Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not think we can prolong the debate any longer. I do not agree with the Minister. She is right to say that there are other provisions in regulations under the 1947 Act. They are not germane to pubs or licensed promises and they are enforceable under separate legislation under the Act, relating to separate issues. Why does the Minister want to mirror this in this Bill? This Bill is supposedly confined to licensed premises. The notion of having a catch-all "or otherwise" added to it because some other regulation might be brought in such that a garda can enter under a warrant to give a direction when there by the by is not the way that normal legislation is constructed. It is not normal to put in a catch-all so that if a garda sees something else while there, the garda can act. Gardaí get a warrant to enter a premises for a specific purpose under normal circumstances. We have all seen cases thrown out of court because the warrant was not specific enough or things were done outside the terms of the warrant. We have a clear legal framework under which our police operate and we are blessed to have police who operate within those confines. Let us be clear in the legislation that we are creating. I disagree with the Minister and will press the amendment.

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