Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Staff in the Attorney General's office are precise and careful about the advice they give. Many of the enforcement prosecutions will depend on the circumstances of each case. A clause of reasonable defence has been inserted into the Bill. Clearly, the authorised officer taking a case could only do so based on evidence and would be required to take into consideration the type of issues raised by Senator Brian Hayes.

To amend this provision would, in essence, create a loophole or an opportunity for a coach and four to be driven through the enforcement edifice.