Ivana Bacik (Independent)

The Minister of State referred to circumstances where a person might represent himself or herself. That instance may be covered under paragraph (a), which relates to court appearances. However, I suppose it could also be for the purpose of appearing in a civil proceeding and a doubt might arise with regard to whether "court appearance" would be the appropriate phrase, particularly if a person was appearing as plaintiff in his or her own right. I accept that other situations might arise. I thank the Minister of State for providing a reassurance that this section is not deliberately drafted in a very broad way in order to facilitate all sorts of deprivations of liberty.

Other than being an observer at or a participant in civil proceedings, I do not see how any other capacity might arise. I am still of the opinion that the section could have been drafted in a much tighter fashion. The Minister of State provided the example of a person who wants to instruct his or her lawyers. Generally, this is done in the prison or as part of a court appearance. It would be extremely rare that a person would be brought to court in order to see his or her lawyer, without their being present also constituting a court appearance.

Unfortunately, the phrase "or in another capacity" is too broad. However, I take the point that using the term "witness" on its own might be too specific. In such circumstances, I will withdraw the amendment.