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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 20 Oct 2015

Vol. 893 No. 2

Order of Business

It is proposed to take No. 40, statements on European Council, Brussels, pursuant to Standing Order 102A(2)(b); No. 15, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the transfer of proceeds from the sale of the State's shareholding in Aer Lingus (back from committee); and No. 7, Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2015 - Order for Second Stage and Second Stage.

It is proposed, notwithstanding in Standing Orders, that: the Dáil shall sit later than 9 p.m. tonight and shall adjourn not later than 10 p.m.; No. 40 shall be taken immediately following the Order of Business and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 85 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: the statements shall be made by the Taoiseach and by the main spokespersons for Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Technical Group, who shall be called upon in that order and who may share their time, shall not exceed 15 minutes in each case; a Minister or Minister of State shall take questions for a period not exceeding 20 minutes; and a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed five minutes; and Topical Issues shall be taken immediately thereafter; the proceedings in relation to No. 15 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 20 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply: the speech of a Minister or Minister of State and of the main spokespersons for Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Technical Group, who shall be called upon in that order, shall not exceed five minutes in each case; Private Members' business shall be No. 210 – motion re sale of Project Eagle, which shall be taken on the conclusion of Topical Issues or at 7.30 p.m., whichever is later, and shall adjourn after 90 minutes, if not previously concluded; and tomorrow's business after Oral Questions shall be No. 41, Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013 - Order for Report, Report and Final Stages, No. 7 - Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2015 - Second Stage (resumed), and No. 8, Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2015 - Order for Second Stage and Second Stage.

There are four proposals to be put to the House. Is the proposal for dealing with the late sitting agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 40, statements on European Council, Brussels, pursuant to Standing Order 102A(2)(b), agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 15, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the transfer of proceeds from the sale of the State's shareholding in Aer Lingus, agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with Private Members' business agreed to? Agreed.

There is genuine fear and a lot of anger across the country in relation to crime, particularly the burglaries in both urban and rural communities the length and breadth of the country. One of the areas that has been raised is the introduction of new laws pertaining to bail. The Minister has given a commitment in that regard but there is a sense of urgency attached to it. The majority of the gangs which are breaking in to homes are out on bail, as was clearly illustrated in the horrendous and very violent armed burglary of the Corcoran household in Tipperary. There has been neglect of the area for the past number of years and the Garda is under resourced, but the bail law reform commitments would be one important step that could be taken. Can the Taoiseach indicate whether the Bill will be brought forward and will we have it in the House before Christmas?

This is a matter of considerable concern and one of priority for the Minister for Justice and Equality. Obviously, Government has made a decision to reopen Templemore. Next year, 600 gardaí are to be recruited and there will be €27 million for the vehicles and facilities that gardaí need to do their job. We witnessed the terrible murder of Garda Tony Golden only last weekend.

The case Deputy Martin mentions was horrific and leaves a traumatic effect on families for many years. There are a number of issues here that the Minister will address this week. The Deputy will have seen reports of further facilities for gardaí to do their job, which can be very dangerous in some of these particular circumstances. The Minister for Justice and Equality will deal with elements of this this week.

There are two bail Bills. One will be before the House on Thursday next at Second Stage. That is dealing with burglary of houses and consecutive sentencing. Then there is a second bail Bill, the heads of which were approved in July last, which is a more general Bill. Obviously, that is proceeding.

In respect of re-offending on bail, there have been a number of offences here. The number of sexual offences recorded as being committed by persons on bail has fallen by one third, from 32 to 22 in 2014.

The number of robbery offences has decreased from 556 to 476, burglary offences from 1,957 to 1,865 and weapons offences from 571 to 457.

They are still awful figures. They are huge figures.

They were huge previously.

I would not take any comfort from them.

Despite these decreases, the Government is of the view that the number of serious crimes in these categories which are being committed by repeat offenders out on bail is still too high and represents an unacceptable risk to the public. The Government believes serious and serial offenders should be imprisoned. This approach underlines the Minister for Justice and Equality's proposals to introduce tougher sentences for repeat burglars and to strengthen the bail laws to protect the public from offences by repeat offenders out on bail.

In July, the Minister published a new Bill to strengthen the law to protect the public against crimes committed by offenders out on bail. This is the first comprehensive review of the law since 1997. The new reforms will include placing clear, new requirements on the courts considering bail applications; providing that courts must give reasons for bail decisions; providing gardaí with new powers of arrest without warrant for breach of bail conditions; giving the District Court power to refuse bail where there is an appeal against a sentence of imprisonment imposed by the court; providing for restrictions on post-conviction bail; giving the courts the power to prohibit an accused person from driving where the person has been charged with a serious road traffic offence and the court considers it necessary to prevent the commission of a serious road traffic offence; and updating and extending the legislative basis for the electronic monitoring and tagging of persons out on bail under particular conditions.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is examining the question of codifying and updating all the legislation on road traffic offences where drink is concerned. Myriad pieces of legislation make it difficult to implement it effectively, and he is working on it.

Will it be before Christmas?

The one on Second Stage will go through. The general one is moving ahead and while I do not know whether it will be passed by Christmas, much work is ongoing.

The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013 is to update and reform our outdated law which governs decision making by people whose capacity may be impaired. It is also intended to replace the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871, which is the basis for most of our system. We need a clear legal framework which guarantees that citizens with impaired mental capacity have rights. The 2013 Bill would bring the State into greater agreement with international best practice. Dáil Committee Stage of the Bill was completed in June and it is due before the Dáil this week. Does the Taoiseach expect it to be enacted before the end of the year?

