Pádraig Ó Céidigh (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister of State's feedback and active engagement in the consideration of whether to put perjury on the Statute Book, similar to what was done in the UK in 1911. We are a little behind the curve on that.

The Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, to which the Minister of State referred twice, does not tackle the issue from the perspective of an individual citizen or a business. It deals with personal injuries, which is a very narrow category. The Minister of State mentioned section 25, which applies only to false evidence adduced in court. It does not apply to false claims submitted to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. It is far too narrow in scope and I urge the Minister of State to consider broadening it out to cover many more areas. We have done some research on the area. There has only been one prosecution under the Act since 2004. It does not appear to be very effective.

The criminal justice (corruption) Bill from 2012 is still undergoing legislative scrutiny and has not been enacted into law. We do not have a definition of what constitutes perjury in this country, which makes it difficult for courts and judges to assess whether perjury has taken place. I appreciate the Minister of State coming to the House and stating what he has, but I urge him to do a lot more work.