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Perjury and Related Offences Bill

PRESS RELEASE:

19/09/2019

  • ISME welcomes Senator Pádraig Ó Céidigh’s Pejury and Related Offences Bill.
  • Ireland is alone in not having a statutory offence of perjury.
  • ISME hopes the Bill will proceed rapidly through the House.
  • Ireland must become intolerant of lying on oath for personal gain.

As the Dáil reconvenes this autumn, ISME welcomes Senator Pádraig Ó’Céidigh’s Perjury and Related Offences Bill 2018 reaching second stage in the Dáil.

Ireland is alone among the common-law jurisdictions in the world in not having a statutory offence of perjury. This Bill is more than a century overdue.

While not wishing to forestall scrutiny, debate or amendment in the Dáil, ISME hopes that the Bill will proceed rapidly through the House.

A perjury statute will provide no silver bullet to the scandalous and stalled issue of insurance reform.

However, it will signal to the Courts, the Gardaí, the legal profession, and to society in general that Ireland is becoming intolerant to lying on oath for personal gain.

We will be contacting Dáil members in the next fortnight to understand their voting intentions on this Bill, which we hope will enjoy unanimous support.

ENDS

Notes:

  • ISME should be referred to as the Irish SME Association

For further information, please contact ISME offices T: 01 6622755 E: [email protected]