Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

Section 21 already makes extensive provision for the supply of information on an applicant's character, competence and financial situation and the verification by affidavit or otherwise of such information. A Garda certificate can also be demanded under section 21(3), while under section 34 the gardaí may be requested by the authority to supply further information. Where a licence is granted, the provisions of section 26 and 39 will permit the authority to investigate complaints and, if necessary to protect the public, to suspend the licence for the duration of the investigation. Given those procedures and safeguards, the question to be asked is if requiring applicants to advertise their intention to apply for a licence would be justified and effective. There are sufficient safeguards in the Bill as it stands.

There would also be practical difficulties with an advertisement requirement along the lines set out in the amendment. Checking that each application had been advertised properly would create additional work for the authority without any guarantee of effectiveness. Such a requirement would encourage those with something to hide to advertise in local newspapers in other parts of the State or in a manner that would not attract attention. Transparency would best be achieved by the authority deciding to post on its website details of applications and unless there was some reason that should not be done in a particular case, that would give the requisite degree of transparency.

The problem with advertising in local newspapers is that it is of little or no interest to me or to a person applying for a position of doorman in a premises in Ranelagh what is in the Kiltimagh Observer. It is of no assistance to me that the people of Kiltimagh have had notice of this application. Likewise, to ask every person applying for a position as a doorman to advertise in our national newspapers, which is the only way in a city such as Dublin that these matters would come to attention, would be an onerous responsiblity.

In the case of people acting as stewards at the Curragh, for example, are they to be required to place advertisements in newspapers to announce they are applying for such a position? That could happen in an ideal world, if money were no object and if there were an army of officials to check that such a requirement had been complied with. It would be different if there was a way of deciding which is the appropriate newspaper and whether a person living in Kerry who proposes to be a security man at Croke Park should place an advertisement in a newspaper in Kerry or in a newspaper in Dublin. What appears to be a plausible idea seems to fall through one's fingers when one examines it closely. The proposal I made to the effect that the authority would adopt, as a matter of administrative transparency, a system whereby it would put up on its website details of people who apply for jobs would be sufficient public notification. I do not believe that advertisements in this respect in the Kiltimagh Observer would be much help to people in Dublin. It would give a false sense of security and the matter would be better dealt with in a different way.