Gerard P. Craughwell
Labour Panel · Independent · Ireland
“I omitted to formally congratulate the Leader yesterday on his elevation. I assume there will be bonfires all over Tipperary as he arrives home this weekend. I ask him to please forgive me for not officially congratulating him. I will say a few words at the start at our Presidency of the European Union.”
“It sends a confused and troubling message about hierarchy, authority, respect and the place of the Defence Forces within our nation's life. This matters.”
“The decision to have the Secretary General of the Department of Defence, a civil servant, however reputable, take the salute from newly commissioned officers before handing them their commission represents a deeply inappropriate blurring of roles. Let us be clear.”
“I say to the 64th naval cadet class in their achievement that they remain significant, their commitment remains admirable and their future responsibilities remain vital.”
“It is simply unacceptable that not one Minister or Minister of State of the 38 available was present to officiate at the commissioning of new officers into the Naval Service. I remind colleagues that this is not a minor diary clash or an administrative oversight; it is a profound signal of disregard for the State's most loyal servants.”
“It is an honour for me to extend my congratulations to the 64th naval cadet class on their commissioning into the Naval Service. Their commissioning should be a moment of unambiguous pride for them, their families and the State they have chosen to serve.”
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“First and foremost, I congratulate all the MEPs who were returned to the European Parliament. I know I am a bit late in doing so. I am very proud of them. I have a defence question for Billy Kelleher, MEP. Ireland has hidden behind neutrality, although we are not neutral. We are militarily non-aligned but we do not qualify as neutral under international law. We have hidden behind neutrality to stop investment in defence. We are about to take over the Presidency of the European Union and we are not equipped to provide the required security to look after Heads of State, ministers from other governments, etc. The Taoiseach has referred to people like me as creating negative noise around defence.”
“Going back to my time in the teachers union, two 11-year-olds took their own lives as a result of cyber-bullying. It would be helpful if we were to have the Minister for Education and Youth here for a debate on the impact of the cyber world on young children as they pass through the education system. Perhaps the Deputy Leader would try to organise that?”
“I am glad I made it in time. There is much discussion at the moment about children and access to social media. Clearly, Ireland is a bit of a laggard with respect to how we are dealing with this issue. However, something we should implement from fourth class onwards in national schools is a cyber awareness campaign. This would include Internet hygiene and the use of the Internet. We should not be afraid of using any resources that are available for research purposes. I have huge reservations about social media. I regard most of it now as a cesspit. I am delighted to say I am no longer a member of the X fraternity. I have no time whatsoever for the nonsense that goes on there and the attacks on decent people who work in this establishment and on other public figures.”
“We need the Minister for Transport to come in to discuss air traffic control and what measures are being taken to ensure that we have a sufficient number of air traffic controllers. We should always have a surplus of air traffic controllers to ensure the safe management and running of our airports. Those are the two Ministers I would like the Leader to try to organise to come in here. I appreciate his time on that.”
“Even if we did, it has been established since mid-2024 that these shadow ships now have armed guards on board, probably people from the former Wagner Group, who have no difficulty whatsoever in killing people. We need the Minister in here for a debate on defence. I ask that we try to do that in the very near future. I will make a final point in the couple of seconds I have left about the critical situation with respect to air traffic control. We now have a situation where Cork Airport was closed for seven hours due to the absence of an air traffic controller. People get sick or cannot turn up to work for whatever reason. Dublin Airport and the Air Corps have suffered outages because of the absence of air traffic controllers. This is a situation we have to get on top of and quickly.”
“The Minister for Defence made a statement on radio in the last few days about Ireland boarding Russian shadow ships. I do not blame the Minister, as she is in the job a couple of weeks, but somebody somewhere advised her it would be possible for us to do this. It is not possible for Ireland to board shadow ships. Even if we do and we find contraband, be it oil or anything else, what do we do with it? The one ship we have is costing us €100,000 a week to keep in Cork because we cannot dispose of it; that follows the drug interdiction some time ago. I truly feel for Ministers who are advised and make public statements that are totally at odds with our capability. We have one ship at sea in the Atlantic. We do not have capacity to fast-rope onto ships.”
