Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I have some sympathy with the arguments being made. I have given this matter some consideration and discussed it with my officials and advisers. The advice I have is that it would not be practical to enforce this particular provision. I refer to the report of the Low Pay Commission in that regard. It is also possible that the circumstances the Deputies describe where people would be willing to swear an affidavit to say that money was stolen from them is already covered under larceny provisions. Even with those sworn testimonies, it would still be hard to prove without other evidence.

As I have said, a one-year review is built into these provisions. I would be happy to consider the matter again at that point.

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