Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support this amendment and thank Deputy Cullinane for tabling it. This process has been difficult and the time allowed is very short. It is an essential amendment if we are seriously interested in this subject. While the Minister did not use the word “draconian”, he acknowledged this legislation has serious implications for human and fundamental rights. If he means that, he should note that this is the most basic amendment he could opt for. It requires a statistical breakdown and the identification of the concerns. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties states sunset clauses in emergency legislation are meaningless if they are renewed with no detailed review of the legislation’s effectiveness and impact on rights. It adds that all future extensions of legislation must provide for a robust analysis and in-depth scrutiny. This should be done for all legislation that has any sort of penalty, but in this case, in a pandemic in which we are introducing and rolling over draconian legislation, it is the most basic requirement.

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