I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy McEntee, who unfortunately cannot be here. The incident in the Moria camp on Lesbos was a tragic incident that could have had fatal consequences, but luckily did not. Thankfully, no one in the camp was injured or killed as a result of the fire but I suspect that was just sheer luck. Ireland strongly supports the principle of solidarity and recognises that assistance is required for memb…

I can understand the disappointment that only eight of the 36 unaccompanied minors who have been accepted by this country have arrived thus far. I understand that the difficulty has been with the impact of Covid-19 but the Department will now step up, try to resolve the situation, get those children to Ireland and give them the support they desperately need. The Minister is very much aware of this situation and will ensure that those unaccompanied minors can be facilitated to come here, despite the situation with C…

I thank all the Deputies for their very constructive contributions to this very important debate and for the support they have shown for the Bill. I pay particular thanks to the CAB and the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and all State agencies that are involved in fighting money laundering and terrorist financing. They do a very difficult job very well in the face of very well-resourced and well-organised national and international criminals. As I stated earlier, this is an important area of law. The reports …

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Justice pursuant to Standing Orders 95(3)( a ) and 181(1).

I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to introduce this important Bill to the House. The purpose of this legislation is to transpose the criminal justice elements of the fifth EU anti-money laundering directive, Directive 2018/843. Targeting money laundering is central to fighting organised crime. Those who commit crimes such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and fraud depend on hiding and converting the proceeds of those crimes. By pursuing those proceeds, we can bring those responsi…

I move amendment No. 2: To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: “notes: — the commitment in the Programme for Government to close engagement between An Garda Síochána and local communities; — the Government’s commitment to implement the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland entitled ‘A Policing Service for the Future’, including the key action for the redeployment of members of An Garda Síochána away from noncore duties and into communities; — the new Garda Ope…

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter. As he will be aware, fireworks, as explosives, are regulated under national and EU legislation. They can only be imported into the country under licence and must be stored and sold in accordance with the explosives laws. Government policy restricts the availability of all hazardous fireworks to the general public. Licences under the Explosives Act are issued by the Department only for the importation of fi…

I again thank Deputy Ellis for raising this matter. On behalf of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, I assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána remains committed to tackling public disorder and anti-social behaviour through working with communities to reduce this type of behaviour and to enhance community safety. The Garda Commissioner has assured the Minister that appropriate policing plans and measures are being implemented, effective since 4 September 2020, and that Operation Tombola will remain in place in the lead-u…

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy McEntee, I thank Deputy Murphy for raising the matter today and I pass on her regrets as she cannot be here in person. The Minister is aware of the protest that took place in Dublin on Saturday afternoon, and as the Taoiseach has stated, it is of course the case that people have the right to protest in a democracy. However, it is important to remind ourselves regularly exactly why it is that the range of health regulations and guidelines currently operating…

I thank both Deputies for their contributions. I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this very important matter and I wish to convey the Minister's regrets that she cannot be here to answer in person. It is important to note that the vast majority of people continue to comply with public health guidelines and regulations. The Minister is confident that this compliance will continue. We are only too aware that we can only combat the spread of Covid-19 by continuing to make every effort together. As the Deputy will be aw…

I welcome the opportunity to give clarity on this issue. The amendment put forward by Senators Higgins, Ruane and Flynn seeks to add a subsection to section 2 to provide that the Act will not apply to a residential unit on a licensed premises or a residential unit in the same building occupied by a specified person. I am aware that concerns were raised in the Dáil last week in respect of this very issue and the application of the provisions of this Bill to private homes. The decision was taken not to put in place a…

I will clarify the matter with the Minister. I would be concerned that any further clarification would lead to confusion. As I said, the maps that are lodged with the courts in terms of licensing areas are exceptionally clear. They are detailed maps. For example, they provide more detail than is required for a planning application. Areas are clearly delineated in red. I have seen this issue arise in the Criminal Courts in terms of, for example, search warrants in regard to whether an area is a licensed premises or …

I again welcome the opportunity to provide clarity on this matter. These amendments all propose to make a change to section 3 of the Bill. Amendment No. 2 in the names of Senators Bacik, Hoey, Moynihan, Sherlock and Wall proposes to delete the words: "whether in relation to a relevant provision or otherwise." from section 3(1)(a) of the Bill. Amendments Nos. 3 and 4, submitted by Senators Higgins, Ruane and Flynn, seek to delete the words "or otherwise" in line 14 of the Bill and substitute: "or in relation to such…

I thank the Cathaoirleach. This legislation specifically applies to relevant premises, that is, licensed premises. It only applies to penal regulations. I say that to address amendment No. 4. I am aware that perhaps this is not the intention but the interpretation of the Department is that this amendment would expand the powers of An Garda Síochána to non-penal regulations.

The amendment would mean that such entry could be for the purposes of any regulations and, therefore, expand it beyond the penal regulations made under section 31A of the Health Act. I appreciate that the intention of all Senators is to be constructive. It is not ideal that this matter is going through the Houses so quickly. Unfortunately, in the circumstances of the emergency, it is going through with the necessary haste, albeit a regrettable haste. I now turn to the "otherwise" clause. The purpose of this is to b…

Garda are concerned that once they step into the licensed premises they may be prevented from giving a direction to comply with any penal Covid-19 regulations, if not prescribe specifically other than for the licensed premises. It is an attempt to give clarification but, as Senator Ward pointed out, one of the issues we have in this House is that so much of our legislation is not codified and we are constantly trying to jump from one Act to another and interpret one Act in another. That can cause unnecessary diffic…

I thank the Senator for putting forward this amendment. Her amendment seeks to amend section 17 of the Bill to prevent the Houses of the Oireachtas by resolution from extending the operation of this Bill beyond 9 November 2021. The enforcement powers provided in this Bill are temporary measures to deal with issues of public health and public safety in licensed premises and clubs. As such the measures can only be used in respect of breaches of penal regulations made under the Health Act that are specific to Covid-19…

I thank the Senators for their contributions. We all hope that this time next year we will not be not in a similar situation as we are now with Covid. It might be a forlorn hope that we would not be in this situation by November. Any extension beyond November would have to be accompanied by a date in respect of any further extension. I would expect that any such date would be conservative, and rightly so. I have no difficulty providing further opportunity to discuss and debate any extension, especially due to the c…

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy McEntee, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I know it is one that concerns him deeply. The mission of the Department of Justice and Equality is the delivery of a safe, fair and inclusive Ireland. The Minister is fully committed to the fight against racism and prejudice and to a fairer, safer Ireland for everyone who lives here. The programme for Government commits to introducing legislation within 12 months to address those who target victims becau…