Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support the motion that the Minister has put before the House in circumstances where I think it makes perfect sense. The legislation passed by this House a number of months ago was introduced in a context where some Members in both Houses complained of what they considered to be its draconian aspects. There were legitimate concerns about that, and there were also some who raised concerns that were not pertinent to the Bill such as, for example, the invasion of dwellings and other such issues. This legislation does something extremely important but also quite straightforward. It empowers the Garda, as the Minister of State indicated, to enforce measures regarding the limitation of business, in particular for pubs, but in many other areas as well, and ensures there is an enforcement mechanism available to the Garda so that those considering transgressing the law know that if they do, there will be a consequence. That is tremendously important. It is a principle that runs throughout our laws and the justice system that there will be consequences for people who break the law.

I do not think the consequences are draconian, as was stated in the discussions during the initial passage of the Bill, but one of measures that was included in the legislation, probably in a small part due to the contribution of Members, was the idea of a sunset clause. The Ministers who have brought this legislation through the House put that in specifically to allay the fears of people who felt that this was an opportunity to slip into law greater powers for the Garda than it should have on a long-term basis. The sunset is 9 November and the proposal in the motion is to extend it to June of next year. In the Dáil there was a motion to change it to February but much as I regret to say it, I do not think we are going to be finished with Covid by the time February comes around. I hope we will be by June, but I could not say that with any confidence either.

The point of the sunset clause is to allow these Houses to consider whether there is a justification for continuing the legislation. In arriving at that decision, I suggest that we need to look at two particular points. The first is whether the measures in this legislation have been used erroneously, unjustifiably or with a strong arm by the Garda. We have heard the Minister say that is not the case. In fact, not a single closure order has been made. The Garda Commissioner has also indicated that he believes the presence of these provisions in the Act are important from the point of view of allowing the Garda to take the steps it needs to take.

The second point we need to consider is, in the event that they have not been used, whether they are necessary. I refer the House to the remarks the Minister of State made in respect of his contact with the Garda. The Garda has indicated that the measure has helped with compliance. It has not been the case that the powers have had to be deployed but the fact that the powers are "in the back pocket", as it were, if and when gardaí need them, has helped in achieving the compliance of businesses and publicans throughout the country. They are the two considerations that make it very clear in my mind that we should extend the measure.

There is general agreement that the measure should be extended, whether it be to February or June, but June seems to me to be a sensible distance away for two reasons. When this legislation passed just a few months ago there was quite a short period before the sunset clause had to be dealt with by the House. June is far enough off that we will have a much better picture of how this legislation is being used between now and then. Second, we can look it from the point of view of where we are with the virus. The Minister has said the virus has not gone away and currently we are in a situation where there is a regrettable, albeit necessary, restriction of business activity throughout the State. Everybody wants to move past that as quickly as possible and we hope that will happen as quickly as possible, but I have no confidence that we will no longer be dealing with these issues early next year. We would all like to think that by the time June comes around, we will have a much better handle on the situation, be it through the reduction of the virus in Ireland or some other option such as a vaccine being available to us, but nobody can make such promises. It seems to me that the motion before the House is a sensible one. It reactivates this legislation and allows it to endure until June of next year and it gives us an opportunity, when we reach 9 June, to take stock and decide again whether it is necessary and reasonable in all the circumstances as we see them at that point in time to renew the legislation, or not as the case may be. However, at this juncture, looking into the future it seems entirely reasonable and necessary to renew this legislation. I commend the motion on that basis.