Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

No, that is a very comprehensive way of answering. I will outline my concern on involving the DPP. From our interaction with the Garda, we gathered that there is concern about the implementation of this law. I have a concern that, if it becomes an established standard within this legislation to involve the DPP where it is not really in the public interest actually to prosecute, and there is usually discretion around such issues and the DPP is reserved for specific types of cases, it will be used as a practical barrier to prosecution and it will not be a law that is used. Usually when things get sent to the DPP, it is to see whether something can be prosecuted, if it is worth doing and why we would do it. If that conversation is introduced into legislation, then the legislation is undermined before it has begun. We have to wait to see what the DPP says, but I would have a real concern that we would be introducing a level of questioning of the purpose of this law and whether we will actually prosecute where there does not need to be such.