Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 4, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following:

""Act of 2006" means the Criminal Justice Act 2006;".

When introducing the Bill, I announced my intention to table Committee Stage amendments to clarify aspects of the fixed charge penalty arrangements set out in the Criminal Justice Act 2006. This is the purpose of this group of amendments.

Amendment No. 2 inserts a reference to the Criminal Justice Act 2006 into section 2 of the Bill. Amendment No. 54 inserts a new section 19 into the Bill and amends section 23A of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 while amendment No. 55 inserts a new section 20 and amends section 23B of the 1994 Act.

The legal basis for the charge we are discussing is in section 184 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. It has been formally commenced but the arrangements are not yet in operation. Discussions have taken place with the Garda Commissioner and the necessary administrative arrangements have been finalised. As a result, I expect to be able to make the necessary regulations introducing these charges shortly after the enactment of the Bill.

The charges will apply to two of the most common offences under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. Section 23A applies to offences under section 5 of the 1994 Act, namely, being disorderly in a public place, and section 23B applies to offences under section 4, that is being drunk in a public place.

Amendment No. 54 amends section 23A of the 1994 Act. As I stated earlier, the changes are technical but they are necessary before the arrangements can come into operation. The amendments to section 23A cover two issues, namely, the outsourcing of systems of the service of notices and the payments of the charges and the presumption that may be made in proceedings for non-payment that the notice was properly served.

Amendment No. 55 relates to section 23B of the 1994 Act. Sections 23A and 23B are cross-referenced regarding the administration of the system. As a result, the same arrangements apply to both sections. In other words, the changes to administration we discussed in regard to section 23A will apply also to the charges arising under section 23B. However, a further amendment is required in subsection (2), which also provides for the service of the notice by post in cases where it is not served on the person personally.

See this speech in context