FOR MAIN WEBSITE SEE:
www.alanshatter.ie
Alan Shatter TD is Fine Gael’s Front Bench Spokesperson on Children, a member of the Joint Oireachtas Childrens Committee and a member of the Joint Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee.
Alan was again elected to Dail Eireann in 2007 having previously represented Dublin South Constituency in Dail Eireann from 1981 until 2002. He is Fine Gael Front Bench Spokesperson on Children, a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children and a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs.
As a legislator, Alan makes an extraordinary contribution to Irish political life. As a Fine Gael TD he has published more legislation in the form of Private Members Bills from the opposition side of the Dail than any other deputy elected to Dail Eireann in the history of the State. An advocate of radical legal, social and environment reforms, he continues to pioneer new initiatives. To date these include the following:
29th Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2009 (published on 19th Nov 09)
Article 35.5 of the Constitution states “The remuneration of a judge shall not be reduced during his continuance in office.” This Bill contains provisions intended to ensure that the independence of the judiciary cannot be undermined while also facilitating a reduction in judicial salaries in the event of a salary reduction being applied to public sector pay generally (or to comparable salaries in the public sector) due to a serious threat to the State’s economy.
Ministers and Secretaries (Ministers of State) Bill 2009
Ministers and Secretaries (Ministers of State) Bill 2009 which provided for the reduction of the number of Ministers of State from 25 to 12 was published on 20th April 09. The number of Ministers of State was reduced by the Government on 22nd April 2009 from 25 to 20 but, in the absence of any legislative change, the Taoiseach and the Government could, in the future, reappoint TDs to the five positions which were abolished. The Ministers and Secretaries (Ministers of State) Bill 2009 closed off this loophole.
CRIMINAL LAW AREA: -
Victims Rights Bill 2008
The Victims Rights Bill 2008 is a comprehensive Bill containing the provisions urgently needed to enshrine the rights of victims of crime in Irish law. Despite having the unanimous support of victim support organizations all over the country as well as individual victims of crime the Bill was voted down by Government on 24th June 2008. It contained provisions similar to those contained in the Victims Rights Bill 2002 and also addressed legal developments and difficulties that had arisen of relevance to victims of crime in the period 2002-2008. Five days before voting against the Victims Rights Bill 2008 the Minister for Justice announced that the Government would produce its own victims rights legislation in early 2009. At the time of writing (August 2009) no such legislation has been published by Government.
Victims Rights Bill 2002
The Victims Rights Bill 2002 for the first time in Irish law gave all victims of crime a voice and the recognition they deserve. The Bill prescribed the principles applicable to the treatment of victims of crime; provided for the comprehensive use of Victim Impact Statements in the sentencing of offenders and specific information and assistance that must be furnished to all victims of crime. The Bill did not become law due to the calling of the 2002 General Election.
Prevention of Incest (Amendment) Bill 1993
The Prevention of Incest (Amendment) Bill 1993 contained provisions to increase the maximum sentence that could be imposed for the offence of incest to a period of 20 years. Two weeks following the publication of the Bill the then FF/Labour government agreed to take on board this proposal and it was incorporated into a government Bill was which then before the Dail at Committee Stage. This Bill is now enacted.
Genetic Fingerprinting Bill 1988
The Genetic Fingerprinting Bill 1988 contained provisions to enable the Gardai to use the new technique of DNA fingerprinting to identify the perpetrators of offences such as murder, manslaughter, assault and rape. Initially opposed by the Fianna Fail government, this opposition was ultimately withdrawn and government legislation to provide for Genetic Fingerprinting was enacted in 1990.
Community Service Orders Bill 1981
The Community Service Orders Bill 1981 contained provisions to empower the Courts to require offenders to undertake community service. Legislation to provide for community service was ultimately enacted in 1983 and the Community Service Orders Scheme has been widely acknowledged as a major success.
SOCIAL REFORM AREA:-
Registration of Births Bill 2000
The Registration of Births Bill 2000 contained provisions for the re-registration of a child’s birth where, subsequent to birth, the mother marries the child’s natural father and the couple wish the child to assume the father’s surname, the child having originally been registered under the mother’s surname alone. This Bill passed First Stage in Dail Eireann in December 2000.
Protection of Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998
The Protection of Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 was introduced to provide legal protections for those who report children to be the victims of physical or sexual abuse. It was accepted by the FF/PD government and enacted into law.
Adoption Act 1991
The Adoption Act 1991 contains provisions to provide for the recognition in this State of adoptions effected by Irish couples abroad and also provisions to enable Health Boards and Adoption Societies assess the suitability to adopt of couples and individuals who wish to adopt abroad. Initially opposed by the then FF/PD government, it was successfully enacted into law in June of 1991 and was only the second Private Members Bill in thirty-two years to become an Act. This legislation which allowed for the recognition of adoption effected by Irish couples in Romania and elsewhere was the first such legislation enacted in a European country to resolve the problems that arose as a result of the large numbers of children being adopted from Eastern Europe. To-date it has facilitated the recognition of approximately 2,500 foreign adoptions.
Judicial Separation & Family Law Act, 1989
The Judicial Separation & Family Law Act 1989 contained provisions to radically reform marriage separation laws, to reduce the formality of marital court proceedings and to provide for conciliation and mediation. For the first time in Irish law, the full value of the work of mothers and wives both inside and outside the home was recognised and provision made to ensure a fair division of family assets upon marital breakdown. The measure was initially opposed by the then FF government and a substantial battle was fought to have it enacted into law. It became the first published Private Members Bill to be enacted into law in over thirty years. It came into operation as an Act in October 1989. It laid the foundation for the successful Divorce referendum of 1995.
