Mattie McGrath backs amendment to protect private members clubs
Mattie McGrath spoke on 4 December 2019 in support of Deputy Kenny's amendment on private members clubs, defined as voluntary and unincorporated associations of persons over the age of 18. He argued the amendment was necessary after reports that clubs had been told they could be closed immediately, raising concerns about jobs, tradition and unintended consequences.
Support for amendment
Mattie McGrath expressed explicit support for Deputy Kenny's amendment which seeks to protect private members clubs - voluntary and unincorporated associations of persons over 18. He framed the amendment as a response to immediate fears among club members.
Immediate closure fears
He told the minister that people had been given the impression their clubs "could be closed down as of today ever before this bill is passed." McGrath said that, while closures had not yet occurred, the message had caused alarm in affected communities.
Concerns for jobs and tradition
McGrath said members are very concerned about jobs and employment connected to the clubs and, above all, about their tradition and way of life. He highlighted that clubs are a big part of many activities and community life, and that members fear heavy disruption.
Warnings about unintended consequences
He warned there could be many unintended consequences in this piece of legislation and suggested similar problems may arise in other parts of the bill. McGrath argued it would be wrong to allow the measure to pass without addressing those risks.
Call for clarification and scrutiny
McGrath urged the minister to clarify the situation for clubs and called for proper scrutiny, discourse and debate on the legislation. He insisted the Dáil should examine the potential impacts before proceeding further.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
I too want to support Deputy Kenny's amendment regarding private members clubs which means voluntary and unincorporated association of persons over the age of 18 years. Look Minister, quite frankly people are very concerned about these clubs and apparently the vet took itself and met others and the teacher was asked today about it and the result they get back is they could be closed down as of today ever before this bill is passed. But look, that's not, that's not, live horsey get grass, that's not, if that's the situation it's unfortunate but they haven't been closed down and they're very concerned with the clubs and they're worried about jobs, employment and above all they're worried about their tradition and the way of life that they have been clubbed and many other activities but this is a big part of it and they're very very concerned and hopefully you will be able to clarify for us because tell them that they are that they already can be closed down as of now, that's not, this is legislation that we're passing now, here now and we often pass legislation here and we're ridiculed for it, it's the unintended consequences and I think there are many unintended consequences in this piece of legislation and in this part I think there are in months as well, there could be many unintended consequences and it would be our fault to allow it to go through without proper scrutiny and proper discourse and debate. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
