Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)

I thank the Minister for his response. In fairness, he is trying to meet me halfway on my amendment. I take on board his point about immigration law being the appropriate place for such a provision to be introduced. The difficulty is that I have heard that so many times in the past, namely where another Bill is more appropriate for a particular provision. There have been three separate drafts of the immigration legislation but it still has not been enacted.

Will the Minister seriously consider taking the subsection of my amendment so the legislation will at least say where someone is not prosecuted for FGM that the Minister for Justice and Equality will be informed of it and will be allowed to take his own actions appropriate to that under immigration law?

My difficulty with not inserting subsection (6)(a) in the Bill is that someone might not be prosecuted purely on the basis of the dual criminality issue and the incident might not be brought to the attention of the appropriate immigration authorities. By including the provision in the legislation, the Minister for Justice and Equality can be informed, but the final decision on how to handle the matter remains with the Minister. The information could facilitate the Minister in making a decision under immigration law on whether to consider a deportation. Inserting this provision would send out a clear message of intent and strengthen, not water down, the Bill. Inserting the subsection would not tie the hands of the Minister for Health or the Minister for Justice and Equality.

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