“We do it because we care deeply for this country and we are watching our country become the laughing stock of Europe. The Taoiseach has been in power, supporting power or the Minister for Defence over the past 20 years. He has questions to answer himself and should stop blaming those of us who call attention to the disastrous state in which they have left this country on coming into the Presidency of the EU.”
“Article 29 of the Constitution is very clear: the Taoiseach has two choices when it comes to the security of this country. One is that he can properly equip and set up the defence of this country through the Defence Forces and the Garda or the other is he can bring this plan to hire in security from foreign countries to the Dáil and have it debated in the Dáil, as is required under Article 29 of the Constitution. If you set aside any part of the Constitution at any time, you can set aside the entire Constitution. Is there no respect whatsoever for the Constitution that was put in place by the people of this country? I believe the Taoiseach should come into this House and explain what he means about negative noise to me and to the other people who speak on defence in this country. We do not do it for the good of our health.”
“In the newspaper today, I read that the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, condemns negative noise over defence and security. What a hard neck. He presided over this State for the past 20 years, in one way or another, as Taoiseach, Minister for Defence or Leader of the Opposition. He is culpable for the defenceless state of this country. He then lauds the co-operation there was in Copenhagen during the EU Presidency when Denmark suffered a drone attack and how all the neighbouring countries came to support Copenhagen. Does he realise they were all members of NATO and were obliged, under Article 5, to support each other? Is he that out of touch that he does not know that? I now read we will have a French ship looking after our security during the EU Presidency. Will the Taoiseach bring that to this Parliament?”
“If we can do something to make their lives more certain, then we should do that. I do not think there will be a need for votes or anything else on this. There is total support for it. I thank the Minister of State for being here. Once again, I am sorry she is one who gets to carry the can. I thank her for her time.”
“Let us see the research that went into deciding whether the vaccine was cost effective. If that research stands up, we may have to examine another way around this problem. When the HSE makes statements to the effect that something is not cost effective, it needs to be able to back that up by publishing its research. It is not fair to ask Ministers to come to the House and defend something in which they have no hand, act or part. I am particularly concerned about over-50s. I was in my 50s when I got it and my father was in his 60s. I am also concerned about those who are immunocompromised. The Minister of State knows from a debate we had here that my daughter is immunocompromised due to head and neck cancer. People who had breast, prostate or bowel cancer are immunocompromised for the rest of their lives.”
“From that point of view, it is something we need to do. But for Senator Conway bringing this forward, it would have gone under the radar and nobody would have taken much notice of it. I congratulate my colleague for bringing forward the motion and the amount of work he has done on it. I do not think it is fair to blame the Department of Health, the Minister or, indeed, the office of the Minister of State. I do not think that was ever intended by Senator Conway. I congratulate Senator Ahearn for pointing out that the Government is behind the motion. We seem to have a unanimity in here and everybody seems to be singing from the same hymn sheet. I do not want to delay this any longer. Let us see what GSK, the manufacturers of the vaccine, and the HSE are saying.”
“If there was anything out there that would help reduce that risk, dear God, please give it to me. The Minister of State is frequently put in the firing line over decisions made by the HSE. One of my asks today is that she get the HSE to publish its research on this and give an explanation as to why the vaccine was deemed to not be cost effective. I do not know why we always end up throwing Ministers under the bus for decisions made by bureaucrats. It was not a bureaucrat in the Department of Health but rather a HSE decision. Let it publish the information. We had this debate over the RSV vaccine, another vital vaccine for people aged in their late 60s and early 70s. It has resulted in a massive reduction in the number of hospitalisations of people suffering from the respiratory diseases that come with RSV.”
