Mark Ward
Dublin Mid-West · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“The second largest part of the subvention is the €4.1 billion that relates to public debt. Ireland would have no legal liability to pay any part of this. The cost of defence and international relations is approximately €2.7 billion and almost none of this expenditure relates to activity taking place in the North.”
“It has not allowed us, as a nation, to reach our full potential. I also think it is important that we take the current financial situation in the North seriously. It is always disappointing when Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael use the North as a stick to beat Sinn Féin. Even the Labour Party used this tactic this week.”
“It has been a long-standing policy of Sinn Féin to bring waste management back to public control. Privatisation has failed ordinary people. Bin companies act like a cartel in how they raise their prices. When one company increases its price, the rest follow.”
“The total subvention includes central British Government costs allocated to the North that would not be relevant to a united Ireland and here is why. The subvention from the British Exchequer to the North was €16 billion in 2023.”
“I thank Deputy Sherlock for bringing forward this legislation to bring bin collections back to public control. I am disappointed but not surprised that the Government is opposing this legislation. Fine Gael has a long history and policy of privatising public services.”
“We have a situation that allows multiple bin trucks to operate on the same street. On my road there could be three different companies coming down the road, sometimes at the same time. This goes against everything we are trying to achieve to make waste collection more environmentally friendly.”
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“This is my first engagement with the Minister of State, Deputy Ardagh. I wish her well in her role and look forward to more engagements with her, particularly in respect of youth justice, which is an area in which I have a lot of interest. I look forward to working with her from the Opposition benches in a tangible and constructive way. As my colleague said, the Bill provides for engagement and information sharing between the office of the director and An Garda Síochána, Coimisiún na Meán and other bodies. We are seeking provision for the same engagement with the DPC. Some concerns were expressed at the committee regarding the way the Bill has been rolled out. I will not rehash all the arguments that have been made already, including by me on Second Stage.”
“Sinn Féin welcomes that it is envisaged a decentralised IT system will be developed to facilitate engagement and reporting to SMEs. It would be of use if the Minister could provide an update on the status of this in his closing remarks. While the Minister's Bill makes provision for engagement and information-sharing with other relevant public bodies like the Garda, Coimisiún na Meán and others, there is nothing in here on the Data Protection Commission. Given the concerns that exist, it would be reassuring for the Minister to, at the very least, similarly facilitate formal engagement between the office and the Data Protection Commission. The proposed legislation is rushed. It leaves too many questions remaining on key provisions, especially about sovereignty, safeguards and the rule of law.”
“An area of particular concern to me is the ability of smaller SMEs to meet the required timeframes necessitated by this legislation, which could be as little as eight hours in the case of an emergency order. Section 49, as the Minister said, provides that in exceptional circumstances, where a service provider is in breach, an adjudication officer may decide not to impose a financial penalty. The Bill later clarifies such exceptional circumstances may include a micro-enterprise of fewer than ten people not responding to an emergency order. I am not at all confident this is robust enough a safeguard for SMEs. In any small businesses, not just micro-enterprises, it would not be exceptional to not have 24-7 cover, which is in effect what this Bill mandates them to have.”
“Sinn Féin believes there needs to be strong, robust provisions in any Irish legislation that ensure information may only be provided where an alleged offence constitutes and offence under Irish criminal law. Sinn Féin is also concerned about the administrative burden this could place on SMEs. The Government’s SME test identified this will impact SMEs more than larger companies and that they will incur administrative and compliance costs, notably working against ongoing efforts to increase competitiveness and reduce administrative and regulatory business. It would be more useful if the director of this office had an ongoing, explicit mandate to ensure minimal administrative burden for the SME sector specifically.”
