Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I am grateful for the opportunity to make a brief contribution on this Bill, on which a discussion is timely. We all accept that society is changing in this country, with significant attitudinal change. On both sides of the House we lament the diminution if not the demise of volunteerism. From time to time it might be useful to ask ourselves why fewer people participate in community work and general voluntary work. A cursory examination of social and economic change in Ireland shows that the voluntary sector has made very significant input down the years at a time when we were less prosperous than we now are.

While the issue under debate is not directly related to a recent court case, we need to consider for example a situation where an assault is mounted on family members in their own setting. The question arises of whether people may take defensive action in those circumstances, as does the definition of just, adequate force being used to deal with intruders, or those prepared to assault people in the course of robbery or other undesirable activity. We must ask where the threshold lies in such circumstances. The law of the land must provide a clearer definition.

This debate may allow us to dwell on the issues for a short time. At the end of the day, those defending the integrity of their homes and families need some protection in the eyes of the law. I accept that it will be difficult for any Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to get a clear, standard definition for the circumstances involved. As we have seen, the levels and degree of brutality that can be visited on people vary and to adopt a broad brush approach would be difficult. The question of having a uniform position right across the EU is clearly desirable. There could be one set of standards in Ireland and another in the UK or in other EU member states, but the standards of the European Court of Human Rights in this area would be a reasonable reference point.

The role of the good samaritan is also relevant in sport. I have some personal experience of sports injury. The various sporting organisations need to have available to them qualified personnel to deal with emergencies at every level, not just for example at the intensive inter-county Gaelic football or hurling, League of Ireland soccer or provincial rugby. That is obvious. I have seen matches where tongue-swallowing has occurred in a clash between individuals, and the Acting Chairman, Deputy Cowley, will know that this is a dangerous type of injury or condition, with only a limited amount of time to recover the situation. It is vitally important that there are people available who can deal with such circumstances. It worries me that the day will come when individuals who might suffer in such circumstances might feel there was an obligation on the club or sporting organisation involved to have qualified personnel available at matches to cover those circumstances.

Another issue is the operation of the protocols for ambulance personnel. In my area in the north east of the country, those who man our ambulance services must make rapid decisions as to where a patient should go, whether to Louth County Hospital or Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, or perhaps further afield to Beaumont or the Mater Hospital in Dublin. Those ambulance personnel take decisions on the roadside perhaps at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. and deal with what may very often be life and death.

Those are the types of circumstances where there are obligations for the State and the personnel involved to the individuals who unfortunately find themselves vulnerable and injured. We need a clear position on that. Some of the briefing notes indicate that the State Claims Agency has not yet identified any claims coming through the system to suggest that someone responding in a medical emergency, such as a good samaritan, has been sued. However, we must be entirely realistic in this area, as such a situation will inevitably arise.

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