Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No Opposition Member was present on Committee Stage. Determining whether amendments are allowed is a matter for the Ceann Comhairle and he made his ruling. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, is attending the summit on the migration crisis in Valletta. During the past year, it has been the most pressing issue for politicians across our Continent. Everybody should respect the importance of the Minister attending meetings such as this, as well as the Justice and Home Affairs Council meetings which she attends. It is essential that Ireland be represented and that we show solidarity with member states that are having a very difficult time dealing with an enormous humanitarian crisis for those who have the misfortune to find themselves in it. The Minister would, if she could, prefer to be here to participate in this Report Stage debate, which I am happy to do on her behalf.

Section 4 inserts into the principal Act a new section 3A which provides a definition of "security services". We had a discussion about the reality of policing and security being functions for the Garda Síochána at present.

The Garda Commissioner will report to the authority on policing matters and will be fully accountable to the Government for security services. That will continue to be the case. The definition encompasses, among other matters, functions linked to offences under existing legislation, including offences under the Offences against the State Acts 1939 to 1998 and the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005. It also encompasses functions linked to espionage and sabotage. The definition does not expand existing Garda powers in the field of security and a specific exclusion is provided for lawful advocacy, protest or dissent. Such matters were referred to by Deputy Wallace in his contribution.

Amendment No. 1 seeks to qualify the security function of the Garda Síochána in a manner that would limit the definition of that function to a situation in which there is a "reasonable suspicion" of a threat to national security. If this amendment is applied to the substantive security powers of the Garda, it will impede the ability of our security services - our gardaí - to take proactive measures to prevent threats to national security.

Amendment No. 2 seeks to restrict the meaning of "unlawful acts" that subvert or undermine parliamentary democracy or the institutions of the State. As the Deputy has said, he wants this provision to relate solely to "acts which have been found by a Court to be unlawful". If this amendment is applied to the substantive security powers of the Garda, it will turn the criminal justice process on its head because it will mean that a court decision as opposed to statute law, for example, needs to be in place before the security services can take action to protect the State from acts that are about to happen and about which it is concerned.

As I have said, the proposed new section 3A does not expand the existing Garda powers in the field of security. In that context, it is not a substantive provision which can be relied upon by gardaí for the purpose of the exercise of their security functions. The substantive provisions for that purpose are found in the legislation that is listed in the proposed section 3A. The purpose of this section is purely to delineate which functions of the Garda Síochána will be overseen by the Minister and the Government and which of them will be overseen by the policing authority. In these circumstances, the Minister cannot accept amendments Nos. 1 and 2.

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