I move "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I wish to begin by congratulating you on your election to this House. I pay tribute to your term as Ceann Comhairle during a period when I was not a Member of this House. However, I did have the privilege of seeing how well you discharged your functions, as I watched you on the television in the offices of the Attorney General. I also wish to congratulate Deputy Deasy on his election to the Dáil, and on his nomination as party spokesman for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
This Bill was presented to the previous Dáil on 3 April 2002 by my predecessor in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy John O'Donoghue. The Bill is relatively short but it is, nevertheless, most important. It deals with an area of great public concern to ordinary law-abiding people, namely those who may wish to socialise in the evening and late at night and those who wish to relax in the quiet enjoyment of their property, although obviously these two categories are not mutually exclusive. I could go further.
In introducing this measure, I wish to echo the sentiments expressed recently by the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Micheál Martin, about the serious social and health consequences of a youth culture in which alcohol consumption plays a major role. A generation ago, younger people had far less money to spend on alcohol. Nowadays, cost does not seem to be a serious constraint on consumption. Significantly, the consumption of spirits in Ireland has grown by 50% in the past five years. The Minister for Health and Children is properly concerned with the health implications of a drink culture. As Minister with responsibility for criminal and licensing law, I have major concerns about the implications of the drink culture for public order and civil society. Wanton violence, thuggery and destructiveness are increasingly obvious symptoms of a decline in public order. These further affect victims and potential victims, they undermine our collective sense of security, decrease our sense of freedom from fear and degrade our amenity of life, particularly in urban areas. One of the most disturbing developments in recent years has been the mindless but vicious behaviour of young men who carry out random "run-by" assaults, consisting of a blow to the face of completely innocent and inoffensive strangers. Such offences are difficult to prosecute but I hope that any proven case will be regarded by all concerned with appropriate gravity. I am no latter day puritan or killjoy, either in outlook or in habit, but I am clear about the need for responsibility in this matter. Purveyors and consumers of alcohol are equally responsible under the law for the consequences of excessive consumption.
In this context, I acknowledge that punishment and sentencing are the functions of the judicial arm of the State. While we would not expect the Judiciary to regard imprisonment as a first resort for offenders who cause disorder while drunk, it may be that a judicious combination of immediate substantial fines, coupled with a deferment of the issue of custodial sentences could be part of an effective strategy to curb public order offences, especially in the case of first offenders. There is no greater incentive towards good behaviour than having the issue of a possible custodial sentence deferred in order to assess the capacity of a convicted public order offender to adjust his or her social behaviour to comply with decent norms.
In the context of the commitment in An Agreed Programme for Government to achieve more uniformity in sentencing, I will be considering the possibility of providing a statutory basis for sentencing principles and guidelines. This Bill is designed to afford a greater degree of safety and protection to persons who may be out and about, most probably at night, for whatever reason, so that they will not be accosted by drunken or disorderly delinquents intent on creating trouble. We have seen how these drunken episodes can escalate into serious public order disturbances and late night street violence which can result in serious injury or death. Very simply put, the purpose of this Bill is to augment the law so as to tackle the problem of drink-related late night disturbances and the growing problem of late night street violence which has its origins in or around licensed premises and fast food outlets in urban areas. The Bill applies to pubs, off-licences, discos, night clubs, dance venues of all types, amusement arcades, chip shops, take-aways and mobile food vehicles. The Bill, we hope, will strengthen existing Garda powers in this area and will extend, in one important respect, the sanctions which may be imposed on offenders under the Public Order Act, 1994. I will return to that aspect of the matter shortly.
The first of the two main provisions in the Bill takes as its starting point the fact that owners of premises which are licensed to dispense intoxicating liquor on its own or in conjunction with other entertainment or leisure activities are in an economically privileged position. That position is balanced with a duty to behave responsibly with respect to the supply of alcohol to their customers. In making those remarks, I would say the majority of licensees are responsible in the manner in which they carry out their legal and social duties. It goes without saying that they are already under an obligation under civil law to ensure that those customers are not harmed in any way under the general neighbour principle which applies in our law of torts. This Bill directly underscores the fact that they are also under a duty to ensure that their sale and supply of drink does not interfere with the rights of others and is not injurious to the common good.
The owners of food premises of the type covered by the Bill are not, for the most part, directly involved in the sale of alcohol but, as most of us know, their premises can, unfortunately, act, from time to time, as a magnet or focal point for intoxicated or belligerent elements looking for trouble at the slightest provocation and sometimes even without such provocation. Unfortunately for the victims and other persons affected by the noise, nuisance or disorder, the end result is the same – a sense of mayhem on our streets. Proprietors of these establishments will now have to take a close look at the management and conduct of their premises and introduce whatever management policy changes are necessary in conjunction with the assistance of the local gardaí, if necessary, to ensure that unruly elements do not frequent or congregate in the vicinity of their premises.
