Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

There have been Criminal Justice Bills concerning public order, insanity and many other issues. Therefore, it is not as if this was just a one-off, mammoth Bill which substitutes for the absence of any other legislation.

I wish to respond to remarks made earlier in the debate about the three amendments, which are entirely typographical and grammatical and have no substantive meaning. It is our duty, as we have been warned recently by the Chief Justice, to do our best and to ensure what we do is done to the highest standard. If my officials see grammatical or typographical mistakes, it would be strange if they would leave them in the Bill.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh has yet again repeated a proposition with which I do not agree, that is, that ASBOs somehow criminalise people on a civil standard of proof. That is not so. ASBOs will be made in very restricted circumstances on a civil standard of proof. If anybody is ever prosecuted for breaching them, they will be prosecuted on the criminal standard of proof. A person will not be convicted of breaching an ASBO or criminalised unless it has been proven beyond all reasonable doubt that the person has breached an ASBO made in regard to him or her. If there is any ambiguity in regard to the ASBO or to the facts of the matter, the benefit of the doubt will go to the accused person.

I pay tribute to the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan. The decision to separate ASBOs for adults and children was a good one and I am happy to acknowledge in the House that he was the author of that idea. The Minister of State has, first, put considerable work into getting the Children Act further implemented and taking all the necessary steps to ensure it can be implemented. Some amendment of the Act was required to facilitate its implementation. Second, he has crafted what I consider to be a child oriented, family oriented and parenting oriented approach to behaviour orders in regard to children, which my original proposals did not include. To be fair, the Minister of State has produced good legislation.

We should implement the Children Act. I attended a probation service re-launch yesterday. I have no doubt that all of the pieces are now falling into place for a rapid implementation of the entire Act. This provision will enhance that Act rather than detract from it. I genuinely believe the course we are taking is the correct one.

See this speech in context