Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 16, subsection (8)(a), line 40, after "practicable" to insert the following:

", but any failure to so do shall not render invalid, retrospectively or otherwise, such a direction".

Amendment No. 1 concerns the designation of a place as a crime scene. Subsection (8) prescribes that an order designating a crime scene should be in writing, where possible, and if the order must be given orally it should be written down as soon as possible thereafter. The principle behind this amendment is to ensure that the failure to write down an order within a given timeframe would not make it invalid. There should be an onus on the Garda to make an order in writing as quickly as possible, but I believe Members would agree that any number of unforeseen circumstances could prevent that from happening and this amendment would create a safety net for the Garda.

Amendment No. 2 also relates to crime scenes. When a place is designated a crime scene it becomes the subject of severe restrictions in order that evidence is not contaminated, etc. Ordinarily, this is not a problem but my concern relates to what would happen in the case of part of a supermarket, or any other type of retail business, which is designated as a crime scene. In such a case, the proprietor of the business would automatically lose significant income. The amendment is designed to ensure that certain boxes are ticked in advance of any such investigation.

Amendment No. 3 is technical in nature and seeks to ensure that the continuation of a place as a crime scene cannot be unduly delayed. It clearly establishes the limits within which a court must operate in respect of a continuation under section 5.

Amendment No. 4 is also largely a technical amendment that seeks to set out the legislation in a clearer fashion with a view to making it more intelligible to non-lawyers and, effectively, for it to be a checklist for members of the Garda Síochána who make applications under subsections (9) or (11) of section 5.