“As highlighted by Digital Rights Ireland in its submission to the justice committee, in an article on balancing efficiency and fundamental rights in this package, one academic described the e-evidence package as having minimal fundamental safeguards, so there is an absolute need for any Irish legislation to empower a Minister to suspend co-operation, where necessary. There was also extensive discussion at the Oireachtas justice committee on the issue of dual criminality and in particular how the civil law systems will relate to Ireland’s common law tradition. I do not believe engagement with Department officials answered all the questions raised or left members entirely reassured.”
“We have seen interference in the judicial system, European governments seeking to deny fundamental rights and the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia due to her journalism exposing major acts of corruption. These are just a few examples. I, therefore, have major concerns with the approach of this Bill and the potential for rogue governments, or elements in governments, to abuse the trust and authority the Minister would vest in them. I appreciate he may say the entire European project might be based on such a theory but in this instance we are talking about fundamental rights. We are talking about political persecution. In that context, that seems designed to minimise judicial and Irish oversight. Sinn Féin is not alone in having a critique of safeguards in the e-evidence package generally.”
“Officials see it moving upwards to 150 staff but there seems little certainty that will be a cap of sorts, especially given indications it is already intended to expand the remit of this new office to include the European investigation orders. Significant concerns also exist about the safeguards in this Bill. Department officials acknowledged at the committee that in theory the regulation is based on the idea of full faith and credit in the member states' legal systems. "Theory" is doing an awful lot of heavy lifting here. In the past decade, we have seen democratic backsliding from some European Union states as well as issues with the rule of law.”
“With the majority of orders expected to be processed here, it will be the Irish taxpayer who picks up the tab for virtually the entire European Union. The Minister will say it is a small price to pay and arises out of foreign direct investment but I would be interested whether he could provide a single example whereby an individual member state was on the hook to such an extent regarding a single directive or regulations. From our engagement with Department officials, it seems the Minister cannot even tell us the scale, the cost or where this new body is going to end up. There is €2.8 million set aside for this year to provide for 29 staff and associated costs.”
“We also know the majority of orders across the EU are expected to be processed through Ireland, so what we are dealing with is important, substantive and could have a significant impact in Ireland. While the e-evidence package has been presented in terms of efficiencies, it is not at all apparent it will not have the opposite impact in Ireland. The Department seems to think there will be minimal impact on court services but the Courts Service itself seems much more circumspect and has stated there is limited data available on the number of cases that may arise after commencement. It went on to say the Department’s projections may prove optimistic. That is hardly a ringing endorsement. Then there are the efficiencies the office is meant to bring.”
“I put on record Sinn Féin's utter disgust that the Dáil is seeing its constitutional mandate limited by the Minister, arising from his failure to meet his obligation to process legislation in a timely and competent manner. That needs to change. Taking such an approach to the Dáil plays a role in undermining public confidence in our political institutions. I invite the Minister to reflect on his role in that. I understand the Department officials considered whether any existing State body or agency could take on the functions of this office but found there is no existing criminal justice body equipped to deal with the task required by the e-evidence package.”
“If something were to come up in this debate, I would not be able to table an amendment on it because the deadline has already passed. That is bad practice. This follows a number of instances where Bills have been similarly rushed and, especially in recent weeks, we have had motions to extend the purpose of other Bills - some multiple times - to introduce various unrelated subject matters to legislation already in process. All this means is that legislation passes through these Houses with the bare minimum of scrutiny, and in some cases virtually no scrutiny at all. The reason the Minister will give that this legislation must be rushed is that the transposition deadline was last February and with the directive due to come into force in August.”
“I welcome this opportunity to discuss the EU e-evidence package and this legislation, which seeks to transpose it into Irish law. The broad purpose of this package and legislation is evidently worthy. With an estimated up to 80% of court cases involving electronic evidence in some format and relevant companies often being headquartered outside the jurisdictions where the crime is alleged to have been committed, we should, of course, seek to introduce efficiencies where existing processes may struggle with scale. The question then is whether the Minister has got the approach right. I remain unconvinced he has for various reasons. Another week has passed in which the Minister has engaged in poor parliamentary practice. Here we are again debating a Bill on Second Stage when the deadline for Committee Stage amendments has already passed.”
