David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for their contributions. I take the opportunity to acknowledge the presence of Senator Ian Marshall and congratulate him on his election to the House. I wish him well in his time here and look forward to working with him.

I welcome the opportunity to make a statement on this important issue of ensuring undertakings and the individuals who work for them that have been grossly negligent to a high degree resulting in a death are held accountable for their actions. Everybody who has contributed to the debate mentioned the Law Reform Commission and acknowledged the very good work it does. I would like to be associated with those remarks. Draft Bills from the Law Reform Commission will be accepted, but it is not expected that they would be accepted without due consideration by the Attorney General and appropriate amendments, whether from the Government or the Opposition. The Government cannot just accept such Bills and the Law Reform Commission does not expect it to do so. The Government did not and does not oppose this Bill. However, as stated, there are serious concerns that, as drafted, it could cause legal and practical difficulties which might militate against prosecutions. We must take the advice we receive very seriously. In addition, public services, emergency services, community and voluntary services could be unnecessarily and negatively affected, from the paramedic to the fire fighter, which would be to the detriment of the community. Therefore, we need to strike the right balance. We cannot disregard the advice we have received.

I agree with Senators that we must work together to find solutions that are acceptable to everyone in the context of the concerns raised about the Bill. I know that the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Charles Flanagan, wants this to happen. I reiterate that there is already in place a common law offence of gross negligence manslaughter. In 2007, when the United Kingdom was legislating in this area, the common law offence was relied upon and law-makers opted not to enact an individual offence. As I have said, the concerns outlined by the former Minister for Justice and Equality during the Second Stage debate on the Corporate Manslaughter (No. 2) Bill 2016 have been confirmed in further legal advices to the Government. As Senator Boyhan has said, the Bill in question deals with a very complex area of law. It needs to be amended. The Government has endeavoured to be constructive. We wish to engage and work with the sponsors of the Bill to find solutions that are acceptable to all so that we can make progress with it. I suggest that this should happen at the earliest possible date. I invite Senators to engage with us on this matter so that we can get the Bill into law, while taking account of the serious considerations and advices of the expert lawmakers we have engaged to advise us on this.