Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I wish to raise a matter of justice legislation and, in doing so, I wish to congratulate the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on his elevation to the position of Minister for Finance and thank him for his courtesy in the past 11 months.

On 29 November I published a Garda Síochána (Powers of Surveillance) Bill that would permit evidence gathered by surveillance in certain circumstances to be admissible against crime bosses. The Minister opposed the Bill at the time and said "it would alert the criminals". However, on the radio this morning I heard him claim it as one of his great achievements.

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