Mr. Ken Murphy:

I know a member of the Bar is chairing this committee but I do not know if Ms McNally is chairing the session here.

I wish to comment on this in response to Deputy Martin Kenny and to express full support for that proposal. It is thematic in the Law Society's submission that the issue of being able to identify what is law and what is guidance and the difference between the two and the potential for sanctions for breach of the law is essential. There is confusion in this regard. I wish to clear up some confusion, if there is any, regarding a headline in The Irish Timesthis morning which seemed to suggest that it was a Law Society suggestion that the confusion between the two had been deliberate by the State. The Law Society is not suggesting that; it is not part of our submission. However, we think that just as the law always strives for certainty, inevitably in circumstances where there was an enormous need for speed of response, which the State rose to admirably during those crisis weeks and months, there was some absence of certainty in the capacity of the public to be able to distinguish what was law and what was guidance. We are not suggesting there was a deliberate confusion of the two by the State or any organ of the State, but we believe, and this is thematic of the society's submission, that for the future there should be greater clarity. We say in the submission there is a need for clearer communication as to what restrictions are being imposed, the reasons for them, whether they are intended to have legal effect and the sanctions for breaching them if they are legally binding. A consequence of an absence of that is confusion and, potentially, resentment due to that lack of clarity.