Seanad debates

Tuesday, 16 May 2023

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

Emergency Services

1:00 pm

Photo of Robbie GallagherRobbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister and I thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to be here. It is appreciated. The purpose of my criminal justice (public order) (amendment) Bill 2019 is to achieve one simple goal, namely, ensure that sufficient measures are in place to protect nurses, gardaí, firefighters and ambulance personnel. On a daily basis, these workers put their lives at risk in doing their work.We are privileged to live in a civilised country, confident in the knowledge that the services we call on for help, whether nurses, gardaí, fire personnel or whoever else, will come to our aid. One would expect that when that help arrives, it is always welcomed and appreciated. Unfortunately, however, that is not always the case, and our emergency workers can find themselves in dangerous and threatening circumstances. The least we can do, as legislators, is to ensure that sufficient protections are in place to protect those who may be assaulted in the course of their duties. We can do that through enhancing laws that are already in place. To that end, the Criminal Justice (Public Order) (Amendment) Bill 2019 aims to provide for a stronger prison sentence in respect of an assault on a member of the emergency services and to provide for the introduction of a new offence, that is, the ramming of an emergency vehicle.

The facts speak for themselves. Ms Sylvia Chambers, speaking on behalf of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, recently at an Oireachtas committee, said that at least ten nurses are assaulted in hospitals daily. Last year 285 gardaí were assaulted. Forty-five of the National Ambulance Service's personnel were assaulted as they went about their daily work. I could cite more statistics but I know the Minister is very much aware of them. The consequences of these actions for staff can be devastating. The consequences for society are seen in the recruitment issues we are grappling with, both in respect of health and in justice.

Our job as legislators is to set out what we feel should be the minimum and maximum sentences for offences while at all times allowing the court the flexibility to adjudicate and deliver whatever sentence it sees fit, based on the evidence presented to it, that is only right. The law of the land needs to speak very clearly on this issue to anyone who strays over that line without good reason, if there ever is a good reason, and they should expect the full wrath of the law to come down upon them.

As I said, I introduced this Bill back in 2019 and I have been trying to progress it ever since. We have now reached Committee Stage. I commend the Minister on his work since coming into the office of and replacing the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in a temporary capacity. I thank him and his officials for their personal engagement on this. I have met with him on a number of occasions and I am confident of and heartened by his bona fides on this and on trying, as I said to him when we spoke earlier, to take a chainsaw to this Bill, if he so wishes. However, we are both committed to the same destination, a position whereby we have sufficient sentences in place such that people will think twice before they assault members of the emergency services as they go about their daily duties. We need to protect those who protect us. I look forward to the Minister's response.

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this matter and, more important, for his ongoing work, leadership and advocacy on this. I thank him for meeting with me and my officials and the team in the Department of Justice on a number of dates and for constantly keeping this issue on the agenda. I share his view. I know, as Minister for Justice and as a former Minister for Health, that every day thousands upon thousands of people get up in the morning and put on a uniform, put themselves on the front line and, often, put themselves in harm's way. They close the doors of their homes in the morning and go off to work and leave behind them families worried about their safety in the workplace. While we live in a country where there is, I think, very significant appreciation for the work of gardaí, the work of people in our health service and the work of our emergency services in general, we also, sadly, live in a country where we have seen an uptick in violent attacks. I am pleased that we still live in a country where we are repulsed when that happens, when people call it out. It is not enough, however, just to condemn it; we have to make sure as legislators that we change the law and have legislation that is robust. I know that is what Senator Gallagher very much wants to do, and we have a shared aim in that regard.

I am extremely grateful, as I know Senator Gallagher is, to all front-line workers for their outstanding dedication, their steadfast commitment to serving the public and the critical role they play in our society. The recent surge in violent incidents shocked and appalled people right across this country. Any police force, but an unarmed force in particular, depends on broad social acceptance of its authority and respect for the safety of its officers. While serious physical attacks on our gardaí are relatively rare, a strong deterrent must be put in place to strengthen the social norm that violence at any level towards any officer is absolutely unacceptable. Front-line workers must be protected in carrying out their work, and the law, I am pleased to say, already reflects that. There are a range of robust legislative provisions available to the Garda authorities in circumstances in which threats or assaults are made against front-line workers.There is already a specific offence of assault on peace officers, which includes gardaí, under section 19 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. A person convicted of such an offence is currently liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, or both, and that latter penalty was increased from a maximum term of five years in 2006. However, I am committed to working with Senator Gallagher to do more and to go further. We need to take further action to protect gardaí and all front-line emergency workers, and their vehicles. To that end, I intend to bring forward an amendment to the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 to increase the maximum penalty available for assaulting a peace officer to 12 years, and I am assured that the drafting of that will encapsulate the ramming of emergency vehicles as well. I will continue to work with Senator Gallagher on this matter.

I intend to provide what I know is the thrust of his Bill, and the intent which he wishes to provide in it. I intend to provide for it in the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022. I hope to bring an amendment to Cabinet this month, and I hope that this legislation can be enacted before these Houses go into summer recess. This Bill will also see an increase in the maximum penalty available for assault causing harm under section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997 from five years to ten years. In other words, we will increase the maximum sentence for assault causing harm from five to ten years for the population at large, but we will also increase the seven years to 12 years specifically in relation to peace officers and front-line workers, including gardaí, nurses and others.

As Senator Gallagher will be aware, the justice plan commits to supporting the enactment of the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022. This Bill completed Second Stage in the Dáil on 9 February 2023. I hope to see it enacted this year. It is also important, as it will provide gardaí with bodycams, which I think is another additional protection to them as they go about their business. I thank Senator Gallagher for his leadership and work on this. I confirm to him that I intend to amend the legislation, that I will take on board his Bill in doing so, and will work closely with him as we try to get this Government legislation, which will incorporate his thinking, enacted by the summer recess.

Photo of Robbie GallagherRobbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister again for his engagement, and I am very heartened by and delighted with the news that he is after relaying to us this afternoon. I look forward to this legislation being put in place, hopefully before the summer recess. That is excellent news, and I think it is only but right that we protect those who protect us.

On a separate issue, tomorrow marks the 49th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. Those families still have questions, and they still seek justice. The developments across the water in the UK with regard to the legacy Bill being pursued by the British Government is one which nobody is happy with, and which nobody endorses. From the perspective of the Irish Government, what avenues of persuasion have we in trying to persuade the British Government, apart from what we can do ourselves, to cease on this road which it is on? What other avenues are open to the Government, that is, is it possible that we could enlist the assistance of the United States authorities, or perhaps our partners in Europe? I would welcome the Minister's comment on that.

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I commend Senator Gallagher on his work, for using the Seanad to really try to bring forward good change, and using in a proper way the office he holds to try to bring forward positive legislative change which I believe will help keep our front-line workers, including members of An Garda Síochána, more safe as they go about their duty. It is also something which they, and their representative bodies, have sought. We can never accept living in a country where the ramming of a Garda vehicle, an ambulance or any other emergency vehicle, or an attack on any front-line worker going about their duty, is acceptable. We need to change the law on that.

On the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, my thoughts, as we approach the anniversary, are with all the families. I know the thoughts of everybody in this House are as well. The Government has been emphatically clear regarding its position on the British proposals regarding legacy. We do not believe it is appropriate. We do not believe it should act unilaterally on this, and I know my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Micheál Martin, continues to convey the view of the Irish Government at the highest levels.

Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 1.44 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 2 p.m.

Sitting suspended at 1.44 p.m. and resumed at 2 p.m.