Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity yet again to contribute to and to oppose this motion. I wish to comment on some of what has been said by previous speakers, particularly the Fianna Fáil Members who outlined the crimes committed and the role of the Special Criminal Court and whether they would be happening. The fact is that the Special Criminal Court has been here for 50 years and these crimes are still ongoing so, obviously, the court is not a deterrent if that happens. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan said he was aware of only one miscarriage of justice. Deputy Paul Murphy outlined a further one and I will give Deputy O'Callaghan another: the case of my father. He was convicted in the Special Criminal Court and his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal, on foot of which he was released. There are loads of instances and many people who have been convicted in the Special Criminal Court who should never have been convicted in the first place and who have gone through the benefit of getting a conviction overturned.

It is a farce that we are forced to debate and to extend these Acts year after year. It completely undermines the House and completely undermines our justice system to keep working off emergency legislation permanently. The continued operation of the Special Criminal Court has been widely condemned. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has recommended the abolition of the Special Criminal Court due to the significant human rights and equality concerns associated with it and the Offences against the State Act. The commission believes that the ordinary courts are adequate to secure the effective administration of justice. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties also outlined human rights issues as well as constitutional issues with the Offences against the State Act and the operation of the Special Criminal Court: "The right to trial by jury is ... [a] fundamental right of every accused person ... as guaranteed by Article 38.1 of the Constitution." The Special Criminal Court, however, operates without a jury and is instead composed solely of three judges. That is clearly unconstitutional and creates inequality before the law. I will go further than that because I know for a fact that lawyers do not actually bother putting the law to the court because they know that there is no point in doing so and that the court is set up only to guarantee convictions. That is the reality of the situation, no matter what Government members say or how they look at one another in the Chamber. Everyone should have the right to trial by jury. There is no reason people who are tried in the Special Criminal Court could not be convicted in ordinary courts.

The most recent report by the Minister for Justice states: "The primary security threat in the State remains the threat from republican paramilitary groups." It further states that these groups continue to focus their efforts primarily on targeting members of the security forces in Northern Ireland. Earlier this year, however, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland himself announced that the Northern Ireland-related terrorism threat level in the North had been lowered. Why, then, is it necessary to continue extending this legislation year after year?

There are many ways in which we could properly reform our criminal justice system. Unfortunately, in my time as a Deputy and a member of the justice committee, I have seen no real push for or commitment to the type of reform needed in this country. We need comprehensive reform of our justice system and court system.

We had a justice committee meeting on Monday on the communications (retention of data) (amendment) Bill, one aspect of which is the definition of security of the State. Interestingly, there is no actual explanation in the Bill as to what the security of the State is. The reason given for that was that, because it is in the Offences against the State Act and there is no explanation there, the Government will not put an explanation in the communications Bill. Therefore, the security of the State can mean whatever we want at the time, so anybody can be brought before the Special Criminal Court and be guaranteed conviction. That is the only reason it is there.

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