Mr. Bob Collins:

The authority's point on this does not derive from an apprehension that there is widespread abuse by Garda members. That is not the point. Some of the concerns the authority has about aspects of this measure are out of a concern that it puts Garda members in a very difficult position. For example, a custody officer who has not been sufficiently trained and does not have sufficient experience is being put in a difficult position to carry the responsibility that being a custody officer entails. That is as much a concern for the Garda member as it is for the person who is in custody. There is a mutuality in that.

There are many very positive things in this Bill. The concern relates to the extension of certain facilities, such as the issue of arrest without warrant, to a much wider range of cases in circumstances in which it is difficult to see where the evidence is and there is an impossible difficulty in obtaining judicial approval at present. If such a difficulty is convincingly pointed out, the circumstances in which such a decision can be taken by a Garda member should be specifically limited and confined to somebody who is a chief superintendent or higher.