Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)

Deputy Mattie McGrath put much work into this Bill, which I support, in terms of looking at legislation in other countries, such as in England and in states in the United States of America, to see how they brought in legislation to regulate the area of metal and precious metal.

Between 2009 and 2010, we all saw these cash for gold shops springing up around the city which correlated with the increase in burglaries. If one goes into one's local shop or hairdresser, one will hear who has been robbed, whether the burglars came in the back or the front door, how they must have been watching people's homes and movements for a period of time and how they then used their initiative to move in when the people went out for a bite to eat on a Sunday afternoon or whatever. That is how these burglaries were carried out by the perpetrators.

There has been a move away from theft of televisions, mobile telephones and so on to gold, silver and cash, which are the main target of these burglaries. In 2009 to 2010, we all noticed that the issue was coming up at the joint policing committees. My colleague, Councillor Brid Smith, other Independent councillors and I put down a motion on the regulation of cash for gold shops towards the end of 2010.

The Minister acknowledged the recently launched initiative supporting safer communities. That was in response to the Garda Síochána understanding that there had been an increase in these types of burglaries. The Garda Síochána recommended, through the policing forums, that people should be careful, should not open their doors at night, should ensure their back doors are closed and should check all these things before leaving the house. In a way, it has caused fear among older people, which is a down side to this, but I suppose people feel they must have some sort of protection or be on the alert.

This area must be regulated. Any gold brought in should be photographed and logged for future reference. While the gold may only be in the premises for five or six weeks, it could be checked back on in the longer term.

I refer to the points made about pressure on the Garda Síochána, which is real given the cuts it faces and with which it must deal. An umbrella body could be set up to register these cash for gold businesses which could link in with the Garda Síochána in regard to any new ones which set up in an area. Having the local Garda call to every cash for gold business to check it out is not the way to go because it may close down and sprout somewhere else. If there was an umbrella body to which a business could be affiliated, it would be seen as a legitimate company with which to do business and would be bound by certain regulation. That would be good for that industry in the long run. That body could link in with the local Garda station to let it know where the businesses are, if they close down, etc.

We will find it difficult to deal with cash for gold on the Internet, television, etc., where one posts one's gold to England. That probably needs to be looked at in a European or an international context to see how legislation could be brought in. Debate is taking place internationally currently on how to deal with that issue. I support sections 3 and 4 on the regulatory aspect. There should be photographic evidence of all jewellery brought in.

There are problems with derelict sites on Davitt Road in my constituency. Certain areas were earmarked for development but are now sitting idle. They are turning into derelict sites and are not being secured properly. It falls to the local authorities to secure the sites but that cannot be done regularly because it involves money. Sites on the Davitt Road have been stripped bare of copper and metal. There have been fires on the sites and this has caused problems. Scrap metal companies should be registered under a broader umbrella group so that legitimate companies can be linked in. This measure will tackle the illegitimate companies. Then, we can examine the practice of selling gold internationally.

The Minister referred to the Pawnbrokers Act and the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010, which dealt with matters 50 or 60 years ago. This is a new phenomenon in our society and is linked to the recession and the price of gold and medal. Deputy Finian McGrath referred to communities that worked with recycling and linking them to a new business development. This Bill is necessary and could be amended.

While I fully support Friday sittings, which are a good arena for any Deputy proposing legislation, there should be more support for such Deputies. We should vote on Friday rather than leaving it until Tuesday. It is ridiculous to people in the community, citizens of the State, who see us debating it and know that Deputies do not have to be here and can wait until Tuesday to vote, when they are officially back in the House. It would lend legitimacy to the sitting and it would appear more serious if we had a vote at the end of the sitting.

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