Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I understand the logic of the Bill, although I did not get the opportunity to attend the debate on Committee Stage. I have been aware for many years of organised begging; it is not a new phenomenon. Having said that, there are many other laws that could deal with this sort of organised begging. Given the scale of the problems we face economically, the urgency of this Bill is hard to understand.

There is organised begging, and I have seen it myself in Dublin and heard of it from people in other large towns. I take the Minister at his word that this legislation will not be used to harass those who are down on their luck and who are begging in the streets because they are in genuine dire straits, or to harass buskers, but that it will be used by the gardaí to target those who intimidate people going about their daily business, particularly those who are abusing children. That is a key element; many of those ferried into towns and cities are children and child abuse and public order legislation should be used to address the problem. Even the Road Safety Act could be used to prevent these activities.

In view of the organised begging, people who genuinely wish to help those in need have stopped providing donations of money and food to those down on their luck. Genuine cases of hardship are suffering because the unscrupulous are trying to make a trade of begging. I would prefer to see a situation where we did not have begging and people were not down on their luck but we seem to be able to pass laws on begging while we cannot lock up those who have defrauded the people of billions. There is proportionality involved and this legislation is ironic when we consider there will be increases in the numbers suffering hardship and who will end up begging due to the policies of this Government.

There are also those who do not want to see the consequences of the collapse of the economy, who do not want to see people begging in the streets. That has always been the case and it is shameful that a country might think the poor would be better hidden away. There are those who would like to criminalise the poor and the display of poverty. They would do better to concentrate on the criminalisation of poverty and making it illegal for people to made so poor.

I support the Bill on the understanding that it is intended to address the problem of organised begging. I have heard of older people being genuinely afraid to withdraw money from ATMs because of the activities organised in the fashion outlined by the Minister on Second Stage. I am sceptical because many laws have been passed in this House with one specific intention that end up being used for a different purpose later on. I appeal that this law be only used in the circumstances set out, to tackle the odious trade of organised begging, where people profiteer on the good will of the Irish people, because Irish people have been very generous to those down on their luck here and abroad. We do not want anyone to prey on that and that is what organised begging leads to.

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