Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

All I say to the Minister is that the Good Samaritan Bill is so called for a very good reason. It should engender in all of us the need to do good. As I said, I am not certain the Minister has reached that level of enlightenment, or that he ever will, but he should at least be tolerant and recognise that the Bill is worthwhile. It aims to protect people and put in place a particular set of values which we should try to uphold.

Up to yesterday I might have had a different view of this matter but I came across a situation which involved a man who has been a volunteer in his community all his life. I am not good at guessing ages but I imagine he is in his late 50s or early 60s — perhaps he is not that age. All I will say is that he had to appear in a forum that related to an issue in an area in which he was a volunteer. The work he did was unpaid but he was berated and belittled for not being good enough as a volunteer. Whatever the merits of the case before the forum, the manner in which he was treated beggared belief. Afterwards he mused as to why anyone would be a volunteer or donate time to his or her community. It was awful to watch how he was treated. In a different context, the Bill is about protecting people who still have that spirit within them and ensuring that when they volunteer their time or service in an unpaid capacity they are protected from somebody who may take a different view. That is what this is about, no more and no less.

I know the Minister does not do so, but I decry the loss of certain values in society. We all recognise the value of people who care for their neighbours, who are good samaritans. The Minister should look at the issue from that point of view. When the Minister looks again at the last paragraph of the Bill he will recognise that he is misinterpreting it. I am sure that was always the case.

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