Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

Amendment No. 3 relates to the first part of the Bill, which deals with the substantive issue of a nuclear explosion, and it proposes a jail sentence of one year or a fine of €5,000. Amendment No. 4 relates to the associated relationship to the crime, a second or third party relationship to the event. What is proposed in amendment No. 4 can be further examined in the debate on the Bill in the Seanad. However, amendment No. 3 addresses the case of a person directly connected with the setting off of a nuclear explosion in the State being liable, as proposed in the section, to a fine of €5,000 or one year's imprisonment. The Labour Party amendment proposes the deletion of certain lines of the section, which would allow a judge presiding over such a case to determine the sentence to be handed down and that we would not engage in determining the sentences in lesser crimes dealt with by District Courts or anything else. That is the procedure in the case of any serious offence, whether it be manslaughter, murder, riotous behaviour, rape or sexual assault. There is no provision in the Bill for a minor offence. It is incorrect to proceed with the provision of a minor penalty for such a serious offence as the setting of a nuclear explosion in the State.

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