Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 32, to delete lines 40 to 49 and substitute the following:

"(10) A licensee who fails to comply with a code of practice is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €5,000.".

This amendment is somewhat altered in its wording but is based on an amendment to section 19 tabled on Committee Stage which deals with codes of practice. We are trying to substitute a new section 19(10) for the existing section 19(10). This would give greater teeth or powers of enforcement to the codes of practice adopted under the section. I said on Committee Stage that the current section 19(10) makes the codes of practice effectively unenforceable because it states that a failure by a licensee to observe any provision of a code of practice will not, of itself, render the licensee liable to any civil or criminal proceedings. This would substantially alter the effectiveness of codes of practice by ensuring someone who failed to comply with the code would be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000.

Amendment No. 5 is related but does not depend on Amendment No. 4. It should be considered as a stand-alone amendment because it is an amendment to section 36 which concerns the renewal of a licence. This was not tabled on Committee Stage but arises out of the Committee Stage debate because it is about trying to give greater teeth to the codes of practice and to ensure they will have more effect or impact. I am aware the Minister had a concern about creating criminal liability around the breach of the code but this is much less extreme. It is important because it requires the authority to refuse to renew a licence if section 36(2) or another provision of the Act, including a code of practice, has not been complied with in respect of a person. It creates another enforcement mechanism for codes of practice holding that the authority shall refuse to renew licences where the codes of practice have been breached. It is about trying to make the codes of practice more effective and clearly enforceable.