Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Regional Group for bringing this motion before the House and facilitating a debate on the matter. It has provided an opportunity for the Minister and me to outline the Government's position and support for this motion. I thank all of the Members who have spoken for their contributions and I know that the Minister and the Government are grateful that this Bill has such a high level of cross-party support.

The motion before us calls for the immediate establishment of the Select Committee on Justice and that the Committee Stage of the Perjury and Related Offences Bill 2018 be the first item of business on the agenda for that committee. Notwithstanding the strong Government support for this Bill, reflected in its restoration to the Dáil Order Paper as a Government Bill this week, this House will note that the establishment of select committees is a matter for the House at large and not a function of the Government. The scheduling of business in any given select committee is a matter for the committee and not one in which the Government has a function.

Having said that, this House can rest assured, as the Minister said earlier, that the Government is committed to progressing this Bill to enactment as soon as may be practicable. I would like to think that the House is largely as one on this issue and that we all wish to see the offence of perjury and its related offences placed on a statutory footing as soon as possible.

Of course, this Bill must be subject to the rigorous level of legal scrutiny that applies to any Government Bill so that there are no unintended consequences and that it is fit for purpose upon enactment. To that end, I understand from the Minister that officials in her Department have consulted other Departments and are liaising with the office of the Attorney General to ensure that the Bill is legally robust and technically sound in meeting its objectives.

Deputies are aware that the programme for Government makes a firm commitment to enacting this legislation. The degree of Government commitment to this Bill is underscored by the fact that the Minister intends to be in a position to bring this Bill to Committee Stage in the House in the autumn session so that it may be enacted before the end of the year. The law on perjury in this country needs to be addressed and updated, and the Government is very much committed to doing so.

Unlike the United Kingdom and many other countries, Ireland does not have a modern, statute-based offence of perjury. There are two laws on the Statute Book that mention perjury in their Title and they date back to 1586 and 1729. There was a perjury Act passed by the British Parliament in 1911, but it was never enacted here after independence. There is a clear case to be made that the law on perjury needs to be updated and consolidated in this country so that we can have a clear legal framework to assist criminal justice and law enforcement authorities to do their jobs more effectively when offences of this nature are committed.

The intention of this Bill is to provide for perjury in all of its forms, whether in judicial or other proceedings as defined in section 1, relating to false statements made on oath otherwise than in judicial or other proceedings, or relating to false statutory declarations or false statements and declarations made without oath that may be required under any relevant Act. Furthermore, this Bill provides for the offences of subordination and fabrication of evidence. Simply put, if a person makes a statement or provides information on oath in respect of any statutory instrument that is false and that he or she knows to be untrue, then he or she may be liable to be prosecuted under this legislation.

Codifying the offence of perjury for the first time in this State will be an act of historical import. I wish to acknowledge, therefore, the immense contribution of former Senator Pádraig Ó Céidigh as the principal sponsor of this Bill in introducing it to the Seanad as a Private Members' Bill just under two years ago. I also acknowledge the important contributions of his co-sponsors of this Bill in the Seanad - Senators Boyhan and McDowell, and former Senator Ian Marshall. The former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, also deserves much credit for working collaboratively with former Senator Ó Céidigh in passing the Bill in the Seanad and moving it as a Government Bill in the Dáil.

They have all done the State a great service in getting us to this point. I am confident that this historic Bill, when enacted, will go a long way towards counteracting all forms of malicious and deliberate dishonest conduct across legal and other official proceedings.

I wish to reaffirm the Government's commitment to the Bill and its early enactment. I wish to place on the record of the House the Government's support for the motion and attest to the willingness of the Government and Ministers to progress the Bill to enactment as soon as possible. I am pleased to place on the record of the House the gratitude of the Government for the Regional Group for bringing the motion forward.

I have no difficulty in supporting the Labour Party's amendment to the motion which calls for the inclusion of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017 and the Perjury and Related Offences Bill 2018 as priority and first items of proposed legislation to be scheduled by the newly-established select committee on justice. As we know, it is usually a matter for a new committee to consider what its work programme should be.

The House will be aware that enacting the Bill is a commitment in the programme for Government. I understand amendments are being drafted so the Minister may be in a position to move them on Committee Stage in the autumn session. There has been very constructive engagement with the Labour Party on this Bill and I acknowledge the efforts of Deputy Howlin and his party colleagues in presenting the Bill to the Dáil for consideration. We are all grateful to them for doing so. That being said, Members will appreciate that the scheduling of select committee business is not a function of the Government. We are happy to lend our support to the amendment nonetheless.

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