Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

It was debated within this House in the past two years or 18 months. It received a good airing in the House because the principle existed as long as the State. It was introduced to ensure that people who were acquitted could be charged again when new information or data came to light through investigation. There appears to be a contradiction. I do not want to diminish the seriousness of criminal activity but very few crimes are more serious than offences under this Bill. If someone has been acquitted elsewhere and the State has information sufficient to mount a prosecution case, the double jeopardy principle should not prevent it from happening unless there is a very good argument for it. It appears to be inconsistent and I hope that is not the case of one side of the Department failing to be consistent with other areas of the Department.