Mr. Ken Murphy:

I will deal first with the part of the question on public protest. Public protest is an essential part of democracy like many of the other things we are talking about here. If it is to be restricted then any restriction on it must be necessary and proportionate, as would be required by law. Whether that is the case or not in any particular instance then becomes a matter on which ultimately, on evidence, a court might have to decide as to whether a restriction on public protest, which is essential to democracy, was necessary and proportionate. I am not really expressing a view on that and I speak in general terms.

Part of the Law Society of Ireland's submission has under a heading a discussion on house parties, which is something else the Deputy referred to. The proposal to empower gardaí to enter private dwellings with a view to enforcement of Covid-19 regulations is of some concern to the society, as we have said in our submission. Criminal statutes that provide for powers of entry by gardaí into private dwellings generally have safeguards that require certain preconditions to be met. The Oireachtas has generally provided that powers of entry into private dwellings are reserved for the investigation of serious offences, for example, an arrestable offence, whereby the penalty for such an offence is a penalty of five years imprisonment or more. Again, without expressing any definitive view on it I conclude with a sentence from our submission which states that the society cautions against introducing powers which are normally reserved for the investigation of serious criminal offences for the purpose of enforcing what are, in effect, health regulations.