Seanad debates

Thursday, 10 September 2020

Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Sharon KeoganSharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to the House. I was taken aback by the Minister's remarks in regard to private homes. This is not hysteria. I read in today's The Irish Timesthat a couple in my county was fined €2,000 because two gardaí had looked in the window of their house and seen a considerable number of people inside. I thought the private home was off limits. We need clarification on that today. To my mind, the private home is off limits to An Garda Síochána. There is legislation in place in the form of the environmental Act in regard to noise pollution, the use of which I welcome in respect of parties in houses but as far as I am concerned gardaí looking through the windows of people's homes at this time to determine how many people are inside is not on. It is important to put that on the record.

I was delighted to hear that wet pubs will be permitted to open on 21 September. These pubs have been closed for six months at this stage. Given that September also marks the end of the moratorium on mortgages this is timely action as many pubs may be facing the possibility of mortgage default or eventual permanent closure.

While I welcome this Bill in a general context there are many aspects of it, particularly the how and the why of its coming about, that I find worrying. There has been a distinct lack of clarity surrounding the Bill as it progresses through the Houses. I am concerned about the scale of the powers in this legislation. They are very broad-ranging. The legislation sets out mechanisms of enforcement for An Garda Síochána and the penalties to be applied but it does not appear to go into any detail about the crimes involved. We are being asked to accept the Department of Justice and Equality criminal sanctions as laid out while the actual offences are to be set out in regulations from the Department of Health. This is a failure of process. It is a dangerous path to accept such legislation. We cannot know what will end up being criminalised by the Department. We cannot and should not allow legislation to pass with such vague information, especially when people's livelihoods are at stake.

It is also concerning that this Bill is being rushed through. I am not oblivious to the time constraints involved but it is often the case when the appropriate processes are not followed that the legislative outcome is of poor quality. There have been inadequacies in the process relating to the legislation, particularly in that the legislation has been extremely rushed. Publishing a Bill in advance and giving people time to consider it and further time to debate it properly are necessary processes. I recognise that the Department is working within time constraints but we must then accept that the proposed legislation is not likely to be of the desired standard that is achieved when the appropriate processes are undergone.

I understand that as this is emergency legislation the sunset clause will bring it to an end in November, barring any extensions granted by the Oireachtas. These regulations must remain temporary in nature, especially because in reality they will only be relevant to a minority of operators within the licensed trade sector that breach the regulations set in place. I would hope that it will also provide clarity and assurances to licensed traders who will be allowed to open soon.The Minister appears to have recognised the excuse of keeping pubs shut is not valid anymore given that this legislation would ensure the pubs that do not serve the €9 of food to customers, which the Government deemed essential in the fight against Covid-19, can operate in the same standards and guidelines as those pubs that do serve food.

This sector was left behind by Government policy and was forced to remain out of operation far beyond what was asked of publicans in other parts of Europe. Unfortunately, our pubs have not received the necessary supports up until this point. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection must immediately look to address this issue, which would future-proof this sector. I suggest a once-off grant of €25,000 to each publican to diversify their business. This grant would allow them to put in an alternative source of income, such as installation of a kitchen, a deli, a coffee shop, an off-licence, accommodation, or any other business from which they could derive an income.

Having a functioning business is what keeps the economy going. We must support them in this transition. Currently, Ireland is the only country in Europe that still has its pubs closed. We must remember that for many towns and villages across Ireland the local pub is an important gathering place for local communities. They are a place where communities can come together to celebrate special occasions and holidays, for sporting events, and to have community meetings and other events. While I do not suggest these things should be ongoing in the current climate, it is our duty to ensure that these pubs get the support they need to open and be active within their communities. The failure of the Government to act appropriately could result in the collapse of the sector. Such a loss would be felt in every village and town across the country. I hope the legislation will follow on from that. The legislation concerns a very small minority of operators within the licensed trade sector.

The Government continues to pick and choose where to implement legislation, such as with this Bill before us today, rather than focusing on the sectors that have proven to be responsible for significant outbreaks of Covid-19, for example in the meat factories. It is baffling that the Government has yet to take control of that situation. Those factories are still only obliged to adhere to guidelines. The suspension of testing at these meat factories will come back to haunt NPHET and this Government. All factories where large numbers of employees gather for the production of food, or for any other product, are Petri dishes for this virus. Such lack of action only serves to deplete the public's confidence in public health restrictions.

Building public confidence needs to be a priority right now. As our economy slowly opens it seems there are some people who find it all too easy to forget that Covid-19 remains rampant throughout the world. It can still cause inordinate damage in our health, our economy and in our society. We need to continue to remind ourselves of the necessary precautions to protect ourselves and to combat the risk of rising figures. Let us not forget the sacrifices we have made already to allow us to get to this point. We do not want to find ourselves in the position we once found ourselves back in March. It is unthinkable that we would find ourselves dealing with a second surge of cases and yet every day the numbers grow increasingly concerning. We now have the knowledge we need to proactively manage the threat posed by the virus, while allowing our businesses to operate. I am happy that pubs will now join those businesses in operating, while at a reduced capacity. The legislation covering this must be clear, precise and as transparent as possible. This is not the case here.

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