I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, to answer Senator McGreehan’s Commencement matter. I congratulate him and Senator Martin on Kildare's All-Ireland under-20 victory last Sunday.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Agriculture Supports
Up the lilies.
I am sure Senator McGreehan will be still wearing the red of Louth.
The Minister of State is very welcome to the House to discuss my request that consideration be given to having a review of the compensation package for farmers for the cull of livestock as a result of the foot and mouth disease outbreak in Louth in 2001. I find this very difficult to speak about. It was a very upsetting time in all our lives in north Louth. It was 22 years ago but, given the hurt, it is like it happened yesterday. No one here or in the Department could ever imagine the upset and trauma the culling of all the animals - healthy animals, I must add - caused among the entire community of the Cooley Peninsula in north Louth.
I will bring the House back to that panic of February, March and April 2001 and the national disaster involving a disease that could ruin our biggest indigenous industry. Our peninsula was not our own any more: gardaí, Department officials, the Army and the media all moved into our beautiful, usually peaceful farming community. There was so much fear and uncertainty. We feared for our neighbours' stock and we feared for our own stock. We feared the worst, and the worst happened. We tended to our sheep, the newborn lambs and the new calves in the hope and optimism that spring brings, but everything turned so bleak in light of what was to come. There was a rush to action in the national interest. Farmers knew the cull had to happen, and great co-operation was given by the farmers of the Cooley Peninsula at the time of the cull.
There was a compensation package, but from very early on, as the Department will be very much aware, the farmers affected were not satisfied with the valuations. There were meetings, protests and rows over the different approaches that should be taken and lots of division among friends, neighbours and families as to what was the best course of action for the devastated community. A review of the valuations was announced and concluded in May 2001, and farmers did get a top-up on the original valuations. That was an opportunity to get it right, but the Department did not take that opportunity, despite continued protests outside Leinster House and in Dundalk. Some farmers were so frustrated by how they were treated and how their livelihoods were taken from them that they initiated legal action in order to get adequate compensation. There was a clear understanding at the time that once legal action was concluded, other farmers would be dealt with by the Department. That court action has continued for decades. After 21 years, the Department has settled with a group of farmers who took to the courts to get what they were entitled to. Financial packages have rightly been paid out to those farmers. Now, we have the most unsatisfactory situation whereby there are two tiers of compensation packages: one for the farmers who took a legal challenge; and one for the others who believed the Department at the time that it would be willing to reopen negotiations with representatives after the legal action was over.
The crux of this matter is that each farming family made the same sacrifice, with the same losses and the same trauma, and they all co-operated with the cull, but some are now being treated differently. The substantial issue is that it sets a very bad tone for the future co-operation and goodwill of farmers and the faith we have in the Department, and that faith will be reduced. If we are to have any expectation of co-operation from farmers in any future disease outbreak like that given by the Cooley farmers, surely it is time to put this matter to rest.
I thank the Minister of State. I look forward to his response.
I thank the Senator for raising those points and articulating very well the emotion there was and is around what was a terrible time in our country. My colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, regrets that he cannot attend today. He is on a trade mission overseas representing Irish farmers and the Irish agrifood industry and he has asked me to attend in his place.
The foot and mouth crisis in Ireland in 2000 and 2001 was a particularly harrowing and stressful time for businesspeople right across the economy, particularly for farmers. Foot and mouth disease is a highly contagious virus found in cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and deer and is one of the most contagious animal diseases. Animals can become infected through inhalation, ingestion or reproduction. It has the capability to spread long distances via the wind under certain circumstances.
The then Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Joe Walsh, took stringent measures in response to the outbreak of foot and mouth in an abattoir in Essex, UK, in February 2001 to try to prevent transmission of the disease in Ireland. Despite those efforts, however, Ireland experienced its first foot and mouth outbreak since 1941 in March 2001. On 22 March 2001, an outbreak was confirmed in a sheep flock near Jenkinstown, County Louth, as the Senator will be all too well aware. As foot and mouth disease is so contagious, the only way to contain any further incursion of the disease in the country was to cull a large number of animals in the Cooley Peninsula, near the source of the outbreak. This prompt action by the Minister at the time and extensive culling in the area around the infected premises resulted in the successful control of the disease, which, if it had spread, would have caused incalculable damage to Irish agriculture.
