Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank colleagues for their contributions.

I will engage constructively. Subject to this House passing the Bill, it will move to the Seanad where we will have an opportunity to tease it through further. We will also have an opportunity with Private Members' time and the general scheme of a sexual offences Bill we intend to bring to the Cabinet shortly. Further to Deputy McNamara's point, there will be plenty of opportunities in this Dáil to tease through further, consider and try to make progress.

For anyone following these proceedings today, I want to make it clear that it is a criminal offence to spike or poison somebody's drink. We obviously need to be very clear and consistent in that messaging. It is a separate and distinct point as to whether we need to update our law on how we go about it. There is criminal legislation already here in section 12 of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997. In response to Deputy McNamara's question, section 12 of that Act specifically states:

A person shall be guilty of an offence if, knowing that the other does not consent to what is being done, he or she intentionally or recklessly administers to or causes to be taken by another a substance which he or she knows to be capable of interfering substantially with the other's bodily functions.

I will tease through further the points he made. The Department's only concern - I know it will be shared by Deputy Ó Ríordáin and others - is that anything we do has a positive impact such that the Garda will see benefit in it and the Director of Public Prosecutions from point of view of being able to successfully prosecute will see benefit in it. It is in that good faith that I am very happy to engage with the Deputies and try to make progress.

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