Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 12:

In page 21, before section 23, to insert the following new section:

23.—(1) Where a person, being the applicant for or the holder of a licence, is convicted of any of the following offences, namely—

(a) murder,

(b) manslaughter,

(c) an offence—

(i) under the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997 (other than section 2 or 3), or

(ii) on—

(I) conviction on indictment, under section 2 or 3 of that Act, or

(II) summary conviction, under section 2 or 3 of that Act where the applicant or holder committed the offence while acting as a door supervisor,

(d) a sexual offence (within the meaning of section 3 of the Sex Offenders Act 2001),

(e) a drug trafficking offence (within the meaning of section 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 1994),

(f) an offence relating to money laundering under Part IV of the Criminal Justice Act 1994,

(g) an offence under the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001,

(h) an offence under section 2 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000, or

(i) an offence under the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Acts 1925 to 1990,

the person—

(i) in the case of being convicted summarily where a fine only is imposed by the Court, is disqualified for the period of 12 months,

(ii) in any other case, subject to subsection (2), is disqualified, for holding a licence and, accordingly, where the person is the holder of a licence, the licence stands revoked.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), after the period of—

(a) 2 years in the case of being convicted summarily, where a term of imprisonment is imposed by the Court, with or without a fine,

(b) 5 years in the case of being convicted on indictment, where a fine or a term of imprisonment of less than 10 years or both is imposed by the Court, or

(c) 10 years in the case of being convicted on indictment, where a term of imprisonment of 10 or more years is imposed by the Court with or without a fine,

of an offence referred to in subsection (1), the person may apply—

(i) where the offence has been tried summarily, to the judge of the District Court in whose District Court District, or

(ii) where the offence has been tried on indictment, to the judge of the Circuit Court in whose Circuit,

the person resides, to be allowed to apply for a licence under such terms or conditions as the Court may direct.

(3) Notwithstanding section 1(2), where a person has been convicted of an offence referred to in subsection (1) before the commencement of that subsection, and the relevant period referred to in subsection (2) for making an application under subsection (2) has elapsed before the commencement of subsections (1) and (2), he or she may make an application under subsection (2) before the commencement of that subsection.

(4) A person shall not make an application under subsection (2) where he or she is serving a term of imprisonment.

(5) A person who is disqualified under this section for holding a licence and who—

(a) acts or attempts to act as a door supervisor or seeks employment as a door supervisor, or

(b) operates or controls any business or activity relating to the provision of a security service,

is guilty of an offence.

On Second Stage, I spoke about the necessity to ensure that criminals are not involved in door supervision or security work. I advised the Minister that it would be worthwhile to consider how the Minister for Transport dealt with that issue when he dealt with the legislation relating to taxi regulation. We must ensure that people who have been convicted of serious crimes, such as murder, manslaughter, drug offences or rape, are not involved in security work, where they could put members of the public at risk. The Minister for Transport dealt with that issue well in the context of the taxi legislation. I am disappointed the Minister did not table such an amendment. Perhaps the Minister of State will accept my amendment. It is essential that we protect the public and this is one way to do that. We are copying what another Minister did in another Department.