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President Michael D Higgins has signed into law a law allowing for on-the-spot fines for failure to adhere to public health guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The legislation was approved by the Dáil and Seanad on Friday, but details of how many people could be fined for not wearing a mask when necessary or for traveling more than 5 km from their homes during Level 5 restrictions have not yet been stipulated. .
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said these would be confirmed in the next week, but noted that the initial fine for not wearing a mask when required could be 50 euros. The bill allows fines of up to € 1,000 for those who organize parties at home and this sanction takes effect immediately.
In a statement on Sunday, Áras an Uacharáin said: “Having considered the 2020 Health (Amendment) Bill, the President signed the Bill, and consequently it became law.”
Mayo Fine Gael TD and former Minister Michael Ring objected last week to the provision to fine people for traveling more than 5 km from their homes.
He said it discriminated against people in rural areas who had to travel much further to shops and other facilities. He described the penalty as “Dublin thought” and did not attend the Dáil for the vote.
The bill also sparked a stir in the Seanad amid claims, including from a government senator, that sanctions in relation to house parties were unenforceable.
Senator Barry Ward, a lawyer, introduced a series of amendments and said that the definition in the bill of a home occupant was unworkable. According to the drafted law, unless a homeowner is present, gardaí cannot demand that anyone else in charge of the house instruct the party people to leave.
Also, gardaí cannot ask for the name of the person in charge unless that person is the owner.
Amendment
It also introduced an amendment to address flaws in the bill surrounding the issuance by gardaí of fixed notice penalties. Mr. Ward said that the bill had to take into account a number of factors, but was instead written on the basis of one option or another. For a fine to be issued, all factors had to be considered and not just one.
He was supported by independent senator Michael McDowell, who said that “just because we are dealing with emergency legislation does not mean that the Constitution is going out the window.” McDowell, a former attorney general, described the legislation as “strange” and “flawed.”
State Minister Frankie Feighan, who was handling the bill at the Seanad, refused to accept the amendments. He said that doing so would delay the entry into force of the enforcement powers and stressed that “enforcement is a last resort.” Mr. Ward withdrew his amendments and the bill passed.
The Opposition had asked the Minister to introduce regulations for specific offenses in the Dáil before the bill was passed. Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane said the government was seeking a “blank check” by not doing so.
Labor leader Alan Kelly, whose party reluctantly supported the bill because there were some who deliberately disobeyed public health councils, said the legislation marked a “sea change” in the government’s approach and warned that public support could collapse. if the government “doesn’t get it right.”
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