James Bannon (Fine Gael)

The offence described in section 2 should be more clearly defined. The proposed section imposes criminal liability on the owner or person in charge of a vehicle entering the State from a destination other than Great Britain or Northern Ireland where the owner fails to produce a certain number of documents. The Minister of State should include a provision stating "on board his or her vehicle" because a person will be in charge of the vehicle. It should be more clearly defined.

What if the owner could not have reasonably known that persons were aboard his or her vehicle? Surely the Bill should be amended to include a defence for a carrier who has taken all reasonable steps to establish if there are people on his or her vehicle. I suggest that the following be inserted in section 2—