Derek McDowell (Labour)

To make a statutory declaration that is in any way false or that one does not believe to be true is an offence. Sections 16 and 17 provide a system whereby someone can say something solemnly to the Garda as a statement of truth, knowing that a lie will constitute a criminal offence. Let us feed that back into section 16 as an issue that a court might take into account in deciding whether one is entitled to claim, without consequence, that one has forgotten something or is suffering from amnesia. Sections 16 and 17 are meant to work in tandem to allow gardaí to, for example, say to someone that since he or she claims to have seen an individual commit murder, they would like that in the form of a statutory declaration so that there can be no backtracking if pressure is exerted. The contents of such a declaration will be provable under section 16.