Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

This amendment specifies that a different judge should hear this section of the process. I feel this is an interference in judicial independence. The courts can determine which judge hears which hearing. That is a question for the courts, rather than the Minister, to determine.

There are alternative ways of dealing with the designation of vendors or specification of security measures. They could be done by writing the law in such a way that the Minister could simply issue the list on consultation with the security services, which is how it is done in other countries. We decided to introduce judicial oversight to make sure that it was taken out of the hands of the political system and handed over to the Judiciary so that it could make a decision. It will look at it independently, separate from any political party or holder of ministerial office, and make its determination.

Of course, intelligence information which is a risk to national security cannot be supplied to the appellant or written about in open court where it would cause a risk to the country. In fact, it would frustrate the entire purpose of the Bill, which is to protect the national security of the country. That is why we have tried, as far as possible, to separate the political system from the judicial system and make this an independent judicial decision, rather than a political one. We propose to provide as much information to the courts as possible and advise judges that they provide as much information as can safely be provided to the appellant without endangering national security. It is a fair balance.

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