“I now have three beautiful granddaughters and if I hear of any of them having chickenpox, I will not go near them until they are well and truly clear of it. Senator Conway has done a lot of work on this and his presentation was fantastic. It is worth restating that the UK, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, Australia and New Zealand have all adopted the vaccine. It is also worth stating that there is some correlation between Alzheimer's, dementia more generally and shingles. There has been a reduction of up to 20% in the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's, as a result of vaccination against shingles. When one gets to the latter stage of life where I am now, the thoughts of dementia, including Alzheimer's, scares the living hell out of me.”
“Half of my torso was covered in shingles front to back. The pain was so excruciating that I moved into one bedroom in the house and after three days in it I thought I was going mad. I finished up lying on the floor of my sitting room for six weeks trying to find a position that would be comfortable. Nothing I could do would make the pain go away. More importantly, I still get a twinge every now and then and I think it is coming back. If it ever comes back, I do know not know what I will do. It is absolutely horrendous. I have never known anything like it. The virus follows nerve lines. I was told at the time that if I got it in the face, it could cost me my sight. It is an horrendous condition. As all my colleagues pointed out, there is a relationship between it and chickenpox.”
“The weekend Pope John Paul II died will never leave my mind. It was not because I had any great affinity for His Holiness. Rather, it was because it was after a week's conference when I was in Rosslare as president of the Teachers' Union of Ireland. I had a pain in my back all week. On the night I arrived in Rosslare, His Holiness was dying and I sat in a chair in absolute agony. Nothing I could do would ease the pain. I spent the entire night awake and the following morning I left Rosslare at about 6.30 a.m. By the time I got to St. Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown, I was unable to be in any way cognisant of what was going on around me. I spent two days in the hospital under complete sedation. The level of pain I experienced was something I have never experienced before or since.”
“Somehow or other, the Minister of State and I always seem to finish up together in this House when difficult questions come up. Her follow-up on recent topics I have discussed with her has been commendable. She does a good job and I am grateful to her for what she does.”
“Let us give them a decent start in life and a decent start to their career. I want to congratulate Senator Fitzpatrick on her work in the area of scramblers and the abusive use of mobility devices such as scramblers and scooters. I have to congratulate the Senator on it. I should put it on the floor of the House and thank the Senator for that work.”
“I note that the Leader comes from a military town and has an interest in these issues. I ask him to bring it up at his own parliamentary party meeting. Let us have an honest discussion on cadet pay. Let us make sure that they are being paid a salary that is commensurate. We are training the future leaders of the country. Let us give them a decent start in life where they can at least live and have some life. Those who go into the cadets, are expected to dress in a particular way. When they are not on duty, they are expected to behave in a particular way. We saw that when we visited the enlisted guys out in Gormanston. They work from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. They get a weekend pass into the local village but are not allowed to partake in alcohol or anything like that. The training is quite strict.”
“We are about to have a call for cadets for the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service. It is a wonderful career. The entry age is from 18 up to 39 years of age but the salary is €25,000 a year. The Government continuously adverts to the qualified salary. Once you are qualified and commissioned, you will have a salary of between €45,000 and €50,000 a year. For a 39-year-old, let us be honest about it, €25,000 a year is nonsense. Recruits joining to become enlisted personnel are being paid €42,000 a year. The Government has done a good job with respect to entry level for the enlisted ranks. It is time to look at the cadet salaries and increase the salary to what it should be. Even an 18-year-old could go and work in one of the supermarkets packing shelves for €25,000 and have a better life on it.”
“It is no surprise I am again speaking on defence and defence issues. The first issue I want to speak about is that of drones and the purchase of that equipment. We have had Ministers speaking on television about how three months is plenty of time to have the Defence Forces up and ready for Ireland's Presidency of the European Union. Can any of those Ministers tell me what knowledge or expertise they have in the training and implementation of anti-drone equipment? We need to be honest with the public. We need to be straight with the public and not spin yarns that we have no empirical evidence to support. From that point of view, I ask those who are speaking on issues with respect to the defence of this country when it comes to the EU Presidency to go and inform themselves with the proper authorities before they speak.”
