The provisions of Part 1 of the Bill are standard in nature and common to nearly all legislation. Part 2 of the Bill contains urgent amendments to the Coroners Act 1962. The main provisions at sections 7 and 8 provide new powers for the Minister to authorise temporary additional capacity in the coroner system as necessary to meet the risks and challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. Section 6 is as standard. Section 7 inserts a new section, 11B, into the principal Act, entitled "Assignment and appointment of…

It should be.

I thank Deputies for their contributions and their support for the vast majority of what is proposed in this legislation. I appreciate the concerns they raised regarding how quickly the Bill has been introduced and that it required the House to waive the process of pre-legislative scrutiny. I thank colleagues for their forbearance and co-operation in this regard. We have an obligation to keep our judges, jurors, witnesses, our prison population and all of those working in the Courts Service and the Prison Service s…

I thought I had more time in which to respond.

I ask the Acting Chairman to allow me just a couple of minutes more as I have not addressed the most important point in regard to the coroner service. The relevant provisions in the Bill are targeted measures to address an emergency. The overall structure of the service needs a different and more fundamental reform that will ensure additional capacity. It is something I intend to deal with separately from this legislation. There was a question about the provision in section 23 in regard to pretrial and post-trial h…

Yes.

I assume I will have an opportunity on Committee Stage to address that specific point.

I will speak to this point and address another one. I ran out of time; I was not avoiding answering questions. The measures in the Bill are Covid-specific, but also address a lot of built-in efficiencies in a system that needs to be reformed. That is why there is no sunset clause in the Bill. The vast majority of what is in the Bill has been thought through. It has not appeared in the past few weeks or months. Sections 12 to 19, inclusive, which Deputies have referenced, were not developed by vulture funds or lobby…

I thank Deputies Murphy, Barry and Pringle for raising this extremely important matter. Deputy Bríd Smith also raised it but she is not here. I referred to this earlier today and it still stands true. I am sorry that residents of the Skellig Star in Cahersiveen felt that for their concerns to be heard this was the only course of action they could take. It is a matter of deep regret to me but also to my Department and the officials who work in this area. I have taken their concerns seriously as have officials in my …

I again thank the Deputies for raising this issue and want to reassure them as I reassured Senators earlier today. The first families will be moved by the end of next week and the remainder of the residents will be moved as soon as possible and as soon as places are found. I have gotten a commitment of no later than the end of the year but, obviously, the objective is as soon as accommodation can be found. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, will follow through on that commitment when he takes on this area…

I thank the Regional Group of Deputies for moving the motion in the House this evening. I am pleased to inform the House that the Government supports the motion and is fully committed to enacting the Perjury and Related Offences Bill 2018 as soon as possible. The importance the Government attaches to this legislation is reflected in our commitment to enact it in the current programme for Government and I look forward to working with all Deputies in the House in delivering on this commitment. It would be remiss of m…

I am very happy to present this Bill to Seanad Éireann and to discuss it with the Members of the House. As Members will be aware, it is the Government's intention to progress the Bill through all Stages in the House today and I look forward to the exchange of views that will flow from the debate. This important legislation constitutes the Government's response to the new challenges posed to our courts and legal systems from the current pandemic. However, the Bill goes beyond the pandemic and will make many of our l…

I will not hold it against the Cathaoirleach. I sincerely thank all Senators for their support of this legislation, which is genuinely appreciated. This is the first Bill I have brought through the Houses and I am under no illusion it will always be the case that the legislation will pass as quickly, but I appreciate Senators' support in that regard. I take on board the points that have been made that it is not ideal how quickly this is being passed and that we have bypassed earlier stages. I have asked for that an…

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. These are not ideal circumstances in which to pass legislation. These measures, however, are different. It is not just, as Senator Ward has outlined, that they are contingencies for unforeseen eventualities. They are also changes, many of which have been sought for some time, that happened to be needed to try to deal with Covid and to ensure there was not a backlog and that justice could be served. They will benefit not just the Judiciary and the legal professions but als…

I apologise as I had intended to address this issue in my previous remarks. These provisions are not meant as an attack. What is envisaged by them is nothing more than what is set out here. The intention is that this should be an alternative. It is not meant as a replacement. The rules of court may provide for a statement of truth in place of an affidavit but this is obviously where the person so wishes. It is to try to ensure that we can create an efficiency, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 crisis and …

I wish to reassure the Senator that this is not a pluralist measure but a reform that allows the rules of court to be made, allowing a statement of truth to be made and communicated electronically. It is not in place of swearing an affidavit or oath.

Earlier, I outlined the provisions of the Bill on Second Stage and informed the House I would bring in this amendment. It is a small technical amendment. Section 31 provides for the designation of bodies by relevant Minsters for the purposes of holding hearings remotely. Under the provisions the Ministers may designate bodies that may hold remote hearings, and persons who would otherwise be required to attend in person can be required to attend remotely. Designated bodies will also have power to determine, followin…

Section 31 of the Bill provides for the designation of bodies by relevant Ministers for the purpose of holding meetings remotely. A person required to attend a hearing in person shall be required to do so by remote means and the designated body shall have the power to make any arrangements to conduct the hearings by remote means. Designated bodies will also have the power to determine, following representations from the subject of the hearings, whether the holding of a hearing remotely would be unfair to that perso…

I thank all Senators for their co-operation and look forward to working with them in the years ahead.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. He has raised a specific case with certain details on which, perhaps, I cannot respond directly to him now. However, it is important to outline what the process is in the immigrant investor programme, the type of investments and the role of the specific committee he referenced. The immigrant investor programme, IIP, was introduced by the Government in 2012 to encourage inward investment from outside the EEA to avail of opportunities of investing and locating business inte…