James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 33:

In page 17, subsection (3), line 38, to delete "five" and substitute "three".

The amendment seeks to substitute the word "five" with the word "three". The Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851 requires a prosecution to be taken within a six month period. It is common for legislation to extend this provision to one year and, in some cases, to two years. However, an extension to five years is exceptional and is not warranted. People who are to be prosecuted are entitled to put their best case. Taking a case based on five year old evidence is unacceptable. The 1851 Act stipulates that a case must be taken within a six month period and the furthest we should divert from that is three years as proposed by the amendment, which the Minister may perhaps consider accepting.