I move amendment No. 28:
In page 35, before section 39 to insert the following new section:
"39.—The Pensions Act, 1990, is hereby amended as follows:
(a) subsection (4) (inserted by the Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1996) of section 5 shall apply and have effect in relation to section 15 as it applies and has effect in relation to section 12 of the Act of 1995 with the modifications that—
(i) the reference to the said section 12 shall be construed as areference to section 15,
(ii) the references to subsections (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), (7), (8), (10) and(25) of the said section 12 shall be construed as references to subsections (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), (7), (8), (10) and (25), respectively, of section 15, and
(ii) the reference to section 2 of the Act of 1995 shall be construed as a reference to section 2,
and
(b) in section 10 (1), by the substitution for paragraph (cc) (inserted by the Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1996) of the following paragraph:
‘(cc) to issue guidelines or guidance notes generally on the operation of this Act and on the provisions of the Family Law Act, 1995, and the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996, relating to pension schemes (within the meaning of section 2 of the Family Law Act, 1995 and section 2 of the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996;'."
The effect of these amendments is to extend the provisions of the Pensions Act, 1990 and other Acts to take account of the introduction of a divorce jurisdiction in this State. Amendment No. 28 provides for the application of the provisions of section 5 (4) of the Pensions Act, 1990, which deals with the making of ministerial regulations in respect of section 12 of the Family Law Act, 1995, to section 15 of this Bill. Section 12 of the 1995 Act provides that a court may make a pension adjustment order following the grant of a decree of judicial separation. The Pensions Act, 1990 is amended by the Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1996 to provide that the Minister for Social Welfare, with the consent of the Minister for Equality and Law Reform, may make regulations specifying guidelines for the purposes of section 12 of the 1995 Act. The purposes of these guidelines is, inter alia, to make provision in relation to the manner in which pension benefits, transfer amounts, etc. should be calculated.
Section 15 of the Family Law (Divorce) Bill makes provision similar to section 12 of the 1995 Act for the court to make a pension adjustment order following the grant of a decree of divorce. The purpose of this amendment is to make regulations specifying guidelines for the purpose of section 12 of the Act of 1995 to apply equally to section 15 of the Bill. This amendment will also enable the Pensions Board to issue guidelines or guidance notes generally to the pensions industry and other interested parties in respect of the provisions of section 15, dealing with pension schemes.
In the case of amendment No. 29, the Criminal Damage Act, 1991, provides for offences of damage to property. Under the Act as it stands, it is an offence for a spouse without lawful excuse to damage or threaten to damage his or her family home. The purpose of this amendment is to extend the Act to cover divorced persons. The effect is that former spouses may be prosecuted under the 1991 Act, in respect of damage done to what was the family home prior to the dissolution of the marriage to which they were a party.
In the case of amendment No. 30, Part IV of the Criminal Evidence Act, 1992, deals with the competence and compellability of spouses and former spouses to give evidence in criminal proceedings. Under section 20 of the Act as it stands, the definition of former spouse includes a person who is in respect of his or her marriage to an accused, has been either granted a decree of judicial separation or has entered a separation agreement. The purpose of this amendment is to extend the definition of former spouse to include persons who have been divorced. The effect is that such persons would be subject to the rules of the 1992 Act regarding competence and compellability to give evidence in criminal proceedings.
Amendment No. 31 is to the Power of Attorneys Act, 1996, which will come into operation on 1 August next. Under section 5 (7) of the Act, an enduring power of attorney in favour of a spouse shall, unless the power provides otherwise, be invalidated or cease to be in force if subsequently the marriage inter alia is annulled under the law of the State, is annulled or dissolved under the law of another State or if either a decree of judicial separation is granted to either spouse in this State or by a court outside the State. The purpose of this amendment to section 5 (7) (a) is to introduce a similar provision in respect of persons who have been divorced.
Amendment No. 32 enables persons who have been granted a divorce to apply for a safety order or barring order against a former spouse under the Domestic Violence Act, 1996.