Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Mattie McGrath for publishing the Bill. This is an important issue, one that affects both urban and rural areas. We have had debates in recent weeks in the House about urban and rural areas being at odds and being divided but this is truly a problem that unites the entire country.

I acknowledge the important point made by Deputy Catherine Murphy. It is one the Government will have to take on board if it is serious about empowering the Oireachtas. Friday sittings are excellent. It is a good idea. Despite some of the negative coverage the sittings might have received, they provide a great opportunity for those of us on all sides of the House who are not members of the Cabinet to produce legislation. It must be recognised in the Government's response to the Bills that we are limited in terms of what Deputy Murphy referred to as the apparatus that is available to us. Therefore, the Government must examine how it will address Bills that are presented in the House by Members on all sides on any issue that will not be complete articles. The role of Committee Stage in that regard must also be examined. I make this point both in respect of the Bill and the broader issue. If we as legislators are to be encouraged and provided with a forum in which to produce legislation, it should receive as positive a response as possible from the Government.

Every Deputy has heard of incidents of metal being robbed from people's yards. The cash for gold shops are a phenomenon, but there are other offers, for example, newspaper advertisements. If one posts jewellery in an envelope, one receives a cheque a few weeks later, no questions asked. One could walk into a shop that sprang up overnight on any street corner and no questions would be asked about one's jewellery. The jewellery could have been left to the person by a granny or obtained illegally, but no differentiation is made. This is the nub of the problem. The Deputy's Bill attempts to address it and the House is probably united in wanting a solution.

It is clear that regulation is required. I take on board my colleague, Deputy Keating's interjection on the need not to infringe on legitimate business, but any legitimate business owner would welcome this legislation. Such business people are operating under the same cloud of suspicion because of the questions about the industry, the lack of regulation and, to use Deputy Mattie McGrath's colourful language, the cowboys operating in the area. Regulation is not to be feared by legitimate businesses.

Deputies O'Brien and Catherine Murphy made points about joint policing committees, JPCs, which I presume will be made again. JPCs have been successful and positive initiatives undertaken by the Minister's Department, but they are of little use if their findings are not heeded. Since my election to Wicklow County Council in 2009 and in my capacity as a Member of Dáil Éireann, I have not attended a JPC meeting at which the issue of cash for gold has not been raised. These were town and county policing meetings that took in urban and rural areas. Time and again, elected members and community representatives have raised the issue of the link, albeit anecdotal, between cash for gold schemes and shops and burglaries. In my home town, a cash for gold exhibition, for wont of a better word, was held in a local centre and people could attend it over the weekend with their jewellery. A number of houses were robbed that weekend. The burglars walked by laptops and other valuable items and took the jewellery.

While I accept the Minister's bona fides when he states that the Garda Commissioner has indicated no identifiable increase in crime as a result of the increase in cash for gold trading, I urge the Commissioner to investigate this matter further, to seek reports from the chief superintendents and superintendents who attend JPC meetings, to speak with his community gardaí and to listen to feedback from residents' associations and neighbourhood watch groups. There is a problem, but it is not my job or that of any Deputy to compile evidence. That is the job of the Garda Síochána. The JPC structure was established in recognition of the need for policing to be more than just the responsibility of the Garda and is providing a significant amount of feedback. It is important that this feedback would feed into the Department of Justice and Equality when this issue is being addressed.

To turn to the negative, I accept the Minister's comments on the flaws in the legislation. I sympathise with Deputy Mattie McGrath, as they are flaws that any of us would make when drafting legislation. Drafting a complete Bill is difficult.

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