been a chilling impact. As I am sure others wish to speak to the amendment, that is all I will say at this point.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2021-12-01/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:54+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-12-01