Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 28:

In page 31, line 33, after “proceedings.” to insert the following:“After 30 days, and after each period of 30 days, the officer must seek permission from a District Court Judge to continue to hold the goods.”.

The original section 33 refers to allowing an officer of customs who has reasonable grounds of suspicion regarding any goods being imported or exported to hold them for an indeterminate amount of time and there is no limit to the length of time the items can be held. The balance is against the citizen in this regard. If there is a logic to holding the items, the items should be held but there is a necessity for a burden of proof or for the officers to show there is good reason for it. That should not be just within the mind of the officers and our amendment seeks to put a time limit on how long the goods can be held without the approval of the court.