I move amendment No. 25.
In page 10, before section 11, but in Part II, to insert the following new section:
"PART III
BLOOD TESTS IN DETERMINING PARENTAGE IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
11.—In this Part—
‘blood samples' means blood taken for the purpose of blood tests;
‘blood test' means any test carried out under this Part and made with the object of ascertaining inheritable characteristics;
‘excluded' means excluded subject to the occurrence of mutation;
‘the Minister' means the Minister for Justice".
I wish to read the other amendments into the record. Amendment No. 26 reads:
In page 10, before section 11, but in Part II, to insert the following new section:
"12.—(1) In any criminal proceedings before a court in which the parentage of any person is in question, the court may, either of its own motion or upon application being made to it, give a direction for the use of blood tests for the purpose of assisting the court to determine whether a person is or is not a parent of the person whose parentage is in question, and for the taking, within a period to be specified in the direction, of blood samples from the person whose parentage is so questioned, from any person alleged to be a parent of that person and from any other person or from any of those persons.
(2) The court may at any time revoke or vary a direction previously given by it under this section.".
Amendment No. 27 reads:
In page 10, before section 11, but in Part II, to insert the following new section:
"13.—(1) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a blood sample which is required to be taken from any person for the purpose of giving effect to a direction under section 12 of this Act shall not be taken from that person except with his consent.
(2) Where for the purpose of giving effect to a direction under section 12 of this Act a blood sample is required to be taken from a person who is not of full age and the court considers that he is in the circumstances capable of giving or refusing the necessary consent, any consent given or refused by him shall be as effective as it would be if he were of full age.
(3) For the purpose of giving effect to a direction under section 12 of this Act——
(a) a blood sample may be taken from a minor, other than one to whom subsection (2) of this section relates, if the person having charge of or control over the minor consents:
Provided that where more than one person has charge of or control over the minor and they disagree as to whether consent should be given, the minor shall be treated as not having consented;
(b) a blood sample may be taken from a person of full age who is, in the opinion of the court, incapable of understanding the nature and purpose of blood tests if the person having charge of or control over him consents and any medical practitioner in whose care he may be has certified that the taking of a blood sample from him will not be prejudicial to his proper care and treatment:
Provided that where more than one person has charge of or control over the person concerned and they disagree as to whether consent should be given, the person concerned shall be treated as not having consented.".
Amendment No. 28 reads:
In page 10, before section 11, but in Part II, to insert the following new section:
"14.— (1) Where blood samples are taken for the purpose of giving effect to a direction of a court under section 12 (1) of this Act, they shall be tested under the control of such person (including a person to whom subsection (6) of this section relates) as the court shall direct.
(2) The person under whose control blood samples are to be tested by virtue of subsection (1) of this section shall make to the court by which the direction was given a report in which he shall state—
(a) in relation to each person from whom blood samples were so taken, the results of the tests, and
(b) in relation to each person (other than the person whose parentage is in question) from whom blood samples were so taken—
(i) whether the person to whom the report relates is or is not excluded by the results from being a parent of the person whose parentage is in question, and
(ii) if the person to whom the report relates is not so excluded, the value, if any, of the results in determining whether that person is a parent of the person whose parentage is in question,
and the report shall be received by the court as evidence in the proceedings of the matters stated therein.
(3) A report under subsection (2) of this section shall be in the form prescribed by regulations.
(4) Where a report has been made to a court under subsection (2) of this section, the prosecution or the accused, with the leave of the court, or shall, if the court so directs, obtain from the person who made the report a written statement explaining or supplementing any statement made in the report, and that statement shall be deemed for the purposes of this section (other than subsections (3) and (6) ) to form part of the report made to the court.
(5) Where a direction is given under section 12 (1) of this Act in any proceedings and the blood samples to which the direction relates have been tested by virtue of this section, the accused, unless the court otherwise directs, shall not be entitled to call as a witness the person under whose control the blood samples were tested for the purpose of giving effect to that direction, or any person by whom any thing necessary for the purpose of enabling those tests to be carried out was done, unless within 14 days after receiving a copy of the report he serves notice of his intention to call such person as a witness and, where that person is so called, the accused shall be entitled to cross-examine him.
(6) (a) The Minister may, for the purpose of subsection (1) of this section, appoint a person or category of persons under whose control blood tests may be carried out.
(b) The Minister may at any time amend or revoke an appointment under this subsection but such amendment or revocation shall not affect any blood test carried out, or the testing of any blood sample for the purpose of this Part which was submitted for testing, before such amendment or revocation.
(c) Notice of an appointment, or the amendment or revocation of any appointment, shall be published by the Minister in the Iris Oifigiúil.”.
Amendment No. 29 states:
In page 10, before section 11, but in Part II, to insert the following new section:
"15.— (1) The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of giving effect to this Part.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, regulations made under this section may in particular—
(a) regulate the taking, identification and transport of blood samples;
(b) require the production at the time when a blood sample is to be taken of such evidence of the identity of the person from whom it is to be taken as may be prescribed by the regulations;
(c) require any person from whom a blood sample is to be taken, or, in such cases as may be prescribed by the regulations, such other person as may be so prescribed, to state in writing whether he or the person from whom the sample is to be taken, as the case may be, had during such period as may be specified in the regulations suffered from any such illness as may be so specified or received a transfusion of blood.
(d) prescribe the form of any report to be made to a court under this Part.
(3) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.".
Amendment No. 30 states:
In page 10, before section 11, but in Part II, to insert the following new section:
"16.— (1) Where a court gives a direction under section 12 of this Act and any person fails to take any step required of him for the purpose of giving effect to the direction, the court may draw such inferences, if any, from that fact as appear proper in the circumstances.
(2) Where in any criminal proceedings in which the parentage of any person falls to be determined by the court hearing those proceedings there is a presumption of paternity relating to an accused, then if a direction is given under section 12 of this Act in those proceedings, and the accused without good cause fails to take any step required of him for the purpose of giving effect to the direction, such failure may be treated as corroboration of the presumption of parentage.".
Amendment No. 31 states:
In page 10, before section 11, but in Part II, to insert the following new section:
"17.— If an accused in respect of whom a direction has been made under section 14 without good cause fails or refuses to comply with such direction, he shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £2,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.".
I think the Minister will appreciate why that list of amendments has been introduced by Deputy Shatter. It goes back to what the Minister described as a hard case — the Waterford case — giving the court the power to order blood tests to be taken or forensic evidence to be supplied in a case such as the one referred to so often during this debate. The amendments have been put down to ensure that a person brought before a court will not easily have his case dismissed by making a simple statement that, as in this case, he is not the father. The court should have the ability to ensure that the case can be proceeded with. I will comment on this matter later when the Minister has made his submission.