THE HUMAN Rights Commission (HRC) has recommended three major changes to the proposed new law outlawing begging in most circumstances.
The proposed new law, the Criminal Justice (Public Order) (Amendment) Bill 2008, was announced by the Minister for Justice last month. Dermot Ahern said the law on begging needed reform since the striking down of section 3 of the 1847 Vagrancy Act as unconstitutional.
A new law was required because vulnerable members of the public were often fearful when approached on the street by individuals who sometimes used intimidation and threats of violence. "In addition, it is very distressing to witness young children effectively forced on to the streets to beg by sinister adults," he said.
The new Bill proposes a maximum penalty of a €700 fine or a month in prison for those convicted of aggressive or persistent begging or for those who are asked by a garda to desist from begging and fail to do so. Failure to give a name and address could result in a €500 fine. The general scheme of the Bill was referred to the HRC for its observations and these were published yesterday.
Commissioner Alice Leahy, who is also a founder and director of homeless charity Trust, said people who begged were often suffering from various social and personal reasons, including addiction and mental health problems.
"People are exploited and forced out to beg," she said. "Criminalising them lets State agencies off the hook. Prison is not the answer . . . The issue is decent accommodation." She stressed, however, not all those who begged were homeless and not all homeless begged.
HRC chief executive Eamonn Mac Aodha said begging indicates a failure by the State to uphold the right to an adequate standard of living for all members of society. He said the Garda powers of arrest in the proposed legislation were disproportionate to the problem.
It was not clear why there was a need for such a Bill at all, he said, as issues like harassment and intimidation were catered for in other legislation, as was the issue of children begging.
The commission's observations note that the High Court ruling striking down the Vagrancy Act held it contravened the constitutional right to freedom of expression, which would have to be upheld in any new law.
The HRC is recommending the removal of the definition of "persistent begging", as it appears to be applicable to all begging. It also recommends that the legislation not criminalise those who fail to provide a name and address and that it allows for people to have a reasonable excuse.
It recommends the removal of the power given to the Garda to direct a person to desist from begging, and to arrest and charge the person if he or she does not, even if they are begging passively. This is disproportionate to the need to deal with aggressive and criminal behaviour, which should receive a "measured and focused response."