This will be accomplished by providing gardaí with new powers so that they can apply in particular circumstances to the District Court for a closure order which will have the effect of limiting hours of opening of a premises which is the principal focus of or associated with serious trouble or disorder and involving persons who have been present on their premises. I stress at this point that this power only arises where the owner of the premises has failed to act on foot of prior warnings by the Garda Síochána about the problem and has ignored its advice to take whatever steps may be necessary to eliminate it. Under the order the premises may be restricted from opening for certain periods or it may be closed down altogether. There are already precedents in recent legislation for such action in relation to offences connected with the sale of drugs or the supply of drink to under age persons on premises licensed for the sale of drink. As I already said, the type of premises covered by this Bill is wider.
The second key provision in this Bill applies to persons who may be charged with a public order related street offence under the Public Order Act, 1994. It means that a person who is facing conviction for such an offence may also suffer the additional penalty of an exclusion order prohibiting him or her from entering or being in the vicinity of specified premises outside which the incident giving rise to the original incident occurred for up to a period of 12 months. A breach of this order will itself be a serious offence punishable by a substantial fine or a term of imprisonment. If a person has to serve a term of imprisonment for the particular offence under the Public Order Act, 1994, the term of the exclusion order will apply immediately from the date of release.
In essence, therefore, the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Bill will ensure that our law is more responsive to the needs of society in fighting serious, threatening and disruptive anti-social behaviour and will reinforce the message that those who engage in such behaviour will be dealt with quickly and effectively through the criminal justice system. We owe it to the people we serve, as legislators, to take the steps we see necessary to ensure that they can walk the streets late at night and rest peacefully in their homes. The proposed measures, I hope, will result in significant reductions in crime, public disorder for local residents and the serious nuisance associated with late night disturbances. They will also provide improved protection, reassurance and safety for the majority of law abiding members of the public who fear that they may be caught up in the development of trouble making and general delinquency.
As regards individuals who persist in getting drunk and involved in loutish behaviour, this is a matter for which they must take personal responsibility. We will ensure that the streets are policed and that this Bill will give the Garda Síochána effective additional powers to deal with the perpetrators. We will see to it that the message goes out that this type of behaviour is not acceptable. For their part, the purveyors of alcohol, whether it is associated with other forms of entertainment through clubs, concerts or whatever, will now have to take their responsibilities to their customers and the wider population much more seriously than heretofore or else suffer the consequences. The owners of food premises particularly those labelled as fast food outlets, although that term covers a range of suppliers from the cheap and cheerful to the more respectable family run and franchised premises, have, in general, nothing to fear from this Bill but they will have to take adequate measures – I understand that this, in many cases, is already occurring – to ensure that their premises do not become the focal point of public disorder and abusive or dangerous behaviour.
I turn now to the operational response of the Garda Síochána to the problem the Bill addresses. The latest initiative, Operation Encounter, was developed out of the success of the previous Operation Oíche which had provided the gardaí with considerable logistical information on the times and locations of serious incidents of drunken public disorder. The gardaí are now in a position to target this problem at source. Certain venues such as night clubs, licensed premises and fast food outlets which have been associated with rowdyism and more serious manifestations of loutish thuggery now receive special attention at times which public order problems are likely to be prevalent. Particular attention is also being paid to ensuring that owners and managers of such premises are fully aware of their responsibilities and of the duty of care which they owe to their patrons and other members of the public in relation to these matters. The changes in the law which this Bill proposes will give the gardaí significant additional leverage in this whole matter and should assist them greatly in restoring peace and order to areas which have been plagued by the problem of drunken hooliganism.
I will deal now in some detail with the sections of the Bill. Section 1 is a standard provision which sets out the Short Title and provides for the collective citations of the Bill and other Acts whose provisions are affected by it. The Bill will come into operation one month after the day of its passing. Section 2, the interpretation section, contains standard provisions for the necessary interpretation and defines certain terms used in the Bill. The provisions of the Bill apply to what are termed "catering premises" which are defined as any premises licensed under the Licensing Acts, 1883 to 2000, the Registration of Clubs Acts, 1908 to 2000, the Public Dance Halls Act, 1935, the Gaming and Lotteries Acts, 1956 to 1986, and to any food outlet used for the sale of food, including take-aways, whether fixed or mobile. Thus the Bill will apply to pubs, off-licences, dance venues of all types, amusement arcades, chip shops, take-aways and mobile food vans. The term "licensed premises" and "licensee" have particular meanings for the purposes of the Bill and they are somewhat wider in scope than those terms are generally understood to mean in the context of the liquor licensing code.
