Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry - my voice is very compromised. Thankfully, most of the questions I wanted to ask the witnesses have been asked and answered very well. I thank them for their work.

The following is just a comment on the curtilage issue. There are some buildings where services are provided in respect of which the definition of 100 m from the entrance still does not satisfactorily address the question of protest. I think immediately of Holles Street Hospital. One could be 100 m away from the entrance to it and still be outside a window of a room where a woman might be receiving or a doctor might be providing care. I note that when the witnesses from the Garda were here they had a real problem with the definition, yet the definition in the Electoral Act is very clear. I have contested many elections, as every other member in this room has, and that is constantly implemented, and all gardaí are familiar with it. You cannot go within 100 m of a polling station to distribute literature or you will be warned, and if you do it again in another polling station up the road, you will be told: "You were doing that just down the road and I told you off." The Garda has experience of implementing legislation with that definition, with all gardaí understanding exactly what is required.

We see that actively at every election. I have had pensioners give out leaflets for me, innocently, who were repeatedly warned by gardaí not to do so. I therefore found the response of the witnesses from the Garda on safe access zones a little picky, but they are very well capable of implementing legislation that contains provisions relating to curtilage, the definition of 100 m etc. There are, as I said, venues that would still not benefit from the provision stipulating 100 m from the entrance, end of. I alert the witnesses to that.

I am also a bit confused about the reasons for warnings given, taking into account the argument Senator Higgins made about relay protesters, because that is what they do. They do it here all the time to us. Certain protesters are doing it at certain venues with refugees in them now. I am confused as to why warnings cannot be recorded or why Garda A cannot record, "I have just given Muiris O'Connor a warning", such that if Muiris O'Connor appears somewhere else, they are all able to say, "You have been warned already." I do not understand why that cannot be done and I am worried about that relay nature that would allow such protesters to circumvent the legislation. Will the Department look at that again, if possible?

Will the witnesses clarify for us the penalties involved? Are there immediate fines, or what penalties would people who breach safe access zones face? I know the witnesses have gone into the difficulty about the Garda wanting to go to the DPP and I totally get that they are correct in being concerned about that - we would all be concerned about that - but what are the penalties, just so the public and we ourselves are clear?