Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise section 207. I appreciate that I was not present. The Bill progressed with considerable haste and I wish to raise my reservations about the fact that a search of a Garda station, etc, must be notified and essentially requires the agreement of the Garda Commissioner to do this. I am not entirely sure that that is consistent with a fully independent investigative role and is something I wish to flag my concerns about. I reserve the right to introduce an amendment to that section on Report Stage. This provision raises concerns for me at least where nobody else receives advance notice of a Garda search, or at least they should not get advance notice of a Garda search. If they do there is a big problem. This is something that is provided for in legislation which seems strange to me and is something I would wish to probe further on Report Stage.