David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I refer to amendment No. 22 and the prosecutions. I accept that inspectors must have powers. We must ensure that the public good is protected. I have no difficulty with that at all. The public good is paramount in these circumstances. Will the Minister clarify whether the Bill has been proofed legally? We are talking about prosecutions and somebody may be prosecuted. There are private property rights in this State and people have constitutional rights. This Bill may be subject to a court challenge if somebody is prosecuted. Has the Minister sought the advice of the Attorney General? If so, could he make it available to us?

If somebody is prosecuted, what will be the nature of the offence? Will one have a criminal record? If somebody has a criminal record, it will prevent him from travelling, for example. There are many implications that need to be to teased out to which the Minister should respond.

Subsection (9)(h) of the proposed Part to be inserted in the existing legislation states: "such other information as may be determined by the Agency from time to time". I support the call by Senator Ó Domhnaill for the Minister to define clearly the kind of information he is talking about in this respect. The statement seems to be sweeping and could be open to misinterpretation. Could the Minister give us an example of what information the agency may seek that would not be included under subsections (9)(a) to (9)(g), inclusive?