Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I did not want to prevent that.

Amendments Nos. 7, 8, 10 and 11 are technical amendments to improve the text. They are amendments made to Part 6 with regard to the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Equal Status Act 2000. Amendment No. 9 adds a subsection to section 20, the purpose of which is to remedy an omission in section 75(7) of the Act of 1998 to protect the independent functions of the officer delegated to hear and issue a decision in a discrimination case.

Amendment No. 12 adds a subsection to section 23, the purpose of which is to clarify an ambiguity that arose in the amendment of the text of section 79(6) of the Act of 1998 by the Equality Act 2004. The amendment ensures that investigation of a preliminary matter carried out under either section 79(3) or section 79(3A) will be followed by investigation of the substantive case.

Amendment No. 13 adds a new section to the Bill to correct an omission in the Equality Act 2004. Section 83 of the Act of 1998 provides for the hearing by the Labour Court of appeals to decisions of the director of the Equality Tribunal. A case in which a preliminary issue is successfully appealed to the Labour Court is referred by the court to the director for investigation of the substantive issue under section 83(5). This amendment ensures that this arrangement applies also to preliminary issues considered under either section 79(3) or the new section 79(3A).

Amendment 14 relates to amendments made to Part 10 concerning amendment of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956. The purpose of Amendment 14, which amends section 31, is twofold: to provide for statutory backing for citizenship ceremonies for those applicants granted Irish citizenship, and to make the necessary amendments to the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts to give effect to the Civil Partnership Act of 2010 and to improve recognition of the position of civil partners, thus making it easier for them to acquire citizenship.

I wish to highlight the following points in section 31. Paragraph (a) inserts a definition of "civil partner" in section 2. Paragraph (b) contains an amended version of "citizenship ceremony" to allow a ceremony to be held before "such other person as may be designated for that purpose by the Minister", in addition to judges or retired judges. Such persons could be, for instance, county registrars. Paragraph (d) includes a number of amendments to section 16 to amend the definition of "Irish associations" to include civil partners. Paragraph (f) is an amendment to section 19(1)(e) to include a reference to civil partnership, while paragraphs (g), (h) and (i) replace sections 20, 22 and 23, respectively, with appropriate wording referring to civil partners or civil partnership.

Our citizenship laws do not, as stated in the Seanad, make specific provision for citizenship ceremonies. The pilot ceremony held was based on a provision in the legislation that allowed the Minister, in specific circumstances, to arrange for the swearing in of citizens in a place other than a District Court. The exceptional circumstances that facilitated these arrangements derived from the huge backlog that had accumulated and the incapacity of the court system to cope with the extent of the backlog arising from decisions made on citizenship applications. This lacuna needed to be addressed to ensure that when the backlog was addressed, there would be a statutory basis for continuing to have citizenship ceremonies. The object was not to return to a position where individuals granted citizenship would find themselves required to attend at District Court sittings around the country, possibly to be fitted in somewhere in the middle of criminal prosecutions or at the end of a day of criminal hearings in circumstances with no sense of ceremony or importance attached to their becoming citizens.

Citizenship ceremonies are intended to mark in a formal way the significance of the granting of citizenship. Following a successful pilot ceremony on 24 June, we decided to have further citizenship ceremonies in the State for all successful applicants for a certificate of naturalisation. Senators may be interested to know that, throughout Thursday and Friday of this week, in Cathal Brugha Barracks in Rathmines there will be citizenship ceremonies to facilitate the swearing in as Irish citizens of in excess of 1,300 applicants whose applications proved successful. I hope the ceremonies will be regarded as significant, memorable, important and worthy of celebration by the applicants and those accompanying them. I hope they will provide a sense of dignity that was not evident prior to the pilot ceremony. All being well, it is planned to hold a further ceremony outside Dublin in August for which arrangements are being made. It is intended to hold a ceremony in Cork in September and there will inevitably be further ceremonies organised in Dublin.

The civil partnership amendments stem from Senator Katherine Zappone's proposals in this regard. As we did not have time to debate her amendment in the Seanad, I assured her that I would, in so far as possible, introduce amendments in the Dáil to address further areas of citizenship law in the context of civil partnership. I believe I have kept my promise in that regard

The fifth group of amendments, Nos. 15 to 19, creates a new Part 15 to provide for the handling of documentation following the end of a tribunal. Amendment No. 15 sets out relevant definitions, while amendment No. 16 is a technical amendment.

Amendment No. 17 provides the statutory basis for the procedures for the deposition of material following the completion of a tribunal. It is to be transferred to the Minister under whose aegis the tribunal was established. However, certain material may be returned to the person who gave it to the tribunal if the chairman is satisfied its retention is not necessary in order to understand any of the proceedings, any interim report or the final report of the tribunal.

Amendment No. 18 provides for the application of the provisions of the National Archives Act 1986 to tribunal documentation other than material that constitutes departmental records. Amendment No. 19 provides for the extension to tribunals of inquiry of the existing provision in section 40 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 regarding the non-applicability of the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003. The amendment was designed to ensure material internal to a tribunal, including documentation relating to parties not the subject of public inquiry and also documentation relating to the internal deliberative process of the tribunal which was not subject to a freedom of information application for obvious reasons during the existence of the tribunal, would not then become subject to a freedom of information request after the tribunal was finished. The exclusion concerned will not relate to material where the record was created before the making of the order establishing the tribunal and material relating to the expenses and administration of the tribunal. These will continue to be subject to freedom of information requests. These issues are addressed expressly because they were raised as issues of difficulty that needed to be addressed by Mr. Justice Mahon in regard to the Mahon tribunal.

