Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their contributions. I also thank committee members who have made theirs, some of whom have experience in this field. I am trying to come at this from the middle of the road. On one hand, we are conscious of those who are victims of crime and the effect that can have on them. On the other, one would certainly hope that those who are tasked with investigating and preventing crime would do so in a manner that is lawful and above board. That should be beyond question. Ms Daly used the term "safeguards" and it is vitally important there are safeguards in place to protect anyone who is under investigation for alleged criminal offences, or any type of offence for that matter. The discussion we are having about this Bill and the flaws some members have highlighted are useful.

I will start by asking Ms Daly and Mr. Collins about the search warrants. Are there any circumstances that would warrant a Garda superintendent or chief superintendent to issue a search warrant? I am thinking of someone who received information at 3 a.m. that a shipment of drugs was coming into the jurisdiction. Do we have any data on how accessible it is for a judge or district justice to issue a warrant promptly in such a case? I do not know what the turnaround time is for that. It is an important factor.

The circumstances were mentioned when a member of the Garda, whoever he or she might be, of superintendent or chief superintendent rank, would have to account for and be able to stand over what those urgent circumstances would be. I would not like to think that there would be a delay from trying to get a judge to sign a warrant in an investigation of crime to which urgency was attached, such as a drugs shipment.

If there is no delay in getting the necessary search warrant issued and signed by a judge, that is fine. However, I wonder whether we have any data on that. Is there any data to show whether this situation has been abused? That would be important. Mr. Sunderland talked about data protection and the rights of citizens. It goes without saying that those should be protected. Legal assistance was taken as a given and I know Senator Ward was very strong on that and I fully agree with him. There are no circumstances whereby someone should not be given legal assistance where required and that would be unforgivable.

I am conscious of the victims of crime. Investigating crime is not simple. It is a tough job. It needs to be done, but has to be done in a manner that is legal and above board. That is very important. Citizens' rights have to be respected at all times. Does Mr. Collins have any information or is any data available to us where gardaí abuse their powers across any of the issues we have discussed?

It is right and proper to discuss this now. It is right that we review the legislation and highlight shortcomings. Members have highlighted a number of issues, in particular, where shortcomings are present. Where shortcomings have been highlighted and proven to be in existence, we have a duty to the citizens of the State to ensure that every safeguard possible is put in place to protect them, while members of the Garda are investigating crime.