Sinn Féin will be proposing two amendments to the Bill. There was a sense of agreement around all of these measures about Covid-19, making life easier for people who work in our courts system and prison service and mitigating against the difficulties that exist. In that context, we all agreed there would be a suspension of the normal process we go through when passing legislation such as this. Normally, a Bill will pass through Committee Stage during which we tease out and work out all of the various issues that mi…

I understand. My colleague is taking four minutes.

There is a David and Goliath struggle between bankers and ordinary lenders. We need to make sure that we as legislators are very much on the side of ordinary lenders and stand up for them. This Bill is an opportunity to do that, and I implore for the Minister to withdraw this proposal.

I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, line 2, after “provisions” to insert the following: “and continue in operation until the 9th day of November 2020, unless a resolution approving of its continuation has been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas”. This amendment concerns a time limit on this legislation. As was acknowledged by the Minister, all the other legislation enacted regarding the Covid-19 pandemic and the emergency actions that needed to be taken, which were all appropriate, had a time limit set down for…

I will not delay. There is a major contradiction in this Bill. Everything we are doing is supposed to be about the pandemic, yet the Minister is introducing measures which have nothing whatsoever to do with the pandemic, and she said as much in her speech. It is worth pointing out what the Bill will do. Sections 12 and 13 will allow assignees to loans, commonly known as vulture funds, to rely on what would otherwise be inadmissible hearsay evidence when seeking summary judgments of money or property. Summary judgme…

I will put my amendment now. A second amendment deals with that entire section, including chapter 3-----

It is the second part of the amendment, which proposes to delete a section. Every speaker has called for that. We can come back next September and deal with this issue properly. I do not understand why, if the Minister is so confident that this will do no harm, she is afraid of proper scrutiny of the measure.

I commend the Regional Group on bringing this motion before the Dáil. It was, I think, in December 2019 that we last debated this legislation in the House. It is badly wanted legislation and has been talked about for a considerable length of time. Much has been made of how the insurance industry has been impacted by perjury, false statements and false affidavits and of how this has resulted in an increase in premiums. I have a house full of teenagers at home, and when they go looking to get car insurance I realise …

It is obvious to everyone that we have a situation across the country where many small businesses are under massive pressure as a result of Covid-19 and the onslaught it has brought on their cashflow. They are trying to keep on employees and to keep their businesses afloat under the most difficult of circumstances. There is a lesson in all of this for the economic model we have used in Ireland for so long. When there is a crisis, whether it is Covid-19, an economic crash or Brexit, who has to come to the rescue? It…

I want to raise with the Taoiseach the issue of adults with intellectual disabilities who are at home with elderly parents who, in many cases, are unable to cope. This situation has continued through the pandemic. Many people around the country are at their wits end in regard to what to do. Day care services and respite care services have been taken away. Across my constituency, and I am sure across the country as a whole, carers and families who are caring for adults in such circumstances need to see efforts being…

The programme for Government makes a commitment to ensure no homes are flooded and that flood relief measures are put in place throughout the country. During the recent heavy rain, we had incidents of very serious flooding in north Leitrim, north Sligo and other areas. Last Monday I visited a house outside Dromahair which was under 2 ft of water the day before. The furniture and other belongings were thrown out outside. A lady who was driving when that flooding happened had to get out of her car and wade waist deep…

I congratulate the new Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, on their appointments, and I look forward to working closely with them in the coming months and, hopefully, years as we move through this process, out of Covid and into a more normal arrangement. The Estimates this year are governed by what happened in previous months with regard to Covid and the crisis that we have come through. The Garda numbers are interesting. The Minister says there are 14,700, with just over 3,000 …

The news of the murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan last Wednesday evening was met with shock, anger and sadness, not just in Roscommon but everywhere in Ireland. He was a highly respected officer and highly regarded member of the community. I did not know Detective Garda Horkan, but the outpouring of grief from those who did tells its own story. He was a decent man who was taken all too soon from those who loved him in the most dreadful of ways. Colm Horkan was a dedicated member of An Garda Síochána. He has bee…

I move amendment No. 3: To insert the following after “ending on 29th June, 2021”: “and — further resolves that the Minister for Justice and Equality shall commission an independent, comprehensive review of the Act and the operation of our criminal courts to include the development of recommendations that would ensure our justice system is capable of effectively responding to the threat posed by international criminal and terrorist networks, abuse and fraud using the internet and organised criminal gangs, and that …

Fair play. The reality is that in the 21st century, we are in this House discussing this Act which, as Deputy O'Callaghan said, dates back to 1939 and the Second World War. The parts of the Act we are dealing with today, and the sections within it, concern issues that existed in 1998 and, prior to that, in 1972, which was a different Ireland. The last review of this Act took place almost 19 years ago, in 2001 and it was published in 2002. That review of the Act looked at the circumstances of that time, which are en…

In the context of the Minister stating that he is committed to a full and comprehensive review and that that will be an independent review, I have come to the conclusion that we will withdraw the amendment. That said, I am disappointed that the Minister has not stated the timeline in respect of that. It needs to happen before we come back this time next year. We need to be in a position where we are not coming here on an annual basis to renew this type of legislation and I think the Minister would accept that. My v…

I pay tribute to the many organisations around the country that do tremendous work in the area. Many of these are voluntary organisations and they help mainly women who find themselves in these positions. The lockdown caused by Covid-19 has resulted in problems for people under daily pressure because this pressure was magnified when people could not leave their home and, very often, the abusive partner or person who exhibited manipulation was with them 24 hours a day, seven days per week. It is a terrible position.…

I am sharing time, with three minutes for Deputy Ó Broin and five minutes for Deputy Andrews. I wish to acknowledge the work that has been done but I believe we in this country have a long distance to go. This is true of many parts of the world, but of Ireland in particular. The Black Lives Matter movement has grown up in recent years and has become prevalent since the death unfortunately, under the knee of a policeman, of Mr. Floyd in the United States. It has brought everything of this nature very much into focus…

If there is time for a reply that is fine, but I am also happy for the Minister to respond in writing. I commend An Garda Síochána for the good work that many thousands of gardaí have done across the country during this pandemic. For many people, they have been a lifeline. This needs to be recognised and acknowledged. I too want to comment on what happened in the United States to George Floyd. When one compares policing in the United States with policing in many other places the contrast is very stark. Many of us h…

During this pandemic there has been an upsurge in the number of checkpoints placed on main roads and routes. That is understandable but in many other parts of the country people will often say that they do not have that fear anymore because there is never going to be a Garda checkpoint anywhere. We have to recognise that there needs to be a little more work done by An Garda Síochána on the ground to ensure we change that. Finally, the youth diversion programme needs more resources and needs to be spread out much mo…