Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann resolves that sections 2 to 4, 6 to 12, 14 and 17 of the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 (No. 39 of 1998) shall continue in operation for the period of 12 months beginning on 30 June 2009.

This motion seeks the Dáil's approval to continue in operation for a further 12 months several sections of the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998. The sections in question, which I will refer to in some detail later, will otherwise cease to be in operation after 30 June. An identical motion is being debated in the Upper House today.

The 1998 Act was enacted in the aftermath of the bombing in Omagh in August of that year. I, and many other Members of this House, have roundly condemned this atrocity which claimed so many innocent lives and ruined many more. Its effects continue to have repercussions to this day. It was clear from the moment it was carried out that the brutal attack in Omagh was a calculated attempt by desperate criminals to undermine the Northern Ireland peace process, which had resulted from long and testing negotiations. The process was still, in 1998, a fragile one. It was this fragility that the bombers tried to shatter.

However, time and endurance have shown it was stronger than they imagined. The response to the bombing showed the resilience of communities on all parts of this island and of all traditions. It showed that their determination to have a future based on peace, co-operation and the rule of law won through in 1998 and will continue to win through. The Government of the day, and this House, also showed its determination in enacting the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act to equip the Garda with the tools necessary to defeat the bombers and their fellow travellers.

I was pleased to note the recent notable victory won by the families of the Omagh victims in the High Court in Belfast. The Government facilitated the relatives and the Northern Ireland court in having some of the evidence taken in this jurisdiction. The investigation into this atrocity remains open on both sides of the Border, and there continues to be excellent co-operation between the Garda authorities and the PSNI in this regard.

Given the exceptional circumstances surrounding its enactment, the Oireachtas decided that it should revisit certain of the Act's provisions and decide whether they are still necessary. This allows the Oireachtas to consider whether current circumstances justify the continuance in operation of those provisions. Both Houses must take a view, therefore, on whether the situation warrants the continued operation of these provisions for a further period of 12 months. I have no doubt that it does and I will outline my reasons for this shortly.

As part of the process and to support consideration of the matter by Deputies, I am required to lay before the Oireachtas a report on the operation of the relevant provisions. The current report covers the period from 1 June 2008, the date of the previous report, to 31 May this year. The report was laid before the House on 11 June 2009. My assessment, as set out in the report, is that the relevant sections of the 1998 Act should remain in force for a further 12 months. I have come to this view based on the current security situation, the advice of the Garda and the information contained in the report.

The House will scarcely need reminding of the reprehensible murders of two soldiers, Sapper Mark Quinsey and Sapper Patrick Azimkar, at the Massereene Barracks in Antrim and of a PSNI constable, Stephen Carroll, in Craigavon in March of this year. These murders came in the wake of a series of attacks on PSNI officers which could have proved fatal and which demonstrated the warped determination of those involved to kill at any cost. Shortly before these murders, there was an incident involving an abandoned bomb in County Down which, had it exploded, had the potential to kill scores of people. Those who made that bomb and those who carried out the earlier attacks have nothing positive to offer this country. It is this sad reality that compels us to take the measures necessary to protect innocent lives.

The 21st report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, which I published last month, makes it very clear that the Real IRA, the Continuity IRA, the INLA and some other smaller dissident groups remain committed to violent paramilitary action in pursuit of their ends. We should not be under any illusion that these groups are involved in a noble struggle for freedom. We can never ignore the terrible acts of brutality they have perpetrated in no one's names but their own. Nor can we ignore the criminal behaviour of these groups. They rob and extort money, deal in drugs, smuggle cigarettes and exploit women for prostitution. These criminal activities are carried out as much for personal gain and to support individual lifestyles.

I know Deputies will agree that great progress has been achieved in establishing peace on this island. However, we should not imagine that a substantial threat does not remain from these dissident groups, which remain implacably opposed to democracy and peace, which have no morality or mandate and which stand ready and willing to cause mayhem and murder. The State must have at its disposal the means to counteract their destructive aims. We should not, therefore, underestimate the importance of these legislative provisions in facing up to their activities.

The motion before the House is concerned primarily with provisions aimed at the threat posed by domestic terrorism. However, we cannot ignore the growth in recent years of the wider, international threat. Although the extent and nature of this terrorist threat varies greatly from one state to another, it would be naive to think that Ireland could be immune from these new forms of terrorism. As a result, we should not be complacent in response to them. We must continue to act, in particular with our EU counterparts, to defeat them.

The 1998 Act is an essential part of the effort to counter terrorism in all its forms and to protect the people of this country. It is my firm view and that of the Garda Síochána that the Act continues to be a most important tool in ongoing efforts to counter the threat from terrorism. The Garda authorities state unequivocally that in the current circumstances it is essential that the Act's provisions should remain in force in order to support the ongoing investigation of terrorist activity.