The sixth group of amendments, Nos. 20 to 26, relates to a new Part, Part 16, to provide for the transfer of the Family Mediation Service to the Legal Aid Board. The amendments provide for the necessary measures to effect the transfer. The promotion of mediation in the legal system is a commitment in the programme for Government and I have great personal enthusiasm for it. I mentioned in the House that I would try, if possible, to include in the Bill provisions for the transfer of the service to the Legal Aid Board. With the considerable assistance of the Attorney General's office, the Parliamentary Counsel, the Legal Aid Board and my officials, it proved possible to make legislative provision for this transfer on Report Stage in the Dáil. The new Part 16 provides for the transfer of responsibility for administration of the service to the Legal Aid Board; the necessary amendments to the Family Support Agency Act 2001 and the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995; and the transfer of staff and property of the service to the Legal Aid Board. The House will agree that it makes good sense to reorganise the service in the way proposed. My overall strategy on mediation will involve at a later stage the publication of a comprehensive mediation and conciliation Bill to provide a framework for the better operation of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in our legal system. Proposals for that Bill are at an advanced stage of preparation in my Department.

The seventh group of amendments, Nos. 27 to 33, relates to the original Seanad Part 15, headed "miscellaneous", and deals with a number of appropriate miscellaneous provisions. Amendment No. 27 is a technical amendment to section 42 of the Bill. It provides that, inter alia, all civil actions involving accidents sustained by a person on board a vessel at sea will be excluded from the remit of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. Legal advice has clarified that EC Regulation 392 of 2009 which provides for the implementation of the 1974 Athens convention relating to the carriage of passengers and their luggage by sea, as amended by the protocol of 2002, will not take effect in Ireland for a number of months. It is, therefore, necessary to insert an amendment to include a reference to Part III of the Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners and Others) Act 1996. Part III provides for the implementation of the version of the Athens Convention of 1974, as amended by the protocol of 1996 that has effect currently. The amendment also makes future provision for the effect of ratification of the Athens Convention, as amended by the protocol of 2002. The amendment confirms, in the minds of Senators, that this very comprehensive Bill has an international and transnational flavour in that at this time of the year it has allowed us to travel to Greece as well as remain in this House.

Amendment No. 28 is a drafting amendment to correct the collective citation of the Freedom of Information Act as it appears in section 40 the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. Amendment No. 29 realigns the fines provided for in the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 with the fines for offences under the family law code. It is designed to eliminate the risk that a higher penalty applies where a spouse commits the offence than if the same offence were committed by a civil partner.

Amendment No. 30 provides for the enforcement of foreign family law maintenance orders. This is an important provision and relies on section 8 of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act 1940. This provision will allow a judge, if he or she feels it would be effective, to make what would generally be termed a garnishee order if there are moneys owed to the debtor by a third party in order to ensure money is directed to the creditor; and to make an order that is broadly similar to the concept of appointing a receiver by way of executable execution if there are moneys which will become due. These two provisions cover circumstances where money may be owed to a maintenance debtor for work done. The amendment limits this to the extent of any maintenance outstanding. The final element retains an existing power in the 1940 Act to allow a judge make an order to sell goods if he or she feels this would be effective to recover the debt due to the maintenance creditor. This was rarely used in the past, but it is worth retaining as it may be useful on some future occasion. An existing pre-emptive arrest provision has been deleted on the advice of the Attorney General.

Amendment No. 31 will insert a new section 48 to make changes to the provisions of sections 32, 34, 35, 36 and 38 of the Courts of Justice Act 1936 in respect of sittings of the High Court on circuit. They will replace the current requirement applying to such sittings to allow for increased efficiency in the delivery of service, greater flexibility and use of limited judicial and administrative resources.

The amendments concern a technical amendment regarding the revised second schedule of appeal towns; the replacement of the requirement that sittings take place twice yearly with a requirement that they be held not less than once a year; that Dublin will become the default venue for hearing Circuit Court appeal cases; that the President of the High Court will henceforth decide whether a High Court sitting is warranted or whether the list might be amalgamated with a list in another location; and the repeal of a dormant provision about Commissioners of the High Court.

Amendment No. 32 amends section 65 of the Courts of Justice Act 1936 to provide a clear legal authority for the prescription of certain court fees to contribute to the recovery of the directly attributable costs of court services provided in the various court jurisdictions and offices and in particular, the fees charged in respect of proceedings conducted in the Commercial Court, which was a recommendation in 2009 of the special group on public sector numbers and expenditure. Amendment No. 33 is a technical amendment regarding the revised second schedule of appeal towns.

I hope Senators can see the benefit of the amendments tabled. In them I have also tried to respond to issues raised by Members of the Seanad and Dáil during the course of the comprehensive debate on the Bill. As I also stated when debating the two measures we dealt with earlier, I appreciate the Seanad sitting until 27 July to facilitate completion of the enactment of this Bill which impacts on a broad range of legal areas and which, I believe, will be of substantial benefit in implementing many reforms which are long overdue.