I oppose this because certain sections in the Bill do not go any way towards solving the problem of the community which is that it is being oppressed. In many cases sections of the Bill are weak, for instance the area of the Bill dealing with loitering with intent, loitering in parks and loitering near vehicles, needs to be strengthened, not weakened.
Some sections of the Bill give rise to concern and this is one of them. It deals simply with a person who is intoxicated or considered to be intoxicated to such an extent that he might be a danger to himself or any other person in his vicinity. Under this section I believe that if somebody is sensible enough to leave his car behind and appears to be intoxicated, the best thing a garda could do is to see him home. Since I raised this question the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace, appointed by the Bishops, has also raised concerns about this section. That had not been made public when I raised this on the last occasion.
This is not sensible. Section 4 (3) says: "Where a member of the Garda Síochána suspects, with reasonable cause, that an offence under this section is being committed, the member concerned may seize, obtain or remove, without warrant, any bottle or container, together with its contents.". I am introducing a new section to make that applicable in general. The provision in section 4 (3) only applies to section 4 itself. Who decides if somebody is intoxicated? Is somebody taking medication, for instance, considered to be intoxicated? Why should the Garda have the right to make such a judgment?
People who are intoxicated, arrested and taken to a Garda station are very often simply thrown in a cell and can end up, in some cases, doing damage to themselves. I am really concerned about the section. I do not know why it is included in the Criminal Justice Bill, if somebody is a danger to himself or traffic then surely such a provision should come under the whole area of jaywalking or road legislation. I do not understand why this section and others similar to it are needed to deal with public order and the serious problems people face. I will be referring to these other sections later. One of them, section 20 (b) deals with the meaning of "peace officer". I do not know why a criminal offence could result from contact with members of the public by a soldier or a member of the FCA in uniform on his way home. This is one of the sections which I feel is wrong. Has a garda to breathalyse somebody to decide if he or she is intoxicated? I am opposed to this section and I will be calling for a vote on it. I will not go over all the arguments I made the other day but the section is unnecessary.