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

She also said that GSOC should have the kinds of the powers I have said today are important. The Garda is under strong legal obligations under the 2005 Act regarding the privacy of individuals. Let us ensure that is also on the table. It is about a balance of interests, as she has said.

The Deputy said that Ireland is out of kilter with other countries. I have very clearly asked Mr. Justice Murray to examine the international situation.

One can see that we are not out of kilter when one looks at quite a number of countries. We saw what happened recently in France and Belgium. We do not have to go very far to see the type of powers the French must use. I do not want to exaggerate this because terrorism is one issue, and a very important issue, but clearly the French are in an emergency situation and have had to give very wide-ranging access powers to their police forces to deal with terrorism. This is a very clear example of where this tool is needed. There are incidents in Ireland of many forms of criminal activity where the Garda must act very quickly to access information to safeguard children and adults in dangerous situations. We need a balanced debate on this.

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