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The general secretary of the Garda Association of Sergeants and Inspectors has said that any attempt to introduce a law for the Gardaí to enter private homes is “fraught with difficulties”.
Antoinette Cunningham said they don’t see how their members could implement it in practice.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week program, he said that entry into a person’s private home can only be done under the strictest conditions in accordance with the law and generally under a court order.
She said there is an unrealistic expectation about her membership through public comment, but the bottom line is not being thought about, which is how it is applied.
Ms. Cunningham said that this type of legislation deserves the most serious consideration by the Government.
According to Covid-19 guidelines, social visits to homes should be limited to a maximum of six visitors from no more than three homes.
“Entry into a person’s private home can only be done under the strictest conditions in accordance with the law and usually with a court order,” Ms. Cunningham said.
“And any attempt to introduce a law for the Gardaí to enter private housing, we believe is fraught with difficulties.
“We are glad to see that the government is seriously considering it because we don’t see how our members can implement it in practice.”
Ms Cunningham said that from a law enforcement perspective there has been an overwhelmingly positive response from the public towards Gardaí throughout the pandemic, adding that they can coerce but not force people to comply with public health guidelines.
When asked about Tánaiste Leo Varadkar’s comments in which he said that any breach of the guidelines would be treated as a “civil matter”, Ms Cunningham said that they have no idea what it is and what the criminal provision would be as well. as who would enforce it. .
He said AGSI wants to play its role in the way it enforces proposed legislation, but said any such legislation must be practical and enforceable.
Ms Cunningham said that the issue of policing pubs and serving large meals was “complex”, adding that they have gotten into such situations and have no reason not to believe people.
He said it was difficult for the AGSI to enforce and urged the government to think about how any proposed legislation could be enforced before enacting it.
Meanwhile, the State Minister for Labor Affairs has said that it is not the government’s goal for the Gardaí to enter people’s homes to enforce public health guidelines.
Speaking about the same program, Damien English confirmed that the government is seeking stricter legislation to improve enforcement powers for gardaí, which would be published this week and discussed in the Dáil.
He said the goal here is not for Gardaí to call people’s homes, and rather to try to get the message across about adherence to public health guidelines, as he said 90% of clusters occur in private homes.
Mr. English said the reason for introducing the regulations was to strengthen the message and make it really clear that people reduce their social contacts.
He said: “This is to give the gardaí additional powers to move faster in situations and have emergency powers to close a place or a premises for a day or seven days or 30 days if necessary, and that is just to give a greater application.
“We need to figure this out and figure it out. We are in a very fast moving position depending on public health councils every week or two.”
The minister said it was fair to say that it can be confusing and complex for pubs and hotels when it comes to a guide that is updated every week, and that is also the case for gardaí, which remains to be enforced.
He said the Gardaí have been very effective since the start of the coronavirus outbreak in the way they have treated the public.
On Friday, the Cabinet agreed to legislation that would give gardaí the power to shut down pubs that do not meet public health guidelines.
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