“The European Union has proposed a new delegated Act that classifies nitrous oxide as harmful to reproductive health and this is to come into place by February 2027. In January of this year, the Government kicked down the road by nine months the Sinn Féin legislation that would have regulated nitrous oxide. What has the Government done in the past five months to tackle the misuse of nitrous oxide? What has it done to prepare for the EU delegated Act that is coming in next year?”
“(ac) Where a court, having considered in accordance with paragraph (a) whether to make a probation order, decides not to make such an order, it shall give reasons for its decision.”,”.”
“I move amendment No. 16: In page 18, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “(ab) Where a court, by or before which an offender stands convicted, is of opinion that the appropriate sentence in respect of the offence of which the offender is convicted would, but for this Act, be one of imprisonment for a period of 24 months or less, and where, having considered in accordance with subsection (3) whether to make a community service order, decides not to make such an order, the court shall, as an alternative to that sentence, consider whether to make a probation order in respect of the offender and the court may, if satisfied, in relation to the offender, that such an order is appropriate, make a probation order in accordance with this section.”
“It is ironic that the Minister is talking about merging Acts. He has merged a whole panoply of issues into one Bill here. I listened to the previous debate, and he wanted to squash everything in. I am sure there was a way to get this done. I will bring something forward on this again in my own time, probably as Private Members' business.”
“I move amendment No. 15: In page 17, line 33, to delete “paragraph” where it firstly occurs and substitute “paragraphs”. I will again be brief because I want to get to the next section, which is really important. This section is also important. Amendments Nos. 15 and 16 were proposed by a group of academic researchers and experts in probation services. Most of them gave their time to the joint committee as witnesses. They are experts in community sanctions, judicial attitudes, sentences and use of research and evidence in criminal justice policy. I know they sent these amendments to the Minister. I withdrew them on Committee Stage because he said he would consider bringing something forward himself. I will not argue the rest of the case. I want to hear if the Minister has considered bringing forward similar amendments.”
“This is a cynical act by the Government. A total of 70% of trade between Ireland and the occupied territories is in services. What we are asking for is something very simple. We are asking for no trade in goods and services that originate in the occupied Palestinian territories, lands that have been stolen by military force by Israel.”
“They have military members of the IDF armed looking down like imperialists on the Palestinian population below them. They have separate roads. There is not even a bump in the roads they are that well put together that only Israelis are allowed to drive on. Palestinian civilians are not allowed to drive on these roads. The Palestinians have restricted movements going from A to B because they are in these occupied territories. The thought of doing any business with these occupied territories, fortified institutions and these robbed and stolen lands sickens me to the core of my stomach. I do not just mean goods; I mean goods and services. We have spent eight years on this Bill. The Government dillyed, delayed and blocked. Now, in my opinion and most people's opinions, the Government has completely gutted this Bill.”
“I acknowledge the work that Senator Black has done on this Bill over the past number of years. I commend her on getting it this far because she ran into so many obstacles on the way. In 2022, I was lucky enough to visit Palestine. I spent a fair bit of time there as part of a sports and cultural exchange. There were boxers from Belfast and Dublin taking part in the Shamrock and Olive Tree Boxing Project with the shamrock being from Ireland and the olive tree being from Palestine. I saw the settlements at first hand. I could talk about how I was treated over there, but it is not about me. There is this idea of settlements and we think of the wagons across the prairie. They are not like that. They are fortified. They are on high ground.”
“If the Minister of State stood up and said, "I will back the FAI. If the FAI decides that it will not play this match, I will have its back", I guarantee there would be a different response from the FAI. The association also needs to not have a cop-out. We are not calling for this match to be moved somewhere else; we are calling for it to be abandoned altogether and not to happen. We are calling for Israel to be put out of UEFA and FIFA competitions altogether. Israel has broken international law. It has also broken the laws of UEFA and FIFA by having ten football teams playing in occupied territories. That is against FIFA and UEFA laws. It should have been put out for that alone.”
