James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The second group of amendments comprises amendments Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, amendment No. 20 and amendment No. 21.

This group of amendments relates directly to the offence of perjury and subornation of perjury. Amendment No. 7, in section 2, amends the definition of perjury so that it may apply to statements of truth in addition to sworn statements and affidavits.

Amendment No. 8 is necessary to provide a clear definition of "subornation of perjury" in section 3. Subornation of perjury means persuading another person to commit perjury. This is a serious matter because of the effect it has on legal proceedings. The section provides that a prosecution for subornation of perjury can take place even where the person committing the perjury in question has not been convicted of the offence. The perpetrator of the offence of subordination of perjury must know or be reckless to the fact that the other person is committing perjury. This means that he or she must at least know there is a significant risk that perjury would be committed as a result of his or her actions yet press ahead regardless.

Amendment No. 9 separates the different types of references already on our Statute Book into Schedules for clarity.

Amendment No. 20 is a technical amendment to adjust slightly the wording used in the current section 8 to match the more usual formulation used in primary legislation.

Amendment No. 21 is a technical amendment to the current section 10 to bring it into line with other provisions of the Bill.