I move amendment No. 1:
In line 11, before "or" to insert "canal, cliff, river, dock or quay or any part of any of the foregoing".
The object of this amendment is to widen the definition of "dangerous places" to include any "canal, cliff, river, dock or quay or any part of any of the foregoing" which is dangerous. I know the Minister is of the opinion that the definition as it stands at present is wide enough to include any of these places. However, there is quite a school of thought that feels that the definition as it stands does not include canal, cliff, river, dock or quay. It is highly desirable that it should be beyond doubt in the Bill that any of the places I have mentioned which are dangerous come within the scope of the Bill and should be dealt with by the local authorities as suggested in the Bill.
It is perhaps significant, or perhaps not, that most of these places with which I have dealt in my amendment would ordinarily be the responsibility of the local authority or a Department of State. For that reason, if for no other, it is desirable, if not essential, that they should be written into this Bill in order to put it beyond doubt. There are many spans of canal in the city and other parts of the country which are a positive danger to young children and where children and others have lost their lives. It is desirable that these places should be protected as far as reasonably possible.
The Minister on the Second Stage complained that if "canal" were inserted in the Bill, it might be held that there would be an obligation on the local authority to fence the entire canal. As the Minister knows, the legislation with which we are dealing is permissive legislation. In my amendment, I think I put that beyond doubt by saying "or any part of the foregoing", thereby making it clear that I do not intend to deal with an entire canal, an entire river or dock or quay, but only such part thereof as may be dangerous.
In the city of Dublin and in the city of Cork, some of the docks could and should be protected better than they are in order to render them less dangerous. Without going into particular evidence, we know that in Cork city and in this city tragedies occur year after year and unfortunately these tragedies usually occur at well-defined points on these docks. I think, with a little thought, these places could be made safe and it should be possible to make it impossible or less likely for vehicles to drive into them. If the words "dock or quay" were written into this Bill in black and white it would bring home to the responsible authorities that they had an obligation and that the public considered there was an obligation on them to render these places safe.
The Minister thinks the definition is wide enough as it is. If the Minister repeats that case today, as I am sure he will, in order to avoid talking again, I should like to ask him whether he will give us his assurance that these places—dangerous canals, dangerous docks, dangerous quays, dangerous cliffs—which are frequented by the public should be made safe by the local authority, and that in so far as he can influence the local authorities to make them safe, he will do so. That might go a long way towards meeting the case I am making.