Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I move amendment No. 50:

In page 75, after line 53, to insert the following:

"(11) A person who—

(a) contravenes any of the relevant statutory provisions by doing otherwise than under the authority of a licence issued by the Authority or, a person prescribed under section 33, something for the doing of which, such a licence is necessary under the relevant statutory provisions, or

(b) contravenes a term of or a condition or a restriction attached to any such licence as is mentioned in paragraph (a),

shall be guilty of an offence.".

This amendment proposes to insert a new subsection 11 and I am optimistic the Minister of State will accept this amendment. The purpose of the amendment, I am advised, is to correct a drafting problem with the relationship between section 77, which is the offensive section, and section 78, the penalty section. Section 78 is intended to create penalties for the offences created by section 77 and other parts of the Bill. However, it goes on to penalise certain conduct which is not specifically made an offence by section 77. My amendment proposes to remove those provisions from section 78 — they are currently contained in section 78(2)(b) and (c) — and insert them in what I have been advised is their proper place in section 77.

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