Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

This amendment updates the penalties for an offence under section 7 of the Fuels (Control of Supplies) Act 1982. The Fuels (Control of Supplies) Acts 1971 and 1982 empower the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, in the event of a fuel emergency and on foot of an order made by the Government, to make orders or directions in relation to the control of the acquisition, supply, distribution or marketing of fuels in the State.

Section 7 of the Fuels (Control of Supplies) Act 1982 provides for the appointment of authorised officers in a fuels emergency to inspect premises and obtain information relating to the control of the acquisition, supply, distribution and marketing of fuels. Section 7(3) of that Act provides:

Any person who—

( a ) obstructs or impedes an authorised officer in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on him by this section,

( b ) refuses to produce any record or document which an authorised officer lawfully requires him to produce,

( c ) produces or causes to be produced or knowingly allows to be produced, to an authorised officer any record or document which is false in any material respect knowing it to be false, or

( d ) wilfully fails or refuses to comply with any lawful requirement of an authorised officer under subsection (1)(b) of this section.

shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500 or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

Given the important role to be played by an authorised officer during the course of a fuels emergency, it is proposed that the penalties provided for under section 7(3) of the 1982 Act will be updated. Amendment No. 32 increases the fine on summary conviction from €634 to €5,000. It also introduces a penalty for conviction on indictment of €20,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both. It also provides for the lifting of the veil of incorporation in respect of an offence under section 7 of the 1982 Act.

Amendments Nos. 33 and 34 have been inserted for the purposes of verification. I propose that they be accepted.