“That is what the Minister of State is standing over. He is complicit in this. The Minister of State can shake his head all he wants. Does he know what else is a cop-out? It is not having the balls to go to the Aviva or wherever the match is going to be on and backing the Irish players. The Minister of State is afraid to go to the match but he will send the young men out in the green to go and play it without any backup from the Irish Government. The Government needs to stand by its convictions if it is going to do it. The Government has shown no leadership on this whatsoever. It can tell the FAI not to play, and support it in not playing the game. It can tell the FAI it has its back. The FAI is reliant on the Government for funding. That is where the problem lies. It is too terrified of its paymasters to make a decision.”
“I raised the issue of stopping the game two weeks ago and I said at the time that the Minister of State’s response was a cop-out. His response tonight is again an absolute cop-out. The amendment he tabled is another cop-out. I am a season ticket holder for the Irish national team and for a League of Ireland team. I love football. My missus will tell the Minister of State I love it too much. However, I hate the idea of Israel using my sport, the sport I love, to sportswash its way out of genocide.”
“I want to raise the waiting times for therapies for children’s disability network teams. A couple of weeks ago, I raised the unacceptable waiting time for children in Lucan for speech and language therapy. The average is a two-year wait. I thought that was bad until I received a response yesterday about a four-year-old boy from Clondalkin who will be waiting five years before he gets speech and language therapy. Every expert will say that early intervention is key. One of the worst jobs for TDs across this House is when you have to send a response back to a parent. It is really upsetting as a TD but that pales into insignificance compared to what the parent in receipt of that letter experiences when they receive news that their four-year-old child will not get an appointment for speech and language therapy until they are nine years old.”
“My legislation, which the Government has delayed, would not only lead to cost savings, it could also save lives. I have written to the Minister for an update on the proposed national working group that is to be established to tackle the issue of nitrous oxide. I want to know why it has taken six years to get this matter on the agenda. The Government needs to get serious about this. The Government often accuses those of us on this side of the House of not bringing forward any solutions. I brought this forward as a solution. I gave it to the Government gift wrapped and it kicked it down the road for nine months.”
“The council also reports that it costs €11 to dispose of a single canister. Walk around any area and discarded nitrous oxide canisters can be seen lying in our parks and on the sides of our roads. Every one of them costs the local authority €11 to dispose of, which is bonkers. In the past two years, Fingal County Council has spent nearly €100,000 disposing of these canisters. I previously mentioned how Dublin City Council is on course for a 490% increase in the number of canisters collected. The Government has also committed €3 million this year for waste management for all the nitrous oxide seized by customs. The Government knows that this is an issue. It is allocating millions of euro to dispose of canisters but it is doing nothing to regulate the use of nitrous oxide.”
“Stephen's Green to impede the horse-drawn carriages from parking there safely. I have asked the council to remove them. Perhaps the Minister for justice can do the same, because this is an area that is in his constituency. We need to respect the culture and history of responsible horse-drawn carriage operators who look after their animals and who are also endorsed by animal welfare groups like My Lovely Horse. Discarded nitrous oxide canisters are another blight on our towns and villages. The Government has delayed my legislation to tackle this issue by nine months. In that time, we have seen more reports on the health impacts on young people of nitrous oxide misuse. Earlier today I received information from Fingal County Council to the effect that it disposed of 4,900 canisters in 2024 and a further 4,000 in 2025.”
“Dublin has a rich cultural history of proper urban horsemanship. Horse carriage rides are synonymous with the south inner city. It is very sad to see this being eroded as a result of a lack of regulation. We have a situation where have responsible carriage operators who are fully licensed by Dublin City Council are working alongside rogue operators who do not have proper certification. Whenever there is no regulation, there is a disregard for animal welfare and the welfare and cleanliness of our city. Steps need to be taken to ensure that this industry is regulated and that our city is properly looked after. While the purpose of this motion is to deal with street furniture to make our city a better city for all, Dublin City Council has put in place planters along St.”
