James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

First, the issue of duty of rescue is beyond the scope of this legislation. The Bill does not get into that.

In regard to the extraterritorial issue, section 6(3) states: "A person who, in a place outside the State, aids, abets, counsels, procures or attempts the commission of an offence under subsection (1)orsubsection (2)is guilty of an offence." Therefore, there is an extraterritorial element to the provisions.

On Deputy Martin Kenny's point, the reason there have not been convictions is not a failure to detect where people have been acting as smugglers but an evidential problem in terms of detecting proof of payments. That is the reason we are switching the burden of proof.

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