Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I move amendment No. 4:

In page 20, line 21, to delete "an employee" and substitute "an officer or employee".

These amendments relate to section 14 which specifies the steps that a housing authority must take in order to enter an abandoned dwelling for the purposes of securing the property against vandalism or trespassers or making safe any electrical, gas or water supply in the dwelling. The amendments are textual and seek to update the terminology in the section by changing references to "an employee" of the housing authority to "an officer or employee" of the housing authority. These amendments will ensure that the relevant powers in the section are conferred on all categories of local authority staff and remove any possibility of doubt about whether a particular staff member can exercise the powers concerned.
Amendment No. 4 provides for a local authority staff member to provide information on oath to the District Court in support of an application for an entry warrant; amendments Nos. 5, 6 and 7 provide that a local authority staff member may enter a dwelling in accordance with the section and amendment No. 8 provides that a local authority staff member may accompany another local authority staff member entering the dwelling in accordance with the section.