Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 10:

In page 24, to delete lines 14 to 17.

Section 20 of the Bill provides for copies of the orders under the Act to be given to various persons, including the respondent, by the court. These provisions are included in section 20. Order 59, rule 10, of the District Court rules provides that the clerk of the court shall give a copy of the order under the Domestic Violence Act to the respondent or send it to him or her by prepaid post. This is set out in the District Court domestic violence rules in SI 202 of 2005. It should be noted that if a respondent is present in the court when an order is made he or she will have been notified of the order. This is provided for in section 19 of the Bill, which replaces section 10 of the 1996 Act.

A new subsection (3) was inserted into section 19 on Committee Stage in the Seanad, on foot of an amendment tabled by Senator David Norris and others. The new subsection provides for the service of orders by An Garda Síochána. My officials, in consultation with the Court Service, the Garda Síochána and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, have examined section 19(3) to see what further improvements and adjustments might be needed by the text. Amendment No. 11 proposes to insert a new subsection (5) into section 19, to provide that a court may direct personal service of an order by An Garda Síochána. This will apply in cases where the respondent was not present, where the order was made in the absence of the respondent and where there are reasonable grounds for believing he or she may evade service, or where there is a good and sufficient reason to direct that an order be served by a garda. I propose the new subsection (5), which has been drafted by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, would replace the current subsection (3). Amendment No. 10, therefore, proposes the deletion of the current subsection (3).

Are we dealing with amendment No. 11 also?