Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I presume both the journalist and the garda kept their positions and the women who were confronted on their doorsteps and asked to confirm whether they had been the subject of a backstreet abortion had no remedy for this massive intrusion on their privacy, regardless of whether they had been involved in such a matter.

I want to make it very clear that it is simply not the case that I am saying that this matter should not be capable of being dealt with in the District Court. I have made it clear, as have Senators Craughwell and Boyhan, that it is capable of being dealt with in the District Court. However, if it is not capable of attracting a five-year penalty at the maximum, it is not capable of an arrest, detention for questioning or any thorough police investigation. That is the simple position and there is no point in codding ourselves. I want to make that point as clear as I can. I have no problem with there being a capacity for a summary conviction to be handed down.In case there is any misunderstanding and in case anyone watching this debate should be under any misapprehension about it, the person who will make the decision as to whether it is a summary offence or an indictable offence is the Director of Public Prosecutions. He or she will take into account the seriousness of the offence in choosing whichever venue it is. There could be a grossly serious offence. If a year’s minutes or whatever were to be handed to a magazine or newspaper, it could have catastrophic consequences for an awful lot of people.

The Minister has painted a picture. Senator Craughwell was absolutely on the button with one point. We have declared that the commission is to be independent in discharging its functions. What the Minister or his successors might think it would be preferable for them to do is not really relevant to this; it is what they can do that is relevant. I ask Members to look back to a section we have already debated, section 11(7) and (8). Section 11(7) says the commission, as it considers necessary, not as anybody else considers necessary-----