Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)

It is very ironic that we are dealing with this legislation when the IMF is in town and the State itself is looking for assistance. We had our own begging bowl out. The week in which we discussed this legislation on Committee Stage was the week the IMF came to town, despite the fact that it was said by certain individuals that it was not coming.

Begging is associated with poverty, homelessness and the need for access to social services. The Government would be best to consider why people end up begging. I welcome the two amendments because I raised this issue on Committee Stage. There are criminal gangs directing the most vulnerable people in society to beg and organising begging. I welcome the amendments and certainly support them. They encompass what I was trying to achieve in my amendments on Committee Stage.

See this speech in context