Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is a pity because we have cut 15 minutes off this discussion on what is a Seanad Bill which was initiated by our former colleague. I was not a Member of the Oireachtas at the time but it is an excellent Bill which is overdue. I give credit to the Government for accepting it and moving it through the Houses and back to us now. It is important to recognise that all legislators have a role in making legislation. We do not need to rely solely on Departments to bring legislation or ideas for legislative proposals forward. It is welcome it was accepted by the Government and turned into a Government Bill.

I think the changes to section 17 and the renaming of the Bill was unnecessary. It comes back to the control that is exercised over the legislative process by the various Departments. Sometimes the Department of Justice has its style, and I make no criticism of that, but the original name of the Bill was perfectly adequate. I do not think it needed to be renamed, and renaming does not advance anything in the legislative content of the Bill. It may well conform to legislative nomenclature conventions but that is all. The name originally given to it by the proposer was adequate.

If time is limited, I will not speak for long but I welcome that important amendments were made in the Dáil on definitions that will make this much stronger legislation. The inclusion of the offence of suborning perjury is particularly important because we know so many instances of perjury can come from pressure being put on an individual by another person.

Reading the Second Stage debates in both Houses, I know the provenance of the Bill came from an idea that it would help to address issues of fraud, especially around insurance claims. That is very welcome. It is very important we send out the message that people who lie in insurance claims and bring false claims and back that up by making false statements before the court must suffer the rigours of this kind of legislation and the penalties that come with it, but it goes beyond that. People make sworn statements and give sworn evidence in every type of legal case from criminal matters to family matters to civil disputes and personal injuries cases. This legislation will benefit every one of them. It gives a greater strength and importance to the oath that is given by a witness in a given case, or indeed to the statements of truth that are given in relation to legislation that we passed last year. It is very welcome in that regard.

I hope this will bring a serious indication from the Houses of the Oireachtas that the State will not tolerate lies being told in the context where a person has made it clear it is a statement of truth or given so under oath and I hope that message goes out in relation to any such statements.