Many businesses across the economy were adversely affected by this episode. Farmers who lost stock due to depopulation were compensated for their losses by means of a payment under section 17 of the Diseases of Animals Act 1966.
In order to estimate the value of the stock, the Department, at the time, relied on the services of an expert independent valuer. A number of farmers subsequently brought a legal challenge, seeking additional compensation from the State. That litigation concluded in the Supreme Court in 2014, and the issue of compensation was remitted back to the High Court for further assessment. No further progress was made on these cases until 2022, when these farmers withdrew the remaining litigation from the High Court. The Department settled these cases on a without admission of liability basis. This was on the basis that the settlement would finally resolve all active, outstanding Cooley farmer cases, and was not based on the State applying an uplift to all farmers who received compensation for foot and mouth disease in 2001. Had such an outcome been contemplated, it is likely that the Department could not have settled these cases on such terms, and in the manner it did.
The foot and mouth outbreak, which occurred more than 22 years ago, had a really significant impact on many sectors right across the economy, and especially agriculture. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine considers that flock owners were appropriately compensated financially for their losses at the time. The compensation made to farmers in 2001 was clearly understood by the recipients to be a full and final settlement of any losses which they had suffered as a consequence of the depopulation. This is a matter which the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine regards as being concluded, and it can see no legal basis to reopen the issue.
The crux of the issue is whether the Minister of State is happy with that two-tier compensation process. The Department states that the owners were appropriately compensated, but clearly that is not the case. There have been letters, correspondence and a legal case to state and highlight that farmers were not happy with the outcomes of what happened back then. I have to really stress that not one penny was spared by the Government at the time. Any money which was needed for overtime, accommodation or checkpoint security was given, and the only ones who were left wanting were the people who lost their livelihoods. Everything else was paid for. An Garda Síochána and the Army were all paid for. However, the generations of livestock which was brought up over hundreds of years was lost. The farmers were the only ones who were not happy with this situation.
It is a deplorable situation where we now have a two-tier compensation package. Surely the Department should ensure, in good faith, in recognition of the importance of the agriculture industry to this country, and the importance of goodwill from our farmers towards our Department, that there is a re-evaluation and a reopening of this case. There are farmers who have received less than others. Desperate hurt happened 22 years ago, and that hurt is continuing, and when farmers are receiving more than others, that is wrong and an injustice which the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine should not stand over.
I assure the Senator that I understand the gravity of the picture she has painted. I, and everyone in the farming community, will not quickly forget the events during the foot and mouth crisis. It is estimated that the culling within the Cooley Peninsula impacted 48,744 sheep, 166 goats, 1,123 cattle, 2,908 pigs and 280 deer. Outside the Cooley Peninsula, it is estimated that 3,826 sheep and 207 cattle were also culled. Those numbers paint a very clear picture of how the Cooley Peninsula and Louth farmers in particular were really significantly impacted.
All sectors of society were involved in containing the spread of the disease, including the State veterinary services, operating with the assistance of the personnel and equipment resources of many Departments, private industry and private veterinary practitioners, with the co-operation of the farming community and the general public. The farmers of Louth played a particularly important role, and that is something which is recognised.
I outlined my Department's position in my initial response, but I take on board the points which the Senator has raised today, and I will bring them to back to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, and highlight them with him.
Medicinal Products
The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, is welcome to Seanad Éireann. Friedreich's ataxia is a rare, progressive, life-limiting neuromuscular condition. This disease was first recognised in 1863, and after many decades of research, the first and only treatment called omaveloxolone has recently been discovered. It can slow progression of this illness by 50%. I commend the groundbreaking work of Reata Pharmaceuticals, Texas, on delivering this cutting-edge medication.
In the US where it has been approved it gives a precious lifeline to those suffering from Friedreich's ataxia, but Ireland is sadly a different story. The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association said last month that Ireland is one of the slowest in Europe to reimburse and make available new approved innovative medicines. I ask the Minister of State to assure me that the Government will give this medication to those who urgently needed without one day's or one hour's unnecessary delay.
