I move amendment No. 14:
In page 5, subsection (1), line 16, after "granted" to insert "under the Family Law (Divorce) Act. 1996 or".
SECTION 4.
Amendment No. 13 not moved.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment No. 15 not moved.
I move amendment No. 16:
In page 5, subsection (l)(a), lines 21 and 22, to delete "husband and wife" and substitute "husband or wife".
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment No. 17 not moved.
I move amendment No. 18:
In page 5, subsection (l)(b), line 26, to delete "‘£15,000'" and substitute "‘£20,000'".
Amendment agreed to.
Amendments Nos. 19 to 21, inclusive, not moved.
Section 4, as amended, agreed to.
Amendment Nos. 22 to 24, inclusive, not moved.
NEW SECTIONS.
I move amendment No. 25:
In page 6, before section 5, to insert the following new section:
"5.—Section 48(16) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of ‘or the identity of the wrongdoer or other parties acting on his behalf or in consort with him is ascertained, which ever is the later after death'.".
The limitation period for the commencement of an action is three years after the death as provided for in section 48(6) of the 1961 Act. It provides that an action for wrongful death "shall be commenced within three years after the death". This is acceptable where the wrongdoer is identified. However, if no one is so identified there is no cause for action. If the wrongdoer is identified after that period he or she is immune from legal action. We all agree that no wrongdoer should be immune because of the passage of time. Amendment No. 25 would allow the dependants a right of action within three years of the wrongdoer being identified.
Deputy Woods's amendment purports to amend subsection (6) of section 48 of the Civil Liability Act, 1961. Section 48(6) no longer stands part of the 1961 Act. It was repealed and replaced with substantial new provisions by section 6 of the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act, 1991. That section already covers the point of amendment No. 25 and so the amendment is not necessary.
The section provides that an action under section 48(1) of the Civil Liability Act, 1961, shall not be brought after the expiration of three years from the date of death or the date of knowledge of the person for whose benefit the action is brought, whichever is the later. Sections 2(1)(d) and (e) make clear that knowledge includes identity of the defendant and identity of a person other than the defendant if it is alleged that the act or omission was of that other person. In the circumstances amendment No. 25 is not necessary.
I was in the Department of the Marine when that Act was passed. I have read the 1961 Act and I did not see that point.
The very point is covered in the Statute of Limitations Act, 1991.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Question proposed: "That section 5 stand part of the Bill".
It might be a good idea for the Minister to consolidate the Act. It shows the need for consolidation.
If I took more resources to do that Deputy McCreevy might accuse us of frittering money away.
The Minister should not start talking about resources. He got nothing extra for mediation or counselling so I would not say too much if I were him.
I held what I had. If I got more would that not be more frippery?
Question put and agreed to.
Title agreed to.
Report of Select Committee.
I propose the following draft report:
"The Select Committee has considered the Bill and has made amendments thereto. The Bill, as amended, is reported to the Dáil."
Report agreed to.
Ordered to report to the Dáil accordingly.
I thank the Minister for being here. I thank Deputies Woods, Keogh, Browne and O'Keeffe for their valuable contributions, particularly in the area of aggravated and exemplary damages and that debate should continue. The Minister heard the important contributions of the committee and I hope he will report to us on any actions he might take thereon. This is important legislation and we hope it will be enacted as soon as possible.
Thank you Chairman. I also thank the Deputies who contributed and the officials in my Department. This is important legislation and I am glad to have been able to bring it forward to the committee.
I thank the Minister for paying such attention to what was said and for the detailed manner in which he replied. In particular, I thank him for increasing the limit to £20,000 limit.
Going to £15,000 was a major step.
I thank the Minister, his officials and the staff of the committee. I am sometimes critical of the committee system because we are so overstretched. However, I found the Minister's replies very encouraging in relation to the amendments and I hope he will be able to pursue the matter of exemplary damages. That would be a good result apart from the passage of this Bill.
The next meeting of the committee is Tuesday, 17 December when we discuss the Committee Stage of the Garda Síochána Bill. Our private session is scheduled for 2.30 p.m. The Garda Representative Association and the Garda Federation were invited to make written submissions on that Bill and both bodies availed of that invitation. Their submissions were circulated to Members so we will look at them before the meeting.
Deputy Burton is scheduled to appear before the committee on Tuesday 14 January and under paragraph 22 of our Orders of Reference she particularly wished to discuss the report of the advisory committee on charities.
In relation to our ongoing review of the liquor licensing laws and the Official Secrets Act, Members will be aware that draft reports have been prepared by our consultants and circulated to the committee. It had been hoped to report on both of these matters before Christmas but our legislative programme was too heavy. We were also side-tracked in recent weeks on matters of importance in the plenary session of the Dáil.
It is hoped to progress the official secrets review in early January. Assuming that we can pass Committee Stage of the Garda Síochána Bill next week we do not have any other legislation to deal with before Christmas. We will arrange a meeting with Mr. Cousins, our consultant, for the week commencing 7 January. It is essential that we report on this matter before Second Stage of the Freedom of Information Bill. That Bill will go to Government in the near future and may be presented in the Seanad next week.
As regards the liquor licensing review we had agreed to focus on the hours of trading and special exemption orders at our next meeting. That caused difficulty for Members in the past so we will meet for private session on Wednesday, 18 December. Mr Mark McDonald will attend and I hope we can make progress on that matter by then. Does 14 January suit Deputy Keogh? If Deputies have a problem with 14 January 1997, please contact the clerk of the committee over the next few days. We should arrange our calendar of January meetings before the Christmas recess.
The Select Committee adjourned at 4.10 p.m..