New laws giving gardaí extra powers to shut down pubs 'very dangerous'

Justice minister Helen McEntee arriving at the Convention Centre Dublin for a Dáil session earlier toay. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

New laws to shut down pubs that are in breach of Covid-19 regulations have been described as "dangerous" in the Dáil.

Justice minister Helen McEntee said the new laws, which will give gardaí the power to shut pubs that repeatedly breach Covid guidelines, would help us return to a more open society.

The emergency legislation allows gardaí to enter pubs to inspect them. A Garda superintendent will have the power to immediately close a pub for the remainder of a day if it is found to be in breach of Covid-19 regulations.

If a pub continues to breach the guidelines, gardaí can also apply for a temporary closure order to shut the premises for three days. Businesses that repeatedly fail to comply with the rules would see that closure order extended for up to 30 days.

But Labour TD Brendan Howlin described as "very dangerous" the fact that "we do not actually know what specifically is to be criminalised either now or into the future".

"That is a very dangerous thing to be doing with criminal legislation," he told the Dáil. "At stake is the removal of people's livelihoods.

"How we can pass legislation that creates criminal offences that we do not know, and which can be renewed or changed tomorrow by new regulations?" 

However, introducing the bill, Ms McEntee said the laws would provide for further enforcement powers required by An Garda Síochána to deal swiftly and effectively with breaches.

"I wish to state unequivocally that the enforcement measures provided for in these sections may only be taken where a direction of a member of An Garda Síochána has not been complied with," she said. "Everyone will be given an opportunity to co-operate and work with the garda who is engaging with them."

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd-Barrett claimed the bill would give powers way beyond what has been publicly discussed as the purpose of this bill.

"The bill potentially could be a Trojan horse for other measures which would give rise to significant concern and controversy and could very seriously infringe on civil liberties," he said. "I have deep concerns about that."

Sinn Féin's Martin Kenny said the gardaí had found it very difficult to police the current guidelines, and his party supports the "idea behind" the bill.

But he added: "We are in a position now that we should not be in, because the way this was handled in the past, by allowing some premises to open and others not based on whether they served food ... created a huge problem.

"The same problem exists in my part of the country as everywhere else where towns across Ireland might have seven or eight pubs where two operate and the rest are closed and looking on. That is totally inappropriate. If all those pubs were open, the crowds in them would be much smaller and we would not be in this situation." 

The Rural Group of Independent TDs also described the new laws as "draconian", and said they would not be supporting them.

Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said: "If you want to ensure the safety of the public health of the people of Ireland, the thing to do is let every publican open their houses, and open them now."