I thank the Sinn Féin Party for tabling the Bill which is very much to be welcomed. It is a Bill I will support. I commend the Minister of State on the constructive approach the Government is taking on the Bill. It is an acknowledgement that we need to move forward in a considered way. The way the Minister of State is proposing to allow some time to effectively consider what exactly needs to be done is to be commended. The one issue I wish to particularly raise is that of the Shannon fishery. The ESB has undoubtedl…

The Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, just left the Chamber.

Like colleagues in my group, I will vote against this Bill. The Bill is a fig leaf. It tries to give responsibility to An Garda Síochána to do the work the health service failed to do. Whether it failed to do that because it was mismanaged or was inadequately resourced is not pertinent. Either way, the responsibility for that rests firmly with the Government. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was a member of the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response, as was the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. We were repeat…

Laws are made by the Oireachtas. Yes, we can delegate powers.

Could I use some of the time the Government did not use?

I will conclude with the point that laws are made by the Oireachtas in accordance with the Constitution. I accept that we can delegate powers to the Minister, but there is a finite amount that we can delegate. An event is an event. A friend visiting another friend or a family member visiting a family member is not an event.

A party is an event. Throwing a party in one's home at this time would be reckless and irresponsible but a family visit is not, so if the Minister intends to bring in fines for that, it gives rise to issues of concern.

I want to speak on the section.

We are delegating to secondary legislation what a dwelling event is.

My problem with this Act and with this section is that it delegates the question of what a dwelling event is to secondary legislation. We are also delegating the punishment for contravention of the rules on dwelling events. I question that approach. It is not unusual to delegate powers to a Minister, but it is unusual to delegate powers that define a criminal offence. I am not aware of that ever happening although I am open to correction on that point. At the very least it is very unusual not to define a criminal o…

I welcome the Sinn Féin amendments, which I will support. I thank Deputy Cullinane and his party for tabling them. I endorse what Deputies Howlin, Shortall and Bríd Smith have said. I hope none of them takes offence at my endorsement. I will take this opportunity to ask the Minister a specific question and I would welcome an answer to it. We are allowing the Minister to define a dwelling event, the holding of which will be a criminal offence punishable by law. I would put question marks over the constitutionality o…

I apologise. If I stand too close to it, I walk into it. I probably need to lose some weight. I am not the only one, but that is a different matter.

I have no doubt that An Garda Síochána will do the job this House assigns it to do but will the Minister rule out asking gardaí to fine a parent visiting his or her child? If parents cannot pay such a fine, will the Minister have them brought to court? If they will not go to court, a bench warrant will be issued, which An Garda Síochána will have to execute because that is the position of our fines system at the moment. There was recently a District Court enforcement list of 600 cases in Limerick and 400 bench warr…

I agree with what Deputy Carthy said about the need for the Government to consider proposals that will enable the marts to function. Deputy Fitzmaurice and I are bringing proposals to the Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, who said he will consider them. When we raised the matter with the Taoiseach, he said that there could be no special provisions for any interest group and that is what I really want to focus on in this contribution. Some of those who are involved in the training of various elite sporting activities are a…

When will the Minister publish the report pursuant to the section 42 inquiry into the death of Patrick Nugent at Bunratty? Will she share her views on the inordinate and unacceptable delay in publishing that report? I would also like to ask the Houses of the Oireachtas Service why Mr. Nugent's name was removed from the question. A public inquiry is under way. Why on earth was his name removed from the Dáil Éireann Question Paper? What is going on in this place? Why are questions routinely changed?

As the Minister pointed out, it has been 36 years since Patrick Nugent died in circumstances that have yet to be explained. It is 33 years since the jury in his inquest attached a rider to the verdict saying that it was "far from satisfied as to the circumstances under which Patrick Nugent sustained the injuries which caused his death" and asked the Minister for Justice to have the matter further investigated. It took 32 years for the Department to do so. The ongoing delays by the former District Court judge carryi…

I thank the Minister and greatly appreciate her assurances. I would also appreciate an assurance that the report will be published. While this is far more important for those who grieve Patrick Nugent, it is also important for the wider community that justice be done and be seen to be done, regardless of who the perpetrators are, the position they hold or the work they carry out in society. I appreciate as well that the Minister will not be able to publish the report immediately, but I would appreciate if it were p…

I have already asked my question but I want to come in on this particular question. I stress to the Minister that it is not just about those who are undocumented. A huge amount of administration goes on in dealing with people who have been here for such a long time that they are almost inevitably going to be able to stay. It is not just for their benefit but for the benefit of the Department and the broader administration that they be dealt with. It is also important to get papers back to people who are applying fo…

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

I had a question for the Minister of State but I will accept a response in writing.