Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I have some general comments. I will try to be quick with the speech at the beginning of my contribution. Head 12 relates to the retention of data regarding stop and search. At the moment, the Bill provides that this will be done as part of the code of practice. It is not just the code of practice. The code of practice needs to be rooted in the GDPR and in European Union law on retention of data, which is the subject of the case at the moment. We need to specify that at the top. It is not just about the code of practice; it should be put in consultation on the code of practice.

I am deeply concerned about search warrant in urgent circumstances. I am very conscious of the logic of the Demache case that a garda issuing their own search warrant for their own investigation was not good enough and it had to be a garda of a certain rank independent of the investigation. To achieve true independence, it needs to be somebody outside the Garda Síochána, full stop, and not just outside the investigation. Mr. Collins and Ms Clare Daly made the point that judges are available. There is no reason why we should not enforce that independence. I fully believe that the logic of the Demache case indicates that it should never be given by a garda. My question is for Mr. Collins. How many such warrants are applied for? How many of them are refused? Is there a 100% acceptance rate or is it a black hole that we do not know the number?

The Policing Authority asked about the usefulness of stop and search, and the negative impact it has in communities. Should we even be legislating for stop and search, and making it easier as we are essentially doing now?