Opposition parties have secured more time for Dáil debate on the controversial Criminal Justice Bill.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell today agreed to allocate extra time for the debate on the Bill, which makes changes to the right-to-silence rule in criminal cases and will force judges to impose mandatory sentences in certain cases.
Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell
Mr McDowell agreed to allocate April 24th to further discuss the Bill. "I am being reasonable, if the other parties are willing to play ball, that's fine by me," he said.
But the Tánaiste warned TDs they must not delay the process by "mock posturing" or by resisting guillotine measures to cut off debates by a designated time.
The Government had hoped to push the Bill through today before the Dáil rises for an 18-day recess.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and other Opposition TDs argued it would be wrong to fast-track such an important Bill. Mr Kenny called for the Dáil to be recalled early next week to allow a more comprehensive debate on its provisions.
He pointed out that only 104 out of 171 amendments had been discussed so far at committee stage. An important provision to question suspects for up to seven days had not been debated at all, he added.
Citing extra pressures on TDs and Oireachtas parliamentary staff, Labour's justice spokesman Brendan Howlin claimed "all sorts of corners are being cut" on the Bill. He said the Dáil had a duty to produce robust legislation that Oireachtas members could stand over.
PA