When, as is anticipated, the EU approves this drug, based on verified track records, it is expected that the new drug will be readily available within weeks in France and Germany, yet Irish patients fear they will be facing a potential wait of up to two years. We have seen this before. In the past we have seen the Government's initial refusal to fund Orkambi, a vital intervention for suffers of cystic fibrosis. The late Vicky Phelan had to persist and plead for pembrolizumab, a life-saving cervical cancer treatment, to be made available. This was eventually done in exceptional circumstances without EU approval showing that where there is a will there is a way.
A Sallins native Niamh Ní Hoireabhaird, her brother and persons living in my home county in Maynooth and Newbridge are some of the 200 people in Ireland suffering with this rare disease. Niamh Ní Hoireabhaird is clearly a courageous, resilient warrior who wants to speak up for these 200 people. In a recent letter to me she stated:
Dear Senator Martin,
I was diagnosed with Friedreich's ataxia when I was 13, I am now 26 and have been progressively losing my mobility and my independence. A decade ago, I was able to walk without assistance but now I'm a full-time wheelchair-user. I often wonder where I'll be ten years from now.
When this drug was approved in the US, I initially felt hopeful for the future in a way that I have rarely felt since my diagnosis. But unfortunately Senator, that hope quickly faded when I remembered Ireland's atrocious track record for approving and funding rare disease treatments. I'm worried I will have to spend years of my already-limited life campaigning for funding of this drug.
I have constantly been told by officials about the cost of these medicines. What about the cost of a life lived dependent on services of the state? What about the cost of the years we will have to spend pressuring the government to do the right thing.
Let me be clear: This issue Senator, goes beyond this drug. We need a proper and equitable strategy for rare disease treatments. As a member of the rare disease community, I have little faith in this country's ability to care for me, my brother and other Friedreich's ataxia patients. Can you blame me for that? Senator, Please help.
I thank Senator Martin for raising this issue which I am taking behalf Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. The Department of Health has informed me that Friedreich's ataxia is a rare disease affecting fewer than 200 people in Ireland. The condition involves progressive neuromuscular degeneration leading patients to have difficulty with things such as walking, speech and co-ordination. Unfortunately, the progression of the disease can shorten patients' life expectancy and severely impact on their quality of life. There is currently no approved treatment for Friedreich's ataxia in Europe. A new medicine omaveloxolone has recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, in the United States for this condition, as the Senator mentioned.
The European Medicines Agency, EMA, is a centralised agency of the European Union responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines in the EU. The EMA plays an integral role in the authorisation of medicines in the EU. The company marketing this treatment has now applied for marketing authorisation from the EMA and its evaluation commenced on 28 December last year. In Ireland the Health Service Executive has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicines and medical items in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013.
In line with the Act and the national framework agreed with industry, a company must submit an application to the HSE to have a new medicine added to the formal reimbursement list. Reimbursement is for licensed indications that have been granted market authorisation by the European Medicines Agency, EMA, or the Health Products Regulatory Authority. In making a relevant reimbursement decision, the HSE is required under the Act to have regard to a number of criteria, including efficacy, the health needs of the public, cost-effectiveness, and potential or actual budget impact.
HSE decisions on which medicines are reimbursed by the taxpayer are made on objective scientific and economic grounds on the advice of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics. As Omaveloxolone has not yet been granted marketing authorisation by the EMA, an application for pricing and reimbursement cannot be made to the HSE. If marketing authorisation is granted and the company chooses to apply, the HSE will give fair consideration to the application with consideration of the criteria detailed in the 2013 Act. Omevaloxolone has been designated as an orphan drug by the EMA. This designation is given to substances for treating, preventing, or diagnosing rare and serious conditions.
The Government is committed to making new medicines available to patients in Ireland, with almost €100 million of funding dedicated to new drugs over the past three budgets. Budget 2023 allocated €18 million of dedicated funding for new drugs. As of the end of March, 15 new drugs have been approved, five of which were orphan drugs. Budget 2022 allocated €30 million for new drugs. This enabled approval for 60 drugs,16 of which were orphan drugs. Budget 2021 allocated €50 million for new drugs; 52 new medicines were approved from this funding, including 18 new orphan drugs.
