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 accorda…

In fairness to Deputy Daly, it would be a bit rich of me if I objected to him raising a matter that is outside the scope of the Bill, since the Bill is so broad in any event.

I hear what Deputy Daly says. The scheme that is being brought in on 1 July is designed to improve efficiencies in the criminal legal aid scheme and the District Court. I fully appreciate the important role played by solicitors under that scheme. I have met the Law Society and Bar Council in respect of it. The system would be greatly improved and there will still be proper payment for solicitors in the very significant work that is done in the District Court. I will take into account what the Deputy said.

I am conscious that we have many amendments to get through.

If Deputy Gannon wants to table it as a Topical Issue matter, I am happy to come in. The scheme that operates at present means that people get €260 for the first appearance and €60 for every appearance after that. That incentivises inefficiencies. Research has been completed in the Department that shows that the hearing of criminal cases in the District Court which are governed by the criminal legal aid scheme moves much more slowly than those which do not have the benefit of the criminal legal aid scheme. There ar…

I move amendment No. 5: In page 8, line 11, to delete “and” and substitute “, the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023,”. Amendments Nos. 70 and 71 are small technical amendments to both the Family Courts Act 2024 and the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 that are necessary ahead of the standing up of the first family courts next year. The amendments are to fix a legislative lacuna that will otherwise arise when certain provisions of the Family Courts Act 2024 are commenced. The c…

I move amendment No. 6: In page 8, line 12, after “2023” to insert “and the Family Courts Act 2024”.

I move amendment No. 7: In page 8, line 25, after “Act” to insert “(other than Part 4 and section 44 )”.

I move amendment No. 8: In page 8, to delete line 31 and substitute the following: “ “Act of 2007” means the Prisons Act 2007; “Act of 2017” means the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017;”.

I did say that and I looked at it. I support the intention behind the legislation to ensure that there is legal recognition of the fact that gardaí deserve to be protected. My problem was that I need to have broader consideration of the legislative proposal in light of other legislation that exists at present. For instance, one of the things that was brought to my attention was that section 19 of the public order Act provides substantive protections for members of An Garda Síochána and other peace officers such as …

I am not supportive of Deputy Kelly’s amendment. I do not find it frequently the case that my access or the access of many colleagues coming in and out of the Houses of the Oireachtas is blocked. I do not recall ever being blocked coming in or out. I suppose the purpose of it is to say we do not tolerate intimidation of elected Members of the Oireachtas and I think that is valid. It is important to point out that I am aware that since October 2022, there have been approximately ten convictions of people for intimid…

I move amendment No. 12: In page 10, line 38, to delete “Prisons Act 2007” and substitute “Act of 2007”.

I was at the committee hearing as well, as was Deputy Carthy. He got a straight answer from the Minister for Defence when she told him that these proposals were put before the Government before any fuel protest. His suggestion that there is an attempt to link them is completely untenable. I will deal promptly with this because, like others, I want to get to the counselling notes amendment, which is amendment No. 17. I am not going to accept amendments Nos. 13 and 14. I think it is appropriate that the legislation s…

I considered it, and my concern is that the proposed amendment is seeking to merge and align community service and probation. The Deputy knows they are different statutory regimes. The Probation of Offenders Act deals with a court being able to dispose of a summary offence either by dismissing the charge or by discharging the offender conditionally. Obviously, community service is something different. Having given it consideration, I thought the way the amendment was drafted was merging those two schemes inappropri…

Do I have time to start, Ceann Comhairle?

What is the Deputy saying to me? Is he saying that I should not speak for too long to allow for a vote on this?

Okay. Can I have two minutes?

The first thing I want to say is that I have listened to people in the House. I acknowledge the presence of survivors in the Gallery and I commend them because the law is being changed because of the advocacy of campaigners. We all agree on one thing, which is that the current situation is unacceptable. The current statutory scheme that operates is unacceptable and needs to be changed. It needs to be changed in order to weigh the balance between a fair trial and the right to privacy more in favour of the right to p…

That is why I have left them in and the advice I have received is that they have been of assistance in achieving convictions. I am conscious of what Deputy Gannon has said and I want to allow a vote.

I thank Senator Crowe for raising this important matter. As he knows and as has stated, the primary purpose of the Garda vetting system is and always must be the protection of children and vulnerable adults. It is essential that parents, families, sporting organisations and charities can have confidence that appropriate safeguards are in place for those who undertake these positions in trust, whether it is coaching a children's sports team, working in a care home or working with people with disabilities. At the sam…