Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

I carefully keep my driving licence in my wallet on the basis that I need to produce it if I am stopped on the road as there is a law that tells me I must do that, but there is no law that states that one must keep one's television licence in a safe and secure place so that it is not the best example. There should be some evidence from an inspector to show that he checked the list and the payment does not appear to be recorded on the list. Some prima facie evidence should be produced on behalf of the prosecution.

Having said that, it seems in certain circumstances that the burden of proof should be more on the accused than currently is the case. If we had a proper debate on Committee Stage, we could have got evidence from people in this area who could give us a better understanding on where we are at the moment and how we might rebalance the law somewhat to put the onus on the accused, but ensuring that we do not do so unfairly. I am glad this amendment was raised, but I am not utterly convinced that we should adopt it in its current format.

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