I thank the Minister of State. Are we at the ready? Will things change? Sufferers want assurances. We have a track record of being in the Vauxhall non-league conference in terms of speed, when it comes to approving and funding such drugs. What is stopping Ireland being in the premier division? Then again, should we not all be equal in the context of the EU, as we are equal members of that family? Perhaps, there is a need for a fundamental, global and societal response, which has equity at its core. These sufferers want assurances. Is the footdragging track record of delay in Ireland caused by incompetence, lack of resources or something else? Does Ireland jump in the queue only when it has already formed? The only certainty is we will always get a place at the back of the queue, but if we got up a little earlier we might be near the front of it.
The truth is sickness is sickness and pain is pain but there should be no queues when it comes to a person's well-being and care. It should not be about the haves and have-nots. The wait for the roll-out of this drug is near unbearable. I ask and implore the Minister of State to take pre-emptive action and ensure, this time, that things are done in the most time efficient and fair way. Time is of the absolute essence for these sufferers.
I thank the Senator for his statement and feedback and, in particular, the feedback from many of the people he engaged with who are seeking progress relating to this orphan drug, which has made progress in the United States. I will reflect that feedback to the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. As well as dedicated funding for new medicines, the Minister plans to develop a revised national rare disease plan. Initial work for the new plan has begun. This plan will be a key step in progressing an improved overall service for individuals living with a rare disease. The Minister and officials in his Department will monitor the progress of Omaveloxolone with interest. As I said, decisions on approval or reimbursement will be then the statutory responsibility of the HSE.
I will, however, fully reflect what the Senator said back to the Minister, in addition to the feedback from various people in Sallins and elsewhere, to whom this matter is of particular interest. I appreciate him raising it.
An Garda Síochána
The Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, is welcome to the Chamber. Senator Ahearn has four minutes.
I have lost count of how many times I have raised this subject in this House, at home and in local media. It relates to Clonmel Garda station. I look forward to the Minister's response. We are finally at a point where we have a solution and this project can progress. I have raised it so often because of the number of delays to the Garda station project and, most important, to support the gardaí who work in the Clonmel district. We have a fine site in Kickham Barracks to build a new, modern Garda station for all the staff. This would be done in conjunction with an expansion of Kickham Barracks, with which the Minister will be familiar having visited the site many times in his role as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and Minister for Justice. The one part that was not progressing at the speed we would like was Clonmel Garda station. As everyone in the area knows, that was because the project is part of a public private partnership, PPP, project with Macroom Garda station and the children's court in Dublin. It was the latter that was holding up all three projects. Clonmel Garda station was ready to go but could not progress because it was in that group. It was a stumbling block and it has taken some time to figure out how to get over it.
Most people's concern is that the conditions in Clonmel Garda station are probably the worst in the country. It is a dated building that cannot be improved and does not fit the requirements of a modern-day unit. We have amazing gardaí working in Clonmel but they do not have a facility that is fit for purpose. That has an impact on morale, given the challenges they face with antisocial behaviour and drugs. What happens now could dramatically change that. The station is led by the new superintendent, Kieran Ruane and his team, and prior to that it was led by the Superintendent Willie Leahy who retired just weeks ago.
I raise this matter in the broader context of protecting our communities. Given the antisocial behaviour of recent years, we in rural areas want a Garda force that is high in numbers, has the equipment it deserves and has a building that is fit for purpose to ensure we have stronger, safer communities across the country and our citizens are protected. I hope the Minister's response will be that this is exactly what he will provide the people of Clonmel and County Tipperary.
I thank my colleague and friend, Senator Ahearn, for raising this matter again. He has raised it on many occasions on behalf of the people of Clonmel. It is a huge issue for people and members of An Garda Síochána in the town. We need to provide the people of Clonmel and County Tipperary with this new Garda station in Kickham Barracks. It has been on the priority list for quite a while and has been identified as a key Garda project. As the Senator knows more than most, it has been included in a PPP with Macroom Garda station and the development of children’s courts at a site on Hammond Lane in Dublin.
