Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an Aire nua, an Teachta McEntee, agus leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta McConalogue. Tá sé soiléir go bhfuil dúshláin agus deacrachtaí nua ag baint le Covid-19 do na Ranna go léir agus don Roinn Dlí agus Cirt. Chonaic mé an tuarascáil ón Irish Human Rights Commission agus tá béim ann ar chomhionannas, cothrom na Féinne agus ceartas sóisialta a choimeád sna polasaithe sa Roinn Dlí agus Cirt i rith an pandemic. There are a number of interesting things in the Estimates. I welc…

I would like to express my gratitude to Deputies Pearse Doherty and O'Reilly for their speeches and for their work on these issues. I support the amendment proposed by Deputy O'Reilly. Although the Bill is somewhat welcome for the expansion it will bring in the credit available to small enterprises, it remains only a smaller part of the wider picture for businesses in these difficult times. It has limitations for a number of reasons which have been raised with me by constituents in Kerry over recent weeks and month…

Speaking to the amendment, it is difficult sometimes with criminal law to have a rational debate without having to listen to the manufactured outrage of some people trying to prove that they are tougher on crime than others. I remember being on the joint policing committee in Kerry. No matter how many times the chief superintendent said that Kerry was the jewel in the crown, with much lower crime rates than everywhere else, it did not stop people from claiming otherwise. As Aneurin Bevan, MP, used to say, if one do…

The economy in Kerry and along the Wild Atlantic Way has been destroyed by Covid-19. Disadvantaged by peripherality, Kerry is more dependent on tourism than any other county. In every category of the Southern Regional Assembly and the Covid-19 Regional Economic Analysis published yesterday, Kerry presents as the county worst affected by the crisis. Nationally, tourism employs more than 300,000 and contributes €2 billion to the coffers. In 2019, 11 million visitors came to Ireland. Two-thirds of visitors to Kerry ar…

The term "medical officer" should be clearly defined for the avoidance of any doubt. I state that because serious powers are being invested in him or her. A draft order should also be provided for the medical officer to sign and it should be a uniform order. The terms of the order should be included in any annex or Schedule or in the regulations. The regulations should also provide that a detainee must be informed of his or her right to request a review of the detention under section 38A(6). It is unfortunate, but …

We live in a country where there was a misuse of sectional guidelines with regard to mental health facilities and children's homes down through the years. There is a potential lack of proportionality in what is proposed. All I can do is highlight my experience in regard to the drug trafficking legislation. As a young solicitor in the courts in the Bridewell the first client I met was not a drug baron. Rather, it was a young single mother who was living in a hostel who was going to be detained for seven days. Many s…