David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 8, to delete lines 7 to 12 and substitute the following:" "special measure" means a measure referred to in section 16 or 18;".

Amendment No. 112 makes a small amendment to the text of section 18 to clarify that in determining whether to make an application for any special measure during court proceedings, the prosecutor must have regard to the protection needs identified. It also clarifies that it is the specific needs identified, and not just the fact that protection needs have been identified, that must be considered.

Amendment No. 113 inserts a new subsection into section 18, setting out the special measures available to a victim during criminal proceedings. The purpose of the amendment is to clearly identify what is meant by special measures during criminal proceedings as some of these measures, such as the exclusion of the public and the restriction on the questioning of a victim on his or her private life, are in this Bill and others are in the Criminal Evidence Act 1992. The approach is in keeping with section 16 concerning special measures during investigations. The new subsection will be numbered subsection (1) which will involve designating the existing section 18, as subsection (2).

As a consequence, amendment No. 8 amends the definition of "special measure" in section 2, to refer to the measures set out in section 18.

The amendments do not alter the substance of the section.