Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, the Ceann Comhairle and all the Deputies who spoke on this Bill.

The Minister of State made a point about pressure. That is important. We identified this loophole in September 2018 and called on the then Minister to act on it. At that point, the then Minister said he would. In the absence of anything happening, however, we published a Bill in early 2019. At that point, the then Minister said legislation would be introduced at some point soon. In the absence of that, we moved the legislation to First Stage. In the absence of anything else, we then moved it to Second Stage. It has taken pressure to get to this point.

I appreciate an interdepartmental committee was working on the issue, which came to the logical conclusion that the area needed to be brought within the remit of existing private security services legislation. That said, until this afternoon we had no indication it was necessarily happening early next year. It was not on the legislative programme. I hope that this has injected a further degree of urgency.

It should because legislation in this area is urgently needed. It speaks volumes to the fact of the potential and real abuses of power that can and do take place under this legislation that the word "thuggery" came up on several occasions in this debate, including among Deputies I consider to be judicious, careful and considered in their language. I like to consider myself as that occasionally too as it is a good trait. It speaks volumes that several Deputies felt that such language was necessary and warranted because of some of the instances that we have encountered over recent years and more.

On top of that, there is the potential abuse of power. We all referred to the emotional and folk response we have to this and to what evictions mean in the Irish psyche. We spoke about how people in these situations had no power over what was done to them. The fact remains that if those enforcing a court-ordered eviction come on to a property to remove someone, that person has little or no power. The person has no complaint mechanism or no right to demand for whom are the enforcers acting. There is no particular restriction. It is incredible that those enforcing the order are authorised to use force but we have no sense of what that force might mean or what might be involved.

In theory they may be governed by the criminal law, but if we have no way of understanding what force is permitted and what is not, it will be very difficult to bring charges against somebody for the potentially very extreme force used in the enforcement of an eviction.

This is important. I welcome the Minister of State's attitude. It stands in contrast to the attitudes we have seen other Ministers take in Private Members' time in recent weeks and months. Sometimes the tactic of calling for a 12-month or nine-month delay when the principle has been agreed really frustrates me. Sometimes Ministers have delayed legislation for childish or egotistical reasons. I am glad that strategy has not been adopted, and that is a credit to the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Browne. I hope we do not see it used today and we can move this legislation on and bring it into force as soon as possible. I thank the Minister, the Minister of State and all Deputies for their support.

Tá súil agam go mbeidh muid in ann an reachtaíocht seo a achtú chomh luath agus is féidir chun cosaint a thabhairt do thionóntaí agus chun a dhéanamh cinnte de nach bhfuil foréigean á úsáid ina gcoinne i slí nach féidir glacadh leis. Tá súil agam go ndéanfaidh an Bille cinnte de go bhfuil an ceart ag tionóntaí a bheith socair, go mbeidh maoirseacht agus rialacháin ar dhaoine a bhfuil páirteach sa rud seo agus nach leanfaidh an éagóir a rinneadh ar roinnt daoine. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit agus leis an Teach.

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