“Let us go to the drone manufacturer in Shannon, or any other drone manufacturer, to see what technology they have, see what is there that can be used and let us go and start using it. We do not need people out in the Atlantic, what we need is eyes, and drones can do that. I will leave it at that. Once again, I thank the Minister of State for being here.”
“We can put nice words around it, but if they are fishing illegally in there, they need to be arrested and brought to heel. I know the Minister of State will do that. In summing up, I believe that the Minister of State has a deep interest in the sea. His roots in the west probably give him that. He has empathy with the fishing community. I would like to see him try to drive more innovative strategic thinking when it comes to the Atlantic in particular. The same technology would work on the east coast. It would be cheap in the grand scheme of things. Not only that, it would send jobs into west Clare and we would see massive improvement in the overall protection and the overall number of eyes on the sea off the west coast. He might try to talk to his colleagues in the Department of Defence on that.”
“I will leave it to my colleague to talk about that, but we do need to ensure that we have a Naval Service on the north-west coast, and right over to the north east, keeping an eye on what is going on in the area. I am looking for greater empowerment of the Air Corps and of the Naval Service, and I am looking for new thinking with respect to how we protect the Atlantic and our fisheries. We can do that with modern technology and drone technology. My final point on fisheries affairs is that unless we get our national security right, all of the Minister of State's efforts will go to waste. He is fighting hard to preserve as much of the fishing stock as he possibly can, and if we do not have eyes on the sea to see what is going on, we cannot stop rogue countries coming in and stealing the stock. It is a simple as that.”
“We are in trouble unless we have a single authority responsible for everything at sea. The Garda has responsibility for undersea cables and the navy is responsible for fisheries and all sorts of other things. We really do need one single Department with control over that area. There are also consequences for investigations. They must be immediate. We saw that with the crash of 116, which was vital to the north west of the country. My colleague from Fine Gael has already expressed his own concern, and I am sure he will do it today, about the need for helicopter services in the county of Donegal - the forgotten county in the north west. Donegal has one of the largest fishing fleets in the country. There is a massive harbour up there.”
“Drones protect life because they do not have pilots and the Naval Service is not at risk. It is something that I would ask him to look into. I say this because there is a lack of strategic thinking on the part of the Government, and it has reduced our capability. For example, there is no maritime policy that I am aware of and that is something our committee is working on at the moment. Other countries have expressed concern regarding our ability to protect our own waters. Last year, the Japanese Prime Minister stated that Japan is deeply concerned at the lack of defence in the country, particularly when it comes to Internet cables and the like. I know that is slightly away from fishing, but it is all part of the maritime domain, as it were. I have harped on a bit about the Naval Service.”
“I am sure he has been there already, but he might go and visit it again to see what it might be able to do in the area of fisheries. Inland fisheries depend on search and rescue for crisis situations. We saw that we simply do not fund the search and rescue system well enough. The Minister of State will know from his last interaction with me on this in the previous Parliament that it was a matter dear to my heart. He and I spoke on it often. He had his own concerns. He visited a number of the SAR sites. We have got to look at that again and at how we negotiate those contracts into the future. We must have four or five Naval Service ships at sea or top cover using drones. Why not do it? Everybody else is doing it. It is happening in the Middle East and in many other countries.”
“When we talk about fisheries protection, with one naval vessel at sea in the Atlantic at any given time, it is simply not possible to monitor illegal fishing that is taking place. The Air Corps does the best it can but, again, it has limited capacity for patrolling the area. In the Minister of State's own County Clare, there is a company manufacturing drones in Shannon. We could have much greater protection of the Atlantic and many more, shall we say, seeing eyes in the Atlantic if we were to use indigenous industry manufacturing drones and have those drones patrolling the Atlantic. We could have that happening on a 24-hour-per-day basis. With €1.7 billion being spent in defence, why in God's name would we not spend some of it in our own country? The Minister of State might go to Shannon and visit that company.”