Section 3 deals with exclusion orders. It enables the District Court to make an exclusion order as an additional penalty where a person is convicted of certain public order offences under the Criminal Justice (Public Order ) Act, 1994. These relevant offences are intoxication in a public place – section 4; disorderly conduct in a public place – section 5; threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour – section 6; distribution or display of offensive material – section 7; failure to comply with a garda – section 8; and wilful obstruction – section 9.
An exclusion order prohibits a person from entering or being in the vicinity of a specified premises for a period of up to 12 months. If a term of imprisonment has been imposed for the offence for which he or she is convicted, the exclusion order will take effect immediately after the person is released from prison. The governor or person in charge of a place of detention will be obliged to notify the Garda Commissioner when such a person is to be released so that the exclusion order can be applied from that date.
A breach of an exclusion order will be an offence. An exclusion order may only be imposed for offences which are committed after the commencement of the Act. The new sanction cannot be imposed retrospectively.
Section 4 deals with applications for closure orders. Under this section a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector may apply to the District Court for a closure order to restrict the opening hours of a premises covered by the Bill. Before an application for a closure order can be made, there must either have been disorder on the premises or excessive noise emanating from the premises or its vicinity and such disorder or noise must be likely to recur.
The disorder or noise must involve persons who were on the premises. The noise criterion has been drafted to ensure that it exceeds what would normally be regarded as acceptable or reasonable in the circumstances. The term "in the vicinity" is defined as not exceeding a distance of 100 metres from the premises involved. In addition, before making an application for a closure order, the Garda Síochána must have notified the licensee of the premises that disorder or excessive noise has occurred and requested that he or she take such action within his or her control to prevent a recurrence. A maximum of seven days is allowed for the licensee to rectify the problem. The owner or the operator of the premises shall be given notice of the intention to apply for a closure order.
Section 5 deals with closure orders and sets out the grounds on which such orders can be made, their application and related provisions. The court must be satisfied that disorder or noise has occurred and that the making of the closure order is necessary to prevent a recurrence. A closure order could require a premises to close earlier than would otherwise be permitted on a particular day or days, or for a certain period, or else require the premises to be closed completely for a period not exceeding seven days. In the case of a subsequent order having to be made, the premises could be closed for a period not exceeding 30 days.
When making the order, the court may specify that prior to the annual renewal of the licence or registration applicable to the particular premises, certain requirements would have to be fulfilled, for example, the installation of a CCTV system, restrictions on the type of substances to be sold or limits to be placed on the number of persons who may be admitted.
In considering whether to make a closure order, the court can take into account the conduct of the licensee, manager or employees in relation to the operation of the premises. A closure order may apply to the whole or part of the premises and shall specify the ground or grounds upon which it was made. It will come into effect when written notice of it has been served on the licensee or manager of the premises.
A notice specifying the closure times and the grounds for the closure must be affixed to the premises in a prominent position. It shall be an offence not to display such a notice, with a fine for a first offence of €300 and up to €600 for a second or subsequent offence. Employees of premises which are closed will not be disadvantaged in their employment during the period of closure.
Section 6 deals with appeals and provides that the right of appeal lies to the Circuit Court against the making of a closure order. To ensure the overall effectiveness of a closure order, the lodgement of an appeal will not of itself affect the coming into operation of the order unless the Circuit Court decides accordingly within seven days after the date the closure order was made. This will then suspend the order pending the hearing of the appeal.
Section 7 deals with the extension of closure orders and permits the court to extend the order with such variation as it sees fit. Section 8 deals with the breach of closure orders and provides that a person who permits his or her premises to be open in breach of a closure order will incur a fine of €3,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both. It shall be an offence for a person to be found on a catering premises in breach of a closure order unless he or she can show that the requisite notice was not affixed to the exterior of the premises. It will also be an offence to fail to leave a catering premises when requested to do so by a member of the Garda Síochána.
Section 9 deals with liability for offences by bodies corporate and unincorporated and is a standard technical provision. Section 10 deals with jurisdiction and provides for the jurisdiction of the District Court and the Circuit Court in relation to the Bill.
I look forward with interest to the contributions by Deputies from all sides of the House on the provisions in the Bill. Many will have their own views and will doubtless be in a position to make a valuable input to the debate. Given that this is a new measure and that it can have serious effects, both for those affected by it and for proprietors of premises, I look forward to Committee Stage and will deal positively with suggestions to improve the effectiveness of the legislation.