Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The GSOC will be disappointed that it is being disadvantaged in its capacity to discharge its function vis-á-vis the Garda in this legislation. The commission may take some comfort from the Minister saying it is only a matter of timing and the body is so new that he does not want to extend the power at this stage. One may draw the inference from this that he may do so in the relatively near future, given that he is promising amending legislation for other reasons.

However, the issue is the commission's responsibility to investigate arrestable offences. As the Minster fairly said, that is a serious matter because we know we cannot rule out the possibility of a garda or gardaí being involved in serious crime. The members of the commission argue that in the event of them being seized of such a matter, they would like to have available to them the same tools as the Garda if they are to investigate the matter. This is the case in Wales and England. The Minister will accept that he has changed his argument about Northern Ireland. When the issue was raised on Committee Stage, he said a comparison could not be made with Northern Ireland because the policing scenario is different but now he is saying the interception powers are not provided there and, therefore, we are not out of kilter.

The Minister made a remarkable comment in passing. He said the GSOC is "swamped" and I am sure he did not say that lightly. It is, therefore, extraordinary that it should have that many cases in front of it, even if some are mischievous. All the commission is saying is that it wants the same instruments available to it as the Garda.

I assure Deputy Byrne that nobody is trying to distract from the focus. I published the Garda surveillance Bill on which the legislation is modelled. This is the way legislation is dealt with. He must be a diligent watcher of the monitor in his office if he knows that this is the most contentious issue because one certainly would not know it from the brevity of his infrequent visits to the committee. He should not lecture us on what is most contentious in the Bill.

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