“The Minister of State might remember that particular incident when the trawler was taken out of service because it was dangerous. That family have suffered severe financial loss because of bureaucratic - I do not know what one would call it. Nobody wants to take responsibility for the loss to the family. I do not know where that case stands right now. I do know that the fisheries committee has been asked to look into it again and we might come back to the Minister of State on that. I just want to make note of that. The Minister of State might throw a bit of research into it himself. Today, believe it or not, I want to discuss defence infrastructure in relation to the inland and marine fisheries. Without funding the authorities that are responsible for enforcing laws in this area, there will be a knock-on effect in other regulatory bodies.”
“The Minister of State is welcome to the House. This is the first time I have addressed him in this House since his elevation, so I congratulate him on that. I would like to start off on a positive note. Having been with the Minister of State among coastal communities, I do believe that he has a natural empathy with the fishing community in Ireland. I also believe that when he returned from Europe following the recent negotiations, he was as hurt as any of the fishing families in the country by what has happened. For generations, this country has suffered in the fisheries area, and it is very difficult for fishing communities to understand. Before I go on to anything else, I want to talk about the Gaffney family and the Mary Kate down in Arklow.”
“In the context of the likes of Dell, Digital, TikTok and LinkedIn, the Leader knows that when one came to this country, they all came. If one leaves, they will all leave. It is time Members of the Oireachtas started asking questions. What the hell is going on with defence in Ireland? Why did the Department of Defence buy one set of drone technology? Why did it not cover the whole country? The money is there for it. Is there nobody in this House who is embarrassed by the fact we have to turn to other countries for security? I am absolutely mortified, and I wish I saw more of that mortification coming out of the Oireachtas.”
“We will be quite happy to sit back and let foreigners come in and secure our country during the Presidency of the European Union. More importantly, last night we were told that Baldonnel will be the only place protected with respect to drone technology. The Department of Defence was told to buy technology to protect our airports. It bought one set for Baldonnel. What about Dublin Airport and the airports in Shannon, Cork and Knock? Is there one red-blooded Irish citizen who is prepared to say enough is enough? We are walking ourselves, our country and our economy into the depths of danger. If foreign direct investment companies start to feel that they cannot be secure in this country, there will be a flight.”
“Last Friday morning, Mr. Barry Andrews MEP launched a paper entitled Irish National Security in a Changing World. It is researched by the former Deputy Cathal Berry. When we look at the executive summary inside, we see that the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, is quoted as stating in March 2025 that "Europe must do more to secure its own security and defence," acknowledging that "Ireland is not immune from these threats". In December, Deloitte told us that we are at the most dangerous point in recent history. During a recent visit by the President of Ukraine, we had the French, the Portuguese and members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland provided security for this country. Not one Member of the Houses spoke publicly about this.”
“Maybe Netanyahu should go to visit Auschwitz and maybe he should realise for himself what man's inhumanity to man actually looks like, because it is horrible and it is absolutely unacceptable that in this day and age, the world leaders are sitting on their hands and allowing it to happen. In light of the fact that yesterday was Holocaust memorial day, I think there is another type of holocaust going on in the world as we speak. I know my colleagues have spoken out quite a lot about it and I know some of them have travelled out there or at least have tried to travel out there and that is to be respected. At the end of the day it is the people in real power who are allowing this to happen. I will leave it at that.”
“I could not, in my heart, find a difference between what happened in Auschwitz and Belsen and what is happening in Palestine today. Okay, they are not being put into gas chambers and they are not being housed for years in horrible situations. One of the things I learned in Belsen was that the best job in the camp was cleaning excrement off the floors because the person doing it was left alone inside in the building and did not have to suffer the guards all day and they were somewhat warm in a situation like that. Then we look at what is happening in Palestine and we see tiny children scrambling through rubble with absolutely no hope whatsoever.”