Adoption Bill 1987
The Adoption Bill 1987 contained provisions to provide for the adoption of abandoned, both marital and non-marital, children. Also initially opposed by the then Fianna Fail Government, the main provisions of the Bill were ultimately taken on board by Government and the legislation was enacted in 1988. For over twenty years successive Governments had argued that such legislation was contrary to the Constitution but Shatter insisted it was not. The Government Bill ultimately enacted was approved by the Supreme Court in a Constitutional reference made under Article 26 of the Constitution.
ENVIRONMENT AREA:-
Environment Protection Agency Bill 1989
Alan Shatter was the author of the Fine Gael Environment Policy Document “A Clean Environment” (1989), which proposed the establishment of an Environment Protection Agency. In the autumn of 1989 he published the Environment Protection Agency Bill 1989. The Bill contained provisions not only to establish a Environment Protection Agency but also for the first time to give statutory force to the precautionary principle. The need for the Agency was accepted, although the Bill was opposed and voted down by the then Fianna Fail/PD Government in February of 1990, the Government promising that within six months it would enact a measure of its own. A watered down version of measures contained in Shatter’s Bill were incorporated in the Government’s Environment Protection Agency Act finally enacted in 1992.
INTERNATIONAL LAW AREA:
Protection of Refugees Bill 1993
The Protection of Refugees Bill 1993 contained provision to incorporate into Irish Law the safeguards contained in the Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees to ensure that people who claim refugee status and political asylum in Ireland are treated in a humanitarian way and their legal rights prescribed by International Law are fully protected. This Bill was defeated by the then Fianna Fail/Labour Government in a vote in Dail Eireann on the 12th May 1993 . A Departmental Report subsequently recommended the enactment of legislation by the Fianna Fail/Labour Government similar to Shatter’s 1993 Bill. This resulted in the enactment of the Refugee Act 1995 which the then rainbow coalition Government failed to bring into force. If the 1993 measure had been unopposed and come into operation, many of the difficulties experienced in recent years in processing asylum applications would not have arisen.
PROPERTY AREA:-
Landlord & Tenant (Amendment) Act 1993
The Landlord & Tenant (Amendment) Act 1993 provides a more flexible legal regime for the letting of business premises. This Bill became law on the 10th August 1994.
JUSTICE AREA:-
Statute of Limitation (Amendment) Bill 1999
The Statute of Limitation (Amendment) Bill 1999 proposed to extend the time within which civil actions claiming compensation could be taken by the child victims of sexual and physical abuse. It resulted in Government legislation to extend the time for bringing claims for damages for sexual abuse and the Government seeking a report on the issue of physical abuse from the Law Reform Commission.
Courts Bill 2000
The Courts Bill 2000 contained provisions to require that the names of all future Government nominees to the judiciary be first submitted to the Joint Oireachtas Justice Committee for its opinion; that no retired judges be appointed to any domestic or international body without the prior approval of the Justice Committee; that solicitors be eligible for appointment as judges to the High and Supreme Court and that various anachronistic practices of the legal professions be reformed. The Fianna Fail/PD Government voted down this measure in Dail Eireann in October 2000 promising to introduce a Government Bill to address a number of the issues raised in it. Subsequently, Government legislation provided for the appointment of solicitors to the High Court and Supreme Court. To-date, no role has been given to the Justice Committee with regard to judicial appointments.
Tribunals of Inquiry (Amendment) Bill 2001
The Tribunals of Inquiry (Amendment) Bill 2001 increased from IR£10,000 to IR£250,000 the fine that can be imposed on any individual who fails to co-operate with a Tribunal of Inquiry and who fails to furnish documentation sought by the Tribunal. The Government, subsequent to its publication, enacted similar reforming legislation.
SPORTS AREA :-
Prohibition of Ticket Touts Bill 1999
The Prohibition of Ticket Touts Bill 1999 made it illegal for ticket touts to sell tickets for major sporting, musical and theatrical events for a sum in excess of the face value of the ticket. The Second Stage of this Bill was approved by the Dail in March 1999. It failed to get enacted prior to the 2002 General Election as the Fianna Fail/PD Government majority on the Oireachtas Sports and Tourism Committee blocked its progress. Similar legislation has been promoted by Fine Gael in the Dail during the lifetime of the current Government but has continued to be opposed.
HEALTH AREA:-
Tobacco (Health Promotion and Protection) Bill 1999
The Tobacco (Health Promotion and Protection) Bill 1999 contained measures to render it unlawful to sell cigarettes to children under 18 years of age, increased the penalties for underage selling and banned cigarette vending machines in premises frequented by under 18’s. It passed Second Stage in the Dail in February 2002. The Government majority on the Health Committee blocked the taking of Committee Stage and further progress being made with the Bill. The Bill sought to implement some of the recommendations contained in “Smoking and Health: A National Anti-Smoking Strategy”, a major policy document researched and written by Alan Shatter T.D. as Rapporteur to the Joint Oireachtas Health and Children Committee. It was supported by all members of the Committee and laid before the Dail and Seanad in November 1999. This policy document laid the foundation for the Fianna Fail/PD Government’s smoking ban in public houses/restaurants, and in the workplace. Many of its recommendations were implemented in the Government’s Anti-Tobacco legislation. Without the pioneering work undertaken by Alan Shatter in this area, no Government action would have been taken to tackle the serious health risks caused by smoking.