“These brightly lit shops entice young people with their colours, lights and advertising. The packaging is aimed at children, and it is not uncommon for children in school uniforms to be seen going into these shops and coming out with vapes. I am aware that the Government is bringing forward legislation to tackle this scourge in our communities. However, it is too late for a generation of young people who are already hooked on nicotine. The Government has set aside one hour today to extend the provisions of the 2021 Act to make our cities more vibrant and user friendly. If it had dealt with this previously, we could now be dealing with issues that are directly impacting our cities at the moment. I want to talk about the horse-drawn carriages in Dublin city centre that are to be found just around the corner from where we are sitting.”
“Even today, Clondalkin Tidy Towns had to resort to a Facebook post calling on South Dublin County Council to power-wash the streets of our village. This would not happen if the local authority was given an adequate budget by central government. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers in the Clondalkin Tidy Towns group for the unselfish work they do for us all to enjoy and benefit from. The Government would be much better off trying to revitalise our villages. It must ensure that there are proper public services, including access to GP services, good public transport and enough gardaí. It must ensure that our towns have proper amenities for our young people. Unfortunately, what we have seen in villages in Dublin Mid-West such as Clondalkin and Lucan and others is the proliferation of unregulated vape shops.”
“Organisations like Clondalkin Tidy Towns need to be better supported. The latter is a voluntary group of community activists. It was established in 2012 and it seeks to restore pride to Clondalkin village. It does sterling work for the community and is unselfish in its aim to make Clondalkin a better place for us all to enjoy. It gets good support from South Dublin County Council, but the latter is often hamstrung by budgetary and bureaucratic issues. One recent example was when the Tidy Towns group tried to get some storage space in the village area. This was met with resistance from South Dublin County Council. To me, providing a storage space to a vital organisation that volunteers in our village to make it a better place is a no-brainer.”
“It is apt that we are talking about this today. I went for a walk on my lunch break. It is gorgeous out. The weather is beautiful. I walked down streets that previously would not have had outdoor seating areas and saw people sitting out and enjoying a coffee or an alcoholic drink, having a bit of food and socialising. That brings the city to life. It brings a new vibrancy to our city. It is the same in villages and towns across the country. It is important that we support this. We also need to look at the broader supports that are given to our villages, towns and city centres to make them safer and more welcoming spaces and at how we invest in public amenities and help small local businesses to get started and to thrive. Unfortunately, the policies of successive Governments have hollowed out our villages, rural towns and city centres.”
“The 2021 Act introduced a change in the law to allow for the sale and consumption of alcohol in relevant outdoor seating areas where the use of those areas has been permitted by local authorities on public land or private land next to a licensed premise. This was emergency legislation that was brought in during Covid. Five years later, we are still dealing with six-month extensions of that legislation. I am a member of the justice committee and am aware that there is legislation pending in this area. Hopefully, that legislation will get through the Houses of the Oireachtas sometime this year because it is important that we get the regularisation of outdoor seating areas on a permanent footing. It is important that we do that instead of coming in here and doing this every six months as we have done for the past number of years.”
“We have a number of developments in the area that do not have the appropriate number of car parking spaces. I get the idea behind this whereby the Government wants to see people out of cars and onto public transport. That is all well and good in theory but in practice it is a different story. An infrequent and often unreliable bus service means the car is still a necessity. We have seen tensions rising in the likes of Kilcarbery, Seven Mills, Citywest and Adamstown because of a lack of parking in these new builds. The Government needs to get its act together and provide proper parking and also reliable public transport. Earlier, I raised DART+ South West with the Taoiseach. The Minister relayed to me before that the delay to DART+ South West is because of an interconnection with another project.”