“I welcome the announcement this week that the Holocaust is to be taught in our secondary schools to junior certificate and leaving certificate students. In welcoming the announcement, I am somewhat concerned that history has been somewhat downgraded in the educational curriculum and that is a pity. Two weeks ago I visited Auschwitz in Poland and as I walked through the Auschwitz camp and was led through what happened there and later that day went through Belsen, I could not help but think about how man's inhumanity to man is re-establishing itself in the Middle East and to see the horrendous treatment of the Palestinian people by Netanyahu and his thugs. It is extremely important that we separate out the Jewish religion from the Israeli Government and its actions and what has gone on in Palestine.”
“Let us be clear: the public wants this, the professionals want this, the evidence supports this and the only missing piece is political action. That is why this motion calls on the Government to do more than simply consider reform. It calls on the Government to address the issues raised in scrutiny to engage seriously with the IPAV and the Law Society, and bring forward an updated Bill within the lifetime of this Government. If one Bill cannot deliver all the benefits, then let us have multiple Bills. What matters is that we deliver change. People who are trying to buy homes in this country face obstacles and the conveyancing system should not be one of them. We have a clear path to a faster, fairer and more transparent process. The time for voluntary measures is over. The time for decisive legislative action is here and now.”
“One third of properties going to the market have legal issues that should have been resolved beforehand, with ten weeks from sale agreed to contract signing, six more weeks to close, with mortgage offers expiring, and people paying for surveys, valuations and legal work on homes that were never sale-ready in the first place. This is not just inefficient; this is unfair. The seller's legal pack is a practical and proven solution. It front-loads the legal work so that only genuinely saleable properties reach the market. It cuts delays and reduces the number of failed sales. It protects buyers from unnecessary costs and it gives sellers clarity and confidence. This is not theory, as the UK experience shows it works.”
“The Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, is welcome to the House. I think this is the first time I have addressed him since his elevation so I congratulate him on that. We often speak in this House about the housing crisis. Today we are dealing with a part of that crisis that rarely makes headlines yet it affects every single person trying to buy or sell a home in this country. Our conveyancing system is not just slow; it is fundamentally failing the people it is supposed to serve. The evidence is not vague or anecdotal; it is overwhelming. Four separate surveys between 2020 and 2024 tell the same story. Professionals are frustrated, buyers are stressed, sales are collapsing and families are losing thousands of euro through absolutely no fault of their own. This is not a functioning system; this is a system in need of urgent reform.”
“They do not have to live with it because ordinary members of the public service or Civil Service can work until normal retirement age when they qualify for the old age pension. Take a prison officer, for example, retiring at 55 or 56 years of age, having to sign on at the local employment exchange where he or she is likely to meet somebody who was in prison previously, a former client. It is just not good enough. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to the House to debate this matter.”
“Members of the Defence Forces, prison officers and fire service people are doing the same. Somehow or other we have not gotten it into our heads that these people are not capable of working to the age of 66 in the highly stressful environment they work in. They have to retire in their 50s. Denying them the supplementary pension means that after 32 years of service they come out with paltry sums. The only advice that is being given to them is, "Sure, go and get another job". They are being advised to try to get another job in their mid-50s or early 60s in some cases. We had a Commencement matter tabled here. The Cathaoirleach facilitated it in the previous Government. One of the civil servants who was here said that we need to get over this post-2013 thing and we all have to live with this.”
“I too would like to be associated with the tributes to Brian Crowley. I can see how moved the members of the Fianna Fáil group here in the Seanad are. My sympathies go to them as the wider family and to the Crowley family. I did not know the man - I never met him - but any time I ever saw him interviewed or on TV, he seemed a larger-than-life character. As my colleague Senator Boyhan said, his disability certainly did not define him. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. This morning, I spent the morning with members of the uniformed services, including the fire service, the Prison Service, An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. The post-2013 pension is destroying front-line services. Members of the Garda are retiring or leaving the force while they are young and fit because there is no future with no pension.”
