Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 88:

In page 11, after line 29, to insert the following:“Amendment of section 31 of Act of 2012

26.Section 31 of the Act of 2012 is amended by—

(a) the designation of that section as subsection (1),

(b) the substitution, in subsection (1), of “vetting information” for “vetting disclosure”, and

(c) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(2) Where, before the commencement of this section, a person had appealed a determination made by the Garda Central Vetting Unit in respect of the person but the appeal had not been concluded before that commencement, then the appeal shall be deemed to be an appeal under section 18 and shall be dealt with accordingly and, any step taken before such commencement in relation to the appeal (being a step required to be taken under this Act in relation to an appeal under this Act) shall be deemed to have been taken under this Act.”.”.

The purpose of this amendment is to make explicit that where, before the commencement of the Act, any persons have appealed the disclosure of any information which would come under the description of "specified information" the appeal may be concluded in accordance with the provisions of this Act. This means that any cases currently under way once the Act comes in can be continued in accordance with the provisions here. That means that the person can have a right to an oral hearing and can ultimately appeal any proposed disclosure to the High Court, in accordance with this Act. It means that regarding any cases under way, the person can avail of the provisions in this Act for appeal to the High Court. They are transitional provisions.

See this speech in context