“I use the bus to go to matches. I see the same people on the bus going to and from matches. It is vital that this cultural link is kept in place for people who cheer on St. Pat’s in Richmond Park. There is also the vital link to St. James’s Hospital that has to be taken into consideration, as well as the many people who still travel to the Liberties to socialise and do their shopping. Another issue with the D3 route is that it will not serve Woodford or the Monastery Road. People living along Woodford and Monastery Road will lose a bus to town and to Clondalkin village. I am asking the NTA to take all these factors into consideration before it makes any decision to replace the 13 bus with the D3. A particular issue we have in my area relates to the provision of car parking spaces.”
“I am going to keep this local as well. I want to talk about the 13 bus route. It is planned to be replaced with the D3 route under BusConnects. After Watery Lane, the D3 route will now go down the New Nangor Road and up the Long Mile Road towards Cork Street. Clondalkin, and Bawnoges in particular, will now lose a valuable connection to Bluebell, Inchicore, St. James’s Hospital and the Liberties. There is a strong historical, cultural and familial connection between Clondalkin, Inchicore and Bluebell. Many families moved from Inchicore and Bluebell up to Clondalkin over the years. They still go back to visit families and friends on a regular basis. The 13 bus route is vital in this regard. I also want to put on my St. Patrick’s Athletic FC hat and say that many people who use the 13 bus route go to Inchicore to cheer on St. Pat’s.”
“DART+ South West will bring DART services through Clondalkin, Lucan and Adamstown. Construction was expected to start in 2025, but it has been delayed to 2030 at the earliest. This project would enable 20,000 passengers from Clondalkin, Lucan and Adamstown to go each way every hour. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, said the delay was interlinked with another project. I do not believe that is the case. It is ultimately down to funding from central government to the NTA. Will the Taoiseach confirm this? Will the Government prioritise the construction of DART+ South West?”
“My understanding is that amendment No. 19 aims to make terrorism financing offences easier to prosecute by removing the requirement to prove that funds were actually used for a specific terrorist act or that the accused knew the precise purpose. It broadens liability across subsections and aligns evidential rules with section 6 so that prosecutors need only show that funds were provided in circumstances linked to terrorism, not that they directly financed a particular operation. Does the Minister have any concerns that the amendment lowers evidential thresholds so far that it risks criminalising individuals without proof of intent or use of funds, or that it weakens safeguards against terrorism financing prosecutions?”
“For the purposes of this Part, a person organises or facilitates travel for the purpose of participation in the armed forces of another state which is engaged in genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes— (a) if he or she— (i) does any act— (I) consisting of the making of an arrangement for the travel by any person to the State from a place other than the State, or (II) that would facilitate the travel by any person to the State from a place other than the State, or (ii) causes any person to do such an act, knowing that such travel is for a purpose referred to in section 4F, or (b) if he or she— (i) does any act— (I) consisting of the making of an arrangement for the travel by any person from the State to a place other than the State, or (II) that would facilitate the travel by any person from the State to a place other than the State, or (ii) causes any person to do such an act, knowing that such travel is for a purpose referred to in section 4F.”.”.”
“I move amendment No. 14: In page 7, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “Organising or facilitating travel for purpose of participation in the armed forces of another state which is engaged in genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes 4F.”
“I move amendment No. 13: In page 7, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “Travel for purpose of serving in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide 4F. For the purposes of this Part, a person travels for the purpose of serving in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide if he or she travels from the State to a place other than the State for the purpose of participation in the armed forces of another state which is engaged in, or is reasonably suspected of having engaged in, genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.”.”.”
“I move amendment No. 12: In page 7, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “Recruitment for purpose of serving in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide 4F. For the purposes of this Part, recruitment for purpose of serving in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide means the intentional recruitment of another person to serve in the armed forces of a state which is engaged in, or is reasonably suspected of having engaged in, a war crime, a crime against humanity or genocide.”.”.”