It is a sad and harsh fact that those who carried out the Omagh bombing, and others like them, continue to pose a substantial threat as they pursue their subversive aims and activities. The Real IRA, the Continuity IRA and the INLA still aspire to commit serious acts of terrorism. These organisations still plan and pursue campaigns of violence and they continue to engage in various acts of criminality.

I will now deal with the provisions that are the subject of the motion. As already stated, I have laid before the House a report on the operation of the relevant sections since June 2008. This report demonstrates the value of these provisions to the Garda. Section 2 of the 1998 Act allows a court, in proceedings for membership of an unlawful organisation, to draw appropriate inferences where an accused person fails to answer or gives false or misleading answers to questions. However, a person cannot be convicted of an offence solely on the basis of such an inference. There must be some other evidence which points towards a his or her guilt. The section was used on 20 occasions in the period covered by the report.

Section 3 requires an accused, in proceedings for membership of an unlawful organisation, to give notification of an intention to call a person to give evidence on his or her behalf. This section was used on 12 occasions.

Section 4 provides that evidence of membership of an unlawful organisation can be inferred from certain conduct, including matters such as "movements, actions, activities, or associations on the part of the accused". This section was not used in the period covered by the report.

Section 6 creates the offence of directing the activities of an organisation in respect of which a suppression order has been made under the Offences against the State Act 1939. It was used on one occasion.

Section 7 makes it an offence to possess articles in circumstances giving rise to a reasonable suspicion that such articles are in possession for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of specified firearms or explosives offences. The section was used on 28 occasions.

Section 8 makes it an offence to collect, record or possess information which is likely to be useful to members of an unlawful organisation in the commission of serious offences. It was not used in the period covered by the report.

Section 9 makes it an offence to withhold certain information which might be of material assistance in preventing the commission of a serious offence or securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of a person for such an offence. The section was used on 137 occasions.

Section 10 extends the maximum period of detention permitted under section 30 of the Offences against the State Act from 48 hours to 72 hours, but only on the express authorisation of a judge of the District Court following an application by a garda of at least superintendent rank. Furthermore, the person being detained is entitled to be present in court during the application and to make, or to have made, submissions on his or her behalf. The section was used on 41 occasions and extensions were granted in all 41 cases.

Section 11 allows a judge of the District Court to permit the rearrest and detention of a person in respect of an offence for which he or she was previously detained under section 30 of the Offences against the State Act but released without charge. This further period must not exceed 24 hours and can only be authorised where a judge is satisfied, on information supplied on oath by a member of the Garda Síochána, that further information has come to the knowledge of the force regarding that person's suspected participation in an offence. This section was used on 18 occasions.

Section 12 makes it an offence for a person to instruct or train another person in the making or use of firearms or explosives or to receive such training without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. It was not used in the period covered by the report.

Section 14 is, in effect, procedural in nature and makes the offences created under sections 6 to 9 and 12 of the 1998 Act scheduled offences for the purposes of Part V of the 1939 Act. This means that persons suspected of committing these offences are liable to arrest under section 30 of the 1939 Act.

Section 17 builds on the provision in the Criminal Justice Act 1994 providing for the forfeiture of property. Where a person is convicted of offences relating to the possession of firearms or explosives and where there is property liable to forfeiture under the 1994 Act, the court is required to order the forfeiture of such property unless it is satisfied that there would be a serious risk of injustice if it made such an order. The section was not used in the period covered by the report.

Section 5 of the 1998 Act was repealed by the Criminal Justice Act 2007. This section was reported on last year as its repeal fell part-way during the reporting period and it had been in use up to that point. The section provided for the drawing of adverse inferences in certain circumstances where an accused relied on a fact in his or her defence that he or she could reasonably have been expected to mention during questioning or on being charged, but did not do so. Part 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 provides for a broader treatment of this issue, including the particular circumstances set out in the repealed section 5. Accordingly, section 5 does not fall to be renewed.

I have no doubt that some Deputies will consider the advances that have been made in promoting and securing peace on this island, particularly in the past decade or so, and will argue that we no longer require this legislation. I cannot agree with them. So-called dissident groups remain the enemies of democracy; they oppose everything for which the British-Irish Agreement stands, the aspirations it represents for the future and the peace to which it has given rise. These groups remain ruthlessly determined to undermine that peace, if at all possible, and they are quite prepared to kill indiscriminately in order to achieve their destructive ends. The Government is equally determined to prevent them realising their objectives. The State must have at its disposal robust laws to defeat them.

It is only by good policing - by the Garda Síochána and the PSNI - supported by strong legislation, that the murderous activities of these paramilitary groups can be defeated. I pay tribute to the ongoing work of the Garda, in co-operation with the PSNI, in facing up to the threats posed.

On the basis of the information set out in the report, it is clear that the 1998 Act continues to be an important element of the Garda response to terrorism. From the advice given by the Garda Síochána on the value of the provisions to them, together with the ongoing threat from terrorist groups, I consider that the relevant provisions of the 1998 Act should remain in operation for further 12 months. I have no doubt right-thinking Deputies on all sides will agree.

I commend the motion to the House.

See this speech in context