Ms Fiona Crowley:

To clarify, when I was referring to Amnesty's general position vis-à-visnational security and intelligence services, I was not talking about the normal and legitimate use of intelligence in the course of normal policing work, that is, crime prevention and detection. I was referring to what we might call secret services, and it remains our position that they should be separate. Whether or not Ireland's secret services function remains within An Garda Síochána is a matter for others to decide. One way or the other, however, it needs to be subject to independent oversight. That type of oversight and accountability is a well-established principle of international law and is a requirement under the European Convention on Human Rights.