“(2) The Minister may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so, make regulations for the purposes of subsection (1) and he or she shall— (a) before making such regulations, consult with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Defence, the Commissioner of An Garda Siìochaìna, and such other Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate having regard to the weapons, substances, techniques or methods concerned, and (b) in making such regulations, have regard to the following: (i) the capability of the weapon, substance, technique or method concerned to cause the death of or serious bodily injury to persons or substantial material damage to property; (ii) the capacity of the weapon, substance, technique or method concerned to be used for the purposes of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide and the likelihood of it being so used; (iii) the extent to which instruction or training— (I) in the making or use of the weapon or substance concerned, or (II) in the use of the technique or method concerned, is required for the making or use, as the case may be, of that weapon, substance, technique or method for the purpose of committing, or contributing to the commission of, a war crime, a crime against humanity or genocide.”.”.”
“(1) For the purposes of this Part, training in the armed forces of a state engaged in the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide means intentionally providing instruction or training in the skills of— (a) making or using, for the purpose of committing, or contributing to, the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide— (i) firearms or explosives, (ii) nuclear material, (iii) biological weapons, chemical weapons or prohibited weapons, or (iv) such other weapons, or noxious or hazardous substances, that may be used in the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide as the Minister may prescribe, or (b) such other techniques or methods for the purpose of committing, or contributing to the commission of, war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide as the Minister may prescribe, knowing or believing that it is likely that the skills provided are intended to be used by a person receiving the instruction or training for the purpose of committing, or contributing to the commission of, war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.”
“I move amendment No. 11: In page 7, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “Training for purpose of serving in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide 4F.”
“I will continue to wear my lily and commemorate our patriot dead, and I accept the Minister's assurances of that. However, I want to know that future generations of Irish people will be able to do the same thing, and this Bill will not come after them.”
“I will sleep well tonight knowing the Minister will not be coming after me for wearing my Easter lily. I also appreciate his assurance that my future attendance at any commemoration of our patriot dead will not be seen as a terrorist offence. However, he has not given me any assurance that future Ministers sitting in his seat will take the same stance. There is vagueness in the Bill that is open to interpretation. It does not give me any confidence whatsoever that this vagueness will not be interpreted by a different Minister, maybe from a different party, and used in a different way. We are asking the Minister to delete the section on public provocation to commit terrorist offences because the definition is too vague. It is also subjective and open to abuse by future Ministers.”
“There is clearly an attempt to crack down on freedom of speech rather than terrorist activity. Given the direction that Europe is going, we should not allow a diktat from the EU on this or any other issue that impacts on freedom of speech. The section must be opposed because its provisions are authoritarian, uncalled for and open to abuse.”
“Kneecap has been a thorn in the side of the British Government because it represents everything the British establishment hates. The debate on the Bill takes place against a background where there has been across Europe, Britain and America an increase in the use of similar legislation against legitimate political protest, including in relation to Palestine. We cannot ignore this context. The problem is when we insert this kind of provision in law we do not know how it will be used in future. The Minister's assurances that the provision will not be misused does not give any sense of assurance. When I spoke earlier I said that while he may not use this law against Irish people, a future Minister could do so. We do not know who will be sitting in that chair in five, ten or 20 years down the line.”
“This is the language of the DUP, which has sought to criminalise anyone who attends commemorations of loved ones killed in the conflict in the North. I make no apology whatsoever when I attend, and I will continue to attend, commemorations of our patriot dead. It could be equally used against those commemorating the 1916 Rising or even wearing an Easter lily as I am at this moment. As I said previously when the Bill was being discussed, such laws existed in the 1980s. It is probable that putting up in public a poster of Bobby Sands or Nelson Mandela would be construed as glorifying terrorism. In the recent past, we have seen how Mo Chara from the rap group Kneecap was charged with a terrorism offence for waving a flag while performing on stage. There is no greater oxymoron then British Government.”