Seanad debates

Thursday, 22 May 2003

Order of Business. - Criminal Justice (Public Order) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages.

 

If one is running a disco and the premises is closed for a week, it is only because the Garda visited the premises and thought it was a focus for disorder; it is only because the Garda suggested some reasonable steps be taken to make the premises trouble free; it is only because the employer did not comply with that order and failed to satisfy a District Court judge that he was behaving reasonably and the judge ordered that the premises be closed; it is only because that was not an unreasonable order which could be successfully appealed to the Circuit Court. In those circumstances, to provide that the proprietor should pay the wages of his employees for the days they are at a loss is a fair way of deciding where the detriment of such an order should fall as between an employer and an employee. If a barman in a pub works diligently behind the bar but his employer is unwilling to install a CCTV system and refuses to do so, the barman should not be penalised if the District Court decides to show it is serious about what it is doing and closes the premises for a fortnight.

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