Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I have a couple of questions. Section 4 of SIPTU’s submission states it has established that cases currently heard in the District Court carry a maximum fine of €1,500. In that regard, Mr. Hayes mentioned figures of between €15,000 and €50,000. Obviously, I made the observation that he is here not as a representative, as he has said, but in some, way, shape or form representing people who could very easily sustain that figure. In terms of where the penalty should be set, could we agree for the information of the committee that it has to be sufficient to be persuasive and to act as a deterrent? We do not have to put a number on it, although there would have to be a maximum or a minimum number set in law. If we come at it from the point of view of trying to devise that number so that it acts as a deterrent, should that not be the guiding principle, or would the witnesses favour just a flat-out money amount?