“Criminalising and threatening publicans and restaurant owners is not the way to go” says Nolan
Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has said she will not be supporting the governments Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Bill 2020 which is due to come before the Dáil later today. Deputy Nolan was speaking ahead of a press event at Leinster House which is being organised by the Rural Independent Group, of which she is a member:
“There was unanimous agreement by all members of our Rural Independent Group that the Bill far exceeds what can be described as a proportionate and reasonable response to limiting the spread of Covid-19.
I simply do not believe that the use of threats and criminal sanctions is the way we should be approaching this issue.
For one thing it clearly creates the impression that publicans and restaurant owners are such dangerous and reckless members of the community that they require extraordinary and exceptional powers to force them to comply with the Covid regulations and guidelines.
If anything, the vast majority of these types of businesses have gone the extra mile in ensuring that the highest safety standards have been employed, often at significant cost.
And what has been the government's response to this, but to introduce closure orders and criminal penalties.
This is not the kind of collaboration and reciprocal respect that we need to see, and which has a much greater chance of being effective at preventing the spread of the disease because it ensures greater levels of public support.
Irish people and Irish businesses do not need the government standing over them with a big stick in order for them to be responsible.
We have already demonstrated the reality of that in Laois Offaly. Our communities saw what had to be done, and even if they did not like it, they got on with it and it worked-without a Bill of this severity being in place.
There are also substantial and very real conflicts within the proposed Bill in terms of protecting the sanctity of the home and the kind of far reaching powers that the Bill would confer on the Minister for Health and the Minister for Justice.
These are concerns shared by the Gardaí who feel that many aspects of the Bill may simply be unenforceable. They also feel that significant damage may be done to the policing by consent model that operates here in this State.