Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 144:

In page 33, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following:“Non-compliance with Act

30.(1) A failure by an individual to observe any provision of this Act shall not of itself—

(a) render him or her liable to any criminal or civil proceedings,

(b) prevent any criminal or civil proceedings relating to an offence from being instituted or prosecuted, or

(c) affect the lawfulness of—

(i) the custody of a person in relation to an offence, or

(ii) the admissibility of any evidence in a trial of a person for an offence.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), “criminal or civil proceedings” does not include disciplinary proceedings.”.

Amendment No. 144 simplifies and clarifies section 30 of the Bill by replacing the list of persons to whom it applies with the words "an individual".

Consequently, the definitions of the various staff members can also be deleted. The amendment will ensure that any individual staff member or employee who may have been omitted from the list, or who is in the future appointed under a different statutory provision, will also benefit from the protection. It also makes it clearer that the protection applies only to individuals and not to the office or agency to which they belong.