Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 6, line 2, after “provisions” to insert the following: “and continue in operation until the 9th day of November 2020, unless a resolution approving of its continuation has been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas”.

I referred to this amendment in my Second Stage contribution. I will begin by saying that the composition of the group of justice spokespersons has changed in the Seanad, as has the Minister, but it was my experience from sitting on the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality and holding this brief for Sinn Féin in the previous Seanad that Members by and large worked collaboratively, engaged with one another and did not fall into the more common, perhaps combative, back and forth that one might see in other areas. That is how I will approach this term and I look forward to the same spirit prevailing among other Seanad colleagues and the Minister. That will be important. Except in times when it has been absolutely necessary, we have shown that we can work together. Much of the legislation that we will deal with is about keeping people safe, which is something on which we can all agree.

I do not want to delay this legislation, and it is important to say that my amendment does not seek to do that. Nor would it if passed, because that is not what the amendment is about. It is about adding a punctuation point for us as legislators and allowing us an opportunity in the context of the Covid-19 dynamic. As the Minister rightly acknowledged, this legislation has not undergone the normal standard of parliamentary scrutiny. It affords us that opportunity should we need it - there is nothing to say that we will - to stop, take a breather and consider the issue again. As others have stated, there is more to this legislation than the Covid-19 emergency response. While I do not necessarily take issue with those proposals, it would do no harm in the absence of earlier scrutiny and given the more rushed process today to revisit the legislation and re-examine it. This is not about us being obstructive. Rather, it is about strengthening and further enabling this legislation by taking the opportunity to re-examine and make its provisions stronger for all of the reasons and more outlined by other Senators and me so that the necessary change being sought can be the best it can be.