The Government has given a very clear commitment that it will incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into domestic law. However, in order to do so, other regulations have to be put in place. Standards the convention demands include legislative changes on mental capacity, sexual offences, mental health legislation and reasonable accommodation. Given that it is five years on, does the Taoiseach expect the necessary legislative work to be completed and does he realistically expect the programme for Government commitment to sign up to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will be achieved?

I am glad the Deputy raised the question. I do not say this as a cliché; it is an important point. Ireland signed the convention in 2007 but has been unable to ratify it because pieces of legislation must be put through. This morning, the Government approved the road map for those pieces of legislation. The first one, Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill, is on Report Stage tomorrow. It should be finished tomorrow and then be referred to the Seanad. It is important to mention the other related pieces of legislation. The Department is working on a general scheme of a mental health Bill which will be published next year. Work is under way on replacing section 5 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 and enactment is expected in early 2016. The amendment to section 4 of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 to address the discriminatory treatment of persons whose decision making capacity is in question. On the deprivation of liberty, legislative clarity is required on nursing homes and similar residential care facilities which have statutory responsibility for a decision that a patient should not leave for health and safety reasons and the appeals processes that should be in place. Section 42 of the Electoral Act 1992 regarding the ineligibility of a "person of unsound mind" to stand for election will require careful consideration and the position must be published. Given that the term "person of unsound mind" is gone, the legislation must be dealt with. Ireland has taken the view that we should publish and deal with the necessary legislation before we ratify the convention, and this is set out in the road map we approved today.

Scrap and precious metal thieves are roaming the countryside, and I have been a victim of them. This crime is fuelled by a no-questions-asked industry. Dealers who offer cash for metal must be made accountable. Can we expect any legislation to eradicate those sneak thieves?

Is there promised legislation in this area?

I do not think so. Although a Member produced a Private Members' Bill, it was not accepted. I will report to Deputy Bannon as to whether anything came of it.

I thank Deputy Martin for his strong support for the bail legislation. I have raised the issue during the past 15 years and I am delighted to hear, at long last, that we are making serious inroads and that the Opposition is totally supportive of it.

The Garda Síochána (Compensation for Malicious Injuries) Bill is due and is a moot point at a time when the risks gardaí take in the course of their duty are clearly noted. I refer not just to the recent death but also to the number of gardaí who have been injured. During the past five years, 2,100 gardaí have had to take time off and sick leave due to injuries incurred in the course of their duty, thereby reducing the number of gardaí available for duty. When will the Bill come before the House and is it likely to be in this session or the next one?

The victims of crime Bill arises from an EU directive which purports to give recognition to the rights of victims in a way which has not been done before and which is extremely important. Is it expected that the Bill is likely to be passed in this or the next session?

I thank the Deputy for his comments on the bail legislation. He has been a persistent advocate of it for many years and I am glad it has Opposition support. The Garda Síochána (Compensation for Malicious Injuries) Bill is due to be published early in the next session. The victims of crime Bill will be published this session. We also need to put through the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill, the Finance Bill and the Social Welfare Bill and I would also like the Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and the Legal Services Regulation Bill to go through. It will be a packed session.

My question is outside the legislative programme. I am sure the Taoiseach read and heard the saga about Billy Walsh and the boxing association during the week.

Hold on a second. We cannot have this on the Order of Business. I have heard it all now.

Will the Taoiseach arrange for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to intervene and mediate to bring about a solution?

I suggest the Deputy put down a Topical Issue matter for tomorrow and I will consider it.

Page 24 of the programme for Government contains a commitment to a review of the legislation for people with disabilities, and states:

As part of this review, we will move a proportion of public spending to a personal budget model so that people with disabilities or their families have the flexibility to make choices that suit their needs best. Personal budgets also introduce greater transparency and efficiency in funding services.

Given that people were picketing the House two weeks ago because of the absence of any commitment to those behind the independent living movement and the absence of any resources, can the Taoiseach indicate when we will have an outcome in terms of the comprehensive spending review, as outlined in the programme for Government? I refer particularly to the commitment to ring-fence a proportion of public spending to fund the personal budget model for people with disabilities. Finally, has the Taoiseach come to any conclusion on foot of the examination of various mechanisms to promote the recognition of Irish Sign Language in line with a commitment in the programme for Government?

I have on two occasions met people with various challenges who are in receipt of direct personal funding. A number of those people find that such funding is very appropriate to their needs because it enables their carers to deal with their needs in a pragmatic way and it allows them to get the services they need. We need to see more of that. As the Deputy knows, not every person is in a position to avail of such funding because of the particular challenges they might have. It is not as advanced in practical terms as one would like, but I see the benefit of it for people who are availing of it at the moment. I will come back to the Deputy in respect of the sign language situation.

We need to introduce systems to test drivers for drugs and to provide for the mutual recognition of driver disqualifications with the UK. We also need other safety measures. I was shocked to hear this week that 60% of those who come before the courts for drink-driving are able to escape without conviction. We need to ensure drink-drivers are not able to use technicalities and loopholes to escape justice.

Would you cut out the speeches and ask about the promised legislation?

We also need an overhaul of road traffic legislation. When can we expect the publication of the road traffic Bill?

That is this session.

What is the status of the data-sharing and governance Bill? Are the heads of the Bill close to being approved? As the Taoiseach will be aware, it is very frustrating for citizens who are using public services to have to enter their details on multiple occasions in respect of the same issue. If the data-sharing legislation is enacted, people will not need to provide the same information on multiple occasions. This will save much time and stress, reduce costs to the State and enhance customer service.

The Deputy has made his point.

For these reasons, this legislation needs to be prioritised.

The heads of the Bill were approved in July of this year. This is a complex area. I expect it will be early next year before the Bill is published.

I thank the Taoiseach.

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