I am delighted to confirm that approval has been granted to proceed with the development of the new Garda station in Clonmel. It will be funded via the direct Exchequer funding route. It has, as a result, been decoupled from the public private partnership with the court development. It is anticipated that the timeline for delivery of the Garda station will be substantially reduced. We have a green light and all systems go for the new Garda station for Clonmel. The development of the new Garda station in Macroom, County Cork, will also benefit from being decoupled from the justice PPP and will also be funded directly by the Exchequer.
As the Senator will be aware, my officials and I have been in ongoing contact with the Taoiseach, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, OPW, Deputy O’Donovan, and their teams of officials. I thank them for their work on this matter. In particular, I thank the Taoiseach for his support and leadership on this.
The Senator will be aware that the construction of the new Garda district headquarters station at Kickham Barracks in Clonmel is a long-standing strategic priority for An Garda Síochána and part of the Garda building and refurbishment programme.
The programme is based on agreed Garda priorities. It will benefit more than 30 locations around the country.
The real frustration in Clonmel was that they would have to wait for a significant period to see this new Garda station because of the court development in Dublin but that is no longer the case. Clonmel Garda headquarters comprises a new 3,630 sq. m building on a site of around 0.46 ha and will consists of two, three- and four-storey buildings, a stand-alone single-storey building and related existing demolitions, site and boundary works. The accommodation of the main building includes: offices; conference facilities; staff support facilities; custody areas; and plant and associated ancillary spaces. This will be a significant development.
I know Kickham Barracks well because this is just one of a number of Government investments to put the old barracks site back into public use. We have seen the incredible development of the public realm space and I was delighted to be down there. We know it will also be the home of a new further and higher education campus. It will probably be the first campus in the country to offer a full pathway from further education to higher education. Whether it is higher education, the public realm or the Garda station, this is direct and significant investment in Clonmel and Kickham Barracks. Today is an important day.
I also want to pay tribute to the Garda in Tipperary, including all of the leadership and management team there. They have been working to make sure they have the proper facilities to serve the people of Clonmel and for members of An Garda Síochána and I am sure today is a good day for them. The project will move forward; it is a project that has planning and it will need to go to tender. I anticipate that this project will go to construction in 2024. Déanaim comhghairdeas with everybody in Clonmel and I am delighted to be able to confirm this news.
I thank the Minister for that confirmation. The Minister said he hopes this is good news for the Garda in Clonmel and I can tell him straight that it is hugely good news. I was speaking to the superintendent there and he has confirmed his team in Clonmel of this and they are overwhelmed and thrilled that this is happening. It has been a long time coming but we have got there in the end. This could not have happened without the intervention of the Minister, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe. I sincerely thank them for prioritising Clonmel and its Garda station, which was important.
The project is being funded by the Exchequer and the only reason that could be done is that the economy is strong. That is due to funding we are getting in from tax measures, which is based on decisions the Government has made. It would not have happened only for that and we would not be in a space where we are able to fund this otherwise, which is significant. To get the green light today is a major achievement for the people of Clonmel and it is a huge recognition of the importance of that Garda station and it will make it complete. I look forward to ground being broken on it in 2024, and I thank the Minister for his personal interest in this in recent months. I am grateful for that.
Tipperary has such a proud tradition of supporting An Garda Síochána, with the Garda College based in Templemore. We saw another class of Garda recruits enter this week. This is a year when we will begin to see Garda numbers grow again after the Covid pandemic, with more people becoming members of An Garda Síochána than leaving it. That is happening in Templemore. It is so important that we provide the Garda with the right facilities. That is why we are going to roll out body cameras, have stronger sentences for people who try to attack gardaí, continue to roll out more Garda vehicles and invest in Garda stations.
I know there was a real frustration in Clonmel because, as the Senator rightly reminds us, at a different time in our country's economic history the public private partnership was seen as a way of delivering this project. We are back to a situation, with Exchequer funding, where we can get on with the direct build of the Garda stations. This means that instead of the Clonmel Garda station being a project in the distance, it is one that can proceed to tender this year and that can go to construction next year. This will mean a new Garda station for the people of Clonmel much more quickly.
I thank Senator Ahearn for his work and advocacy on this matter. I assure him that we will continue to monitor the delivery of this project closely.
Emergency Services
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, to 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.
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.
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.
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.