Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 4, after line 42, to insert the following new subsection:

"(5) Any immunity or privilege conferred by this Act or enjoyed under the Agreement shall only apply to acts or omissions–

(a) in good faith, and

(b) in the course of duty.".

This section sets out in a clear and precise way the immunities and privileges that will be granted to the commission, which are quite strong. A great degree of immunity and privilege in respect of this section has been conferred on the commission. The question must be asked as to whether such immunity or privilege is absolute in all cases. We believe immunity and privilege should be lost where a person acts in bad faith or where he or she does not act in the course of duty. We have considerable evidence that this precedent is typical in common law. The inclusion of the proposed subsection (5) would further clarify the position whereby the question of an absolute immunity or privilege in all cases would not hold sway in this scenario. It is clear from the section that a high degree of immunity already exists.