Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I reiterate the point made by many speakers about the Irish language translation. I am aware some assurance has been given in that regard but as with civil liberties, for example, an issue like the Irish language is not something that would disappear overnight but would get chipped away at, so to speak. It is important that we are vigilant in that regard. I am not a speaker of Irish but I made the investment in my children going to an all-Irish school and therefore I would be supportive of the use of the language in as many applications as possible.

This is certainly a miscellaneous provisions Bill. It is a dolly mixture of many different issues, some of which I would support. I thank the Library and Research Service for its good work on the explanatory booklet, which is very helpful.

On the good samaritan section, the way it is described tends to focus on people who come across an accident, but something people often complain and feel aggrieved about is in cases of an attack where people stand by and do not intervene. Is it intended to give some comfort or protection to people in that category because it is a very unfortunate feature of today's society that people do not intervene? Such a measure would encourage them to do that. People who have been attacked often feel doubly aggrieved if there were many people around them but there was no intervention.

The Bill refers to the reduction in the number of people who volunteer from 33% in 1999 to 17% in 2006. That figure will alter again because we are recapturing some of today's better values. There are some encouraging signs in regard to people getting involved in activities in that many have more time on their hands than they would wish.

I would like to see training in first aid provided in schools because when people intervene, they can sometimes do more harm than good, especially in circumstances where victims are moved and so on. Some basic training would be very useful and might be something from which we would benefit.

This document refers to the duty of care being silent and does not determine what is meant by it but, instead, says the courts will be relied upon on a case-by-case basis. I am not sure if that is a good idea. We are better off defining aspects because too often the courts have ruled that a matter has not been legislated for, and I would be concerned about that.

The other aspect in regard to this category is about the protection for health care professionals. I have come across situations where a doctor has not attended but has advised people, in the case of an accident, to ring for an ambulance because they did not feel the necessary protections were in place. I would like to see that specific area protected because those situations arise and very often they can be important in terms of the time involved in responding, particularly to road traffic accidents.

On the area of human trafficking, the Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC, has been supportive but it has also been critical in terms of the Bill not going far enough. I would endorse some of the criticisms it makes in that where legal advice is available, the only legal representation available is where the person is being questioned on their own past sexual history. The representation should be extended far beyond that.

On the intoxicating liquor aspect, the Bill states that the Minister may but is not obliged to seek submissions. I would like to see that provision strengthened where there is an absolute requirement to do that. It is always useful to get input from as wide a variety of people as possible.

Regarding the area of bankruptcy, I am disappointed that we are not seeing more people coming forward earlier in regard to the very good work of the Law Reform Commission in dealing with personal debt management. I took the trouble to read the extensive document in recent months and some very good work is being done that could be put into legislation fairly quickly.

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