“How much bullying is there? I come from a teaching background and bullying was a massive problem in teaching. We are demonising the most loyal citizens of the State. Let us have a survey of all the other State organisations and quantify the issue of sexual harassment, sexual abuse and bullying in the workplace. Let us be honest and open about it. I think the Leas-Chathaoirleach and Deputy Leader will agree with that.”
“In fairness to her, the speech the Deputy Leader gave was fantastic. In a recent survey of 6,500 members of the Defence Forces, 58 respondents said they had been subjected to some form of sexual harassment and 40 said they had suffered a sexual assault. We do not know whether the 58 and the 40 are all part of the same group or not. There is something we need to put on the record, and I think the Deputy Leader will agree with me here. Any form of sexual harassment or bullying in any organisation is totally unacceptable and those involved in it need to be called out, identified and removed from the organisation. However, the only organisation in this country that has had that lens put on it is the Defence Forces. I wonder how much sexual harassment there is in the HSE, the Prison Service, the fire service and the ambulance service?”
“There were drones in the Irish Sea which may have put his life in peril. We must remember he is probably the number one target in the world from the Russian perspective. They would like nothing better than to take him out. Let us be honest about it. I move on to yesterday's debate on defence. I commend the Deputy Leader. The speech she gave was 100% on the nail, all but for the tiny bit at the end about a swimming pool in the Curragh, County Kildare.”
“On behalf of the Independent Group, I express our condolences to the Lynch family on the passing of Gerard. May he rest in peace. There is something that needs to be dispelled. We constantly hear the Zelenskyy visit to Ireland was extremely successful, there was nothing to worry about and everything went perfectly. Everything did not go perfectly. It was a lucky day in that nothing went wrong. We had foreign police - French, Northern Irish and Portuguese police - looking after the man's security. It was not our own Garda Síochána or Defence Forces. It is outrageous to suggest everything went well. At the end of the day, Zelenskyy came and it was a wonderful visit to Leinster House. It was good that Ireland stood up and welcomed him into the country but it was by no means a perfect visit.”
“I know the Minister wants to get this Bill finished this evening and I do not intend to delay it. I wish to mention the issue of subsection (3) and the right of the courts to order a restriction on reporting. In the likelihood that this passes, is it likely that, in a particular case, names will be reported before the judge gets the opportunity to implement restrictions on reporting? I am a little confused on that one still.”
“Have we usurped the right of a judge with this subsection (3) to place restrictions on reporting, given that it has been reported before it gets into the court? I would just like a bit of clarification on that.”
“I am just a little concerned. Frequently, we hear orders from the courts with respect to reporting and there are restrictions placed on using names, etc. Let us consider the following. A story goes to a journalist and on Friday afternoon they send an email to a Member of this House saying they will publish the Member's name in the Sunday newspaper in a story that says the Member was involved in an inappropriate act with a minor. Can the minor and the politician be named under this subsection (3)? Is it fair to actually put names in the newspaper in an allegation even if it is not a minor and the person has reached majority? Is it fair to name two people where there may be circumstances when the judge who gets the case in the first instance believes that there should be restrictions on reporting?”
“As the Senator has said, my concern is when we enter litigation, we never know the outcome. The serious damage that may not be envisaged by this legislation may actually occur not immediately after the court case, but some time into the future and it is very hard to imagine where that is so. It would be up to the lawyers on behalf of a corporate body to try to ensure any long-term effect to the institution be taken care of in any litigation which takes place. That is just my layman's view on it. My colleague, Senator McDowell, and the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, are lawyers and would have a better grip on that but that is my view on it as it stands.”