James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for their comments. As I have made clear throughout the debate on the Bill, we do not intend to criminalise people who are being smuggled, and I think that extends properly to parents travelling with their children, for example. I believe that, as it stands, that would fall under humanitarian assistance. I appreciate that Senator Higgins and I differ on that being framed as a defence, and we will discuss that further when we come to the next group of amendments. I recognise, however, that further clarity may be desirable, subject to it not creating ambiguity elsewhere. On that basis I have asked for further consideration to be given by officials to the drafting on this question and on the non-criminalisation amendments, that is, amendments Nos. 12 and 13. It is a difficult area. We need to ensure that smugglers themselves do not fall under any definition of a smuggled person, for example, by having paid someone else in the chain for false documents in respect of themselves. I would also prefer any clarification to apply to offences under sections 6 and 7 as well as to the documentary offences under section 8. There is also a role for prosecutorial discretion. To cite the most recent DPP guidelines on the decision to prosecute, "a prosecutor should ... [take] particular care where there is information to suggest that the suspect is a victim of crime". The guideline goes on to refer to trafficking as an example.

I cannot commit to a particular form of amendment at this stage - that will be subject to the advice of the Attorney General's office - but if the advice is that further provision would be beneficial, I will introduce the necessary amendments to the Dáil and return to the Seanad with them. Given that, I cannot agree to the amendments at this stage but I am, of course, happy to engage with the Senators further in due course on them.