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Dail Éireann · 2024-07-10

Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023: From the Seanad

LAB Brendan Howlin · Wexford

Party shown is the one held on 2024-07-10, frozen at parse time — not the speaker's party today.

Summary of this debate

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Seanad amendments Nos. 1 to 11, inclusive, are related and will be discussed together. Does any Member wish to comment on the Seanad amendments? Amendments Nos. 1 to 11, inclusive, are technical amendments which are to replace the word "vulnerable" with "relevant".

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions raised concerns that these terms could be conflated, which risked narrowing the interpretation of position of vulnerability. To address the issue, the amendments define a person with capacity issues as a relevant person and provide for the associated changes in terminology in relation to that. Agreement to the Seanad amendments is reported to the House.

Built by scoring every sentence in the debate on how distinctive its language is, then quoting the highest-scoring ones back word for word and in the order spoken. Nothing is paraphrased or invented — if a sentence appears here, it was said in the chamber. Drawn from 107 words across 7 contributions by 3 speakers.

Most used terms in this debate

How often each word appears across the whole debate, ranked by how distinctive it is to this debate rather than common to all parliamentary language.

amendments 6
seanad 5
vulnerability 2
person 4
confusion 2
vulnerable 3
acquainting 1
risked 1
conflated 1
nos 2
relation 3
avoid 2

The full debate

All 7 contributions, start to finish, in the order they were made. The one you came here for is highlighted.

CC Catherine Connolly

Seanad amendments Nos. 1 to 11, inclusive, are related and will be discussed together.

CC Catherine Connolly

Does any Member wish to comment on the Seanad amendments?

LAB Brendan Howlin this contribution

The Minister of State might go through the exact import of each Seanad amendment.

FF James Browne

Amendments Nos. 1 to 11, inclusive, are technical amendments which are to replace the word "vulnerable" with "relevant". The reason for that is that the word "vulnerable" has a more particular meaning in a number of other places in legislation. This is to avoid confusion in relation to it. A vulnerable person is currently defined in the Bill as a person with capacity issues. However, a position of vulnerability is also used in relation to trafficked persons, which is construed more broadly. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions raised concerns that these terms could be conflated, which risked narrowing the interpretation of position of vulnerability. To address the issue, the amendments define a person with capacity issues as a relevant person and provide for the associated changes in terminology in relation to that. The purpose of the change is to avoid confusion.

CC Catherine Connolly

Agreement to the Seanad amendments is reported to the House. A message will be sent to the Seanad acquainting it accordingly.

LAB Brendan Howlin

A great way to do business.

CC Catherine Connolly

The period of reflection in the morning helps.