Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

That was the Deputy's point. I was worried about the issue, so I thought about it, looked at the Constitution and said that it was to be considered by the court and not by anybody else. That is a significant change.

The phrase "shall be evidence" was modelled on the Offences against the State Act, according to which a chief superintendent's opinion is evidence that a person is a member of the IRA on a particular date. I do not agree with the proposition enunciated in The Irish Times because I have experience of the operation of that Act, having been involved in some of the cases that argued the meaning of the provision. I have witnessed instances in which people have been acquitted on the basis of a sworn denial where there was nothing to support the evidence of the chief superintendent.

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