Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

This legislation does not provide for imprisonment. The Senator is confusing it with the legislation brought forward by his party.

Senator Byrne is operating on the basis that we should not comply with a court judgment. Ireland has lost a court case owing to the negligence of the previous Government to make a good case, with the exception of the Cavan model. Even with the best legal advice and the alleged great negotiators in the then Government, the case was defeated in October 2009 in the European Court of Justice. Now the Senator wants us to operate on the basis that this judgment has not been made and states we should neither comply with the ruling of the European Court of Justice nor the law. He wants Ireland to break the law and face a fine of €26,000 a day, to be clocked up from October 2009, when the previous Government lost the case. The fines to the present day would amount to about €20 million which he wants all taxpayers to pay, but I am not prepared to agree with this.