Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

It seems that drugs are sold in discos all the time. If a doorman, or whatever he might be called, were trained in all these areas, he would be confident in his ability to do the job, and the venue patrons would be equally confident there are people working there trained to a standard which makes patrons feel safe. In this way the situation would be much improved.

The right of recourse to the authority for a person who feels aggrieved is also central to the Bill's effectiveness. Conditions must be put in place to allow that right to be substantiated. Security people must be easily identifiable, although in some situations, such as those involving drugs, that is not desirable — someone going about with a "bouncer" or "security staff" sign on his forehead will not catch drug dealers. However, if a person felt that treatment by a door person who might need to use some physical force turned out to be too rough, he or she should be able to complain about the doorman by name, rather that referring to "the big fellow at the door". There is also a need for objective evidence. If it is a case of a security man's word against that of an individual, that will not work. CCTV must be a feature, as it has more and more become. We saw that unfortunate incident in Cork last year, when a young man died, and the CCTV coverage of the incident was awesome, to say the least.

Senator Terry alluded to the Garda. The Garda, the Defence Forces and by and large the prison officers are a feature in all of this. I am told that quite a few of them moonlight in the security area. I am not suggesting that is bad, as they are entitled to moonlight in their own time. However, there is a section of the Act which suggests that a garda can enter a premises, talk to an individual and insist on a security work licence being shown. If a garda approaches a colleague who happens to be moonlighting, the garda will not, with the best will in the world, be as enthusiastic about the job as he or she might be if it were I or someone else he was approaching.