Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

First, I compliment Deputy Timmins for introducing this legislation in Private Members' time. I also compliment him on his tenacity in seeking to secure its passage of this legislation. I note that in the less than five years since he last introduced it, no action has been taken by the Government in the meantime. Moreover, I can imagine the response he then received from the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, which I am sure was not terribly positive. I hope the present Minister will do as he promised, which is to ensure that his proposed legislation, namely, the civil law (miscellaneous provisions) Bill, will be enacted this year. I had not realised that the national conference centre required a liquor licence and that this needed to be done in the context of its opening. As I had thought it was going to open much earlier, that is, next month, perhaps it will be obliged to operate for some time without the liquor licence. However, were the Minister to deliver on this commitment this year, it would be very welcome. I also commend Deputy Timmins on keeping this matter on the agenda and ensuring that it is being addressed in a serious manner.

As other Members have noted, the purpose of the Bill is to ensure that those who assist and take steps to help others and who do so in good faith will not be held liable for any unforeseen adverse circumstances that might occur as a result of their actions. Citizens who volunteer their services to help others should, I believe, be cherished and protected from any negative unintended consequences of their activities. This should be established and clarified in a formal, certain, statutory fashion as is proposed in the Bill because the last thing one needs is for the present confusion to continue to reign. Where there is doubt, all such doubt should be removed and this should be done once and for all.

The reason is that enormous numbers of people, more than 550,000 adults in Ireland, provide volunteer services. They are the unsung heroes who volunteer their time and skills and who expect nothing in return. They make a significant contribution to the quality of our society. Volunteers and good samaritans provide the cement that binds human relationships, promotes team spirit, develops social networking, gives the impetus to the positive human development and social values and principles which enhance our humanity and underpin our society. These are extraordinarily important matters that in the main are provided by volunteers.

The Government has been active in this respect. The former Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, was a strong promoter of volunteerism and active citizenship. If we as a country go down that road, surely we must put a framework in place that does not endanger those who provide their services for free or allow them to become liable due to an act of negligence by those of us in this House. We have a responsibility to ensure that they do not incur a liability when they act in good faith. This is the important issue. Although there may not have been too many instances of such liability being incurred, it is important for us to make that assertion clear in a robust and formal legislative format. How can we invite and persuade people to volunteer and become involved in active citizenship unless we do our bit to ensure that they can do so without incurring any liability?

Deputy Timmins had a particular concern regarding defibrillators. I have a particular concern, in that there has been profligate waste. This issue can be addressed. Every day in every town, supermarkets, grocery stores and bakeries dispose of food that has reached or passed its sell-by date. Every day and night, there are skip-loads of it. Supermarkets must dispose of it in such a fashion that it cannot be used. They will not allow it to go to night shelters or to be used by the homeless or any agency where it might be consumed by humans. They cannot do this because they fear liability, namely, that they could be prosecuted for making available foodstuffs that have passed their sell-by date and, therefore, might cause illness.

Tens of thousands of tonnes of food are lost in this fashion. It must be possible to find a mechanism whereby the sell-by date could be brought forward a little or the issue of liability in this respect could be negotiated. There are many night shelters and food centres that provide meals. The Capuchin Day Centre in my constituency provides more than 400 meals to the homeless daily. The centre finds getting enough money to pay for that food difficult, yet there are skiploads of food that, if made available one or two days earlier, would have been perfectly good. Perhaps that food is perfectly good as it is, since there must be a margin of error. Due to the liability, however, the food cannot be used. This means that supermarkets must ensure there is dye in the food or it is disposed of in such a way as to make it inaccessible for human consumption. I would like this matter to be addressed, particularly in an era in which making ends meet and finding enough food for everyone who is in desperate need of it is proving difficult.

Different countries have different approaches. In some countries, it is impossible for a citizen to provide aid. One must go to the emergency service. In Italy, for example, one must call an ambulance. One cannot approach a person and provide first aid because doing so is against the law. We should get our act together and, instead of putting a negative factor into the equation, make the situation as positive as possible. If someone goes to the aid of another person and does so in good faith and in a reasonable fashion, no liability should be incurred. This basis can be easily established in terms of legislation.

Regarding the situations that can arise, first aid and 999 services are not far away in an urban setting. In rural settings, however, the issue is more complicated. Therefore, there are variations in terms of the isolation in which the good samaritan or volunteer provides his or her services. These situations must be addressed in the legislation. It is a complex matter.

Today's newspaper carries statistics in respect of Childline. That there has been an increase of 200,000 in the number of calls, bringing the total to 800,000, is incredible, as is the fact that 300,000 of those calls have not been responded to because there were not enough volunteers and resources. One can only respond to calls if there are lines. The cost of providing these services is expensive, but this is a matter of great importance.

Volunteerism is considerably important. The figure of 550,000 people involved on a regular basis is colossal. All of us know the football teams that are trained and coached every weekend and the amount of time given to under-six, under-seven, under-eight, under-nine and other under-age teams. All of it is provided by volunteers. In such situations, there are no doctors. If one attends a match at Croke Park, there will be a doctor, as there will at a boxing tournament in the National Stadium. If one attends a concert, the Order of Malta will probably be there, as will the Civil Defence. They all have specific skills. However, every day in Clonshaugh where so much of the training in question takes place, St. Anne's Park in Dublin or the Bogies in St. John Paul Park, hundreds of young lads and so on are in situations in which first aid might be a priority. These issues must also be addressed.

The essence of volunteerism is people who will provide a service free of charge and go to the assistance of someone who, for one reason or another, requires assistance. This is where the action should be and where we should ensure that we give a positive message. We should assert that people acting in that capacity should not incur liability. For this reason, legislation is important.

It may well be the case that liability is unlikely to be regularly incurred despite our litigious society. Nevertheless, let us make strong and robust our message that we, as policy makers, want to encourage good and active citizenship, volunteerism and the concept of the good samaritan and to